March 11th, 2014 | Uncategorized
I was lucky enough to spend the past weekend in Tipperary with some familiar faces, the Murphy family. I met the Murphy’s at one of the basketball camps that we hosted in Clonmel, and they invited us scholars to come visit whenever we had the chance. And I’m glad I finally found a free weekend to get over there!
I pretty much dropped my bags and headed off to a rugby practice as soon as I arrived. And it wasn’t just a practice for the kids: Polly, the mom, was coaching as well and asked me to help her out. So, I’m not remotely a rugby player and the kids were having quite the laugh at me while I tried to figure out what was going on, but I have the basics down for the most part now! I got the chance to play a little tag rugby during the practice with the under 15 girls and helped coach the Under 7 Coolmore team on Sunday during their game.
I would say one huge learning point that I got out of this weekend was that there is room for anyone to help out in sports, no matter if you played the sport all your life or never got the chance to play the sport at all. With all the sports that the Murphy kids play, from basketball to rugby to camogie (women’s hurling), Polly helps coach for the club that her children play for, even though she never competitively played those specific sports before. There is always a need for coaches at the younger age groups, so with a few coaching lessons, lots of enthusiasm, and a love for sports, anyone can help inspire children without being an expert at the sport.
I just wanted to say another huge thank you to Polly, Andrew, Thomas, and Lucy Murphy for the great sports (and pancake-filled) weekend… can’t wait to visit again! Until next time, readers!
