It's a sport played on a soccer field, but it's not soccer.

Players hit the ball off the ground with a club-like stick, but it's not field hockey or golf.

The ball is carried with the stick, but it's not lacrosse.

The answer comes from the ancient emerald fields of Ireland and winds its way to the considerably less ancient fields of Schenley Park. The sport is hurling, played for thousands of years in Ireland, and a Pittsburgh group wants to bring the tradition to the three rivers.

"You don't have to be Irish, though Irish people tend to be more interested," says Jim Kleissler.

Kleissler is president of the recently formed Pittsburgh Hurling Club, which meets to play hurling, teach the game to others and hopes to form a local recreational league.

Kleissler describes hurling as a fast-paced combination of field hockey and lacrosse, with elements of baseball and soccer thrown in.

"It almost brings out everyone's different strengths really well because there are so many skills."

Players use a hurl, a two-foot long stick made of solid ash wood. The stick flattens and widens at the end, giving it the appearance of a child's toy golf club.

The goal is to use the hurl to hit, carry or throw the sliotar (pronounced slitter), a ball that looks like a baseball with raised stitching. Players can score in two ways: by passing the sliotar through a soccer sized goal for three points, or by throwing the sliotar above the goal for one point.

Games last about one hour, and Kleissler describes the play as quick and exciting. Players can hit or pass the sliotar by hitting it from the ground or tossing it up in the air and hitting it like a baseball. The sliotar can also be carried on the flat end of the hurl or by hand for four steps.

Kleissler was introduced to the sport through his brother, who plays for a team in St. Louis. Recreational hurling leagues exist in several American cities, especially ones with historically high Irish populations like Phila-delphia, New York and Boston.

A more formal league also exists, with teams across North America competing in tournaments. The best teams even travel to Ireland to play.

The Pittsburgh Hurling Club hopes to field a team for North American competition in 2008, along with a few local recreational teams. So far the club has about 25 members, with 12 to 15 who have consistently attended the series of practices the club held this fall at Panther Hollow soccer field in Schenley Park.

"We're trying to make it accessible to newcomers, maybe who have never played an organized sport," says Kleissler. "We're really good with beginners, I think."

Kleissler says the club has purchased a number of hurls and shin pads, so that people who want to play do not have to bring their own equipment. They spend the first half of each practice working on various skills and teaching the rules of the game.

Their events have drawn a diverse crowd, including Pitt students and older adults. Kleissler, who lives in Wilkinsburg, says people have come from across the South Hills, the North Hills and the East Suburbs to play, and he adds that Schenley Park has provided a good central location.

While snow and cold have put practices on hiatus, the group's next step is fundraising for the planned North American team. Kleissler hopes local Irish bars will sponsor a team or recreational league to help defray expenses.

Anyone interested in playing can check out the group's Web site at www.pitthurling.org or call 412-567-4485.