December 8th, 2015 | Uncategorized
As each day of my Irish experience passes by, I look forward more and more to the Wildcats Super League home matches. Not because of the fact that our team is playing well this season, but the club’s invaluable feeling of togetherness.
Saturday morning wildkitten coaching sessions get better and better each week. The girls and their parents no longer see me as an American but as a Wildcat player, a part of the club. Jokes, laughs and full on conversations now flow left and right making coaching much more at ease and fun. After our National Cup Quarter Final game against UL, many of those same parents and wildkittens at camp came up to Katie and I to congratulate us after the win. Taking pictures with our favorite angels and being goofy was the best part about the win. The love and kindness within the club goes beyond words.
What is also so great about the Wildcats club is the history that lies behind it. If you ever visit Mercy Secondary School, there are vast amounts of pictures and newspaper clippings posted on its wall displaying past wildcat players to current ones. Kelsey Harris, who plays for UL Huskies club team and is also a past Victory Scholar, even spotted an action picture of herself. The Wildcats view the sport of basketball as a unified community, respecting talented players that are just as passionate about the game as the club.
After every match, all Super League teams host sandwiches, biscuits and tea for all members from both clubs. The Wildcats club always offers to give Katie & I more food to take home even after stuffing our faces. Our Trinity and Limerick friends experienced the genuineness of our club when they too took some food back to their homes.
The love off the court is just as comforting as the love on the court. My teammates, coach, and manager are a big impact to my personal Irish experience and are a reflection of the club. Getting along with such amazing girls and their willingness to take care of Katie and I at all times is reassuring. From giving us lifts from games and training to cracking jokes, they are irreplaceable tokens and couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls.
The Wildcats are not stereotypical stringing individual teams into one club. The Wildcats are a family and I wouldn’t want to be a part of any other club. My heart is forever a wildcat.
Victory Scholar: Jazmen Boone
Present University: Waterford IT
US League: CAA
Club/Community Partner: Waterford Wildcats
Alma Mater: The College of William and Mary
Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland
