November 22nd, 2015 | Uncategorized
After many months of coaching, I finally experienced coaching a few matches. Although along the way, I have coached a few friendlies, this weekend in Maynooth, I coached the UL “Freshers” (the freshman team for the Americans). The “Freshers” tournament is a weekend full of basketball, where all the universities in Ireland bring their freshers teams to compete for a championship.
Prior to the tournament, we had been practicing since the beginning of the school year and we were all excited to finally compete. Not only was I excited to finally coach in a proper tournament, but also I was excited to finally hang out and get to know the girls on the team a little bit better.
Overall, the weekend was a great success. In pool play, we went 1-1, which qualified us for the Plate. Winning the Plate is the equivalent to winning the runners up pool. So although we got eliminated from Cup play, we had goals to still win a final. In order to do so, we had to win both games on Sunday. After winning the first game on Sunday pretty handily, we unfortunately fell short in the second game. Therefore, earning second place in the Plate final.
Although we did not win the plate, the tournament and season was far from a failure. It was an amazing opportunity to coach such amazing girls who not only loved the sport, but also were a lot of fun to be around. It was great to finally spend time with them off of the basketball court, and get to know them on more of a friend basis.
Not only were the girls so enjoyable, but I also had such a great time coaching. Being in such intense games, and competing for the Plate was awesome. I loved coaching in high-pressure situations like that, which is something I had never gotten to do prior to this. This weekend opened my eyes to another dimension of coaching for me that I had never gotten to experience before; and I absolutely loved it.
Although we didn’t quite win as many games as we would have liked, this weekend was a great experience. I learned a lot about myself as a coach, I was able to meet so many awesome people in the basketball community, while also getting to hang out with a great group of girls from UL that I not only can call my team, but also my friends.
Victory Scholar: Sarah Benedetti
Present University: University of Limerick
US League: NEC
Club/Community Partner: UL Huskies
Alma Mater: St. Francis College
Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland
