September 1st, 2014 | Uncategorized
Our week of training from Sport Changes Life in Belfast was a great help in our first camp while in Dublin. From the simplest things such as silly ways to get the kid’s attention, to executing the instructions for a game, I was able to use what we learned a lot. …Oh, and a shout out to the training back in Buffalo- I thank my previous lifting coaches for preparing me to carry around 11 year olds on my shoulders for prolonged periods of time! I have yet to learn how to french braid, but luckily off the hook since my roommate, Christine is a certified professional.
Working these couple days with the same group of kids was very rewarding because just in the short amount of time together, we were able to make a connection through the fun that goes into teaching and playing basketball games!
Refreshing, fun and free is my first impressions on sport here in Ireland. It is purely a way to enjoy yourself and your friends, excel with your team and express yourself. It’s quite empowering being able to see this in the kids as we talk on the sidelines and witness it in the way they play. Basketball has given me so much, and I’m falling in love with sharing this with the kids here. Towards the end of the day of camp we all sat down and the kids had the chance to ask us questions. At that moment I realized how big of an influence we all are to each and every girl or boy we work with, give a high five to, help improve at a skill, or just have a short conversation about their favorite subject.
During the two days in Dublin we toured around a bit as I began to feel the chills and excitement of being in my new home city! We got a glimpse of the outside of the building we will be living in…and yes, there are green vines grazing the building outlining the windows! Yes, very corny, but these things I love! 🙂
So, the road trip continues as we venture off to Clonmel until Friday when we go off to our separate schools for the year. In the past two weeks I have been introduced to a new family. We have literally been living with and off each other, where personal space means nothing; learning what gets each other to laugh and how to laugh harder. As much as I’d like our group to stay together, I know we will all benefit from branching off at our universities and working with different groups of kids and teams in the process.
See you in Dublin!
