Today we went our separate ways (besides the waterford girls who left the day before) and headed to our own universities. It was the last time we would all be together in a group until Thanksgiving. It was weird saying goodbye to everyone, we had only known each other for about 10 days and it was like saying goodbye to friends of years. Every other scholar is partnered up and going to a university with someone else as for me I was on my own. I was okay with it considering I was here last year. I would rather have it be me on my own than one of the scholars who has never been here before. Gareth had our group up nice and early to make our way down to Dublin. There were only 9 of us in the van but with everyones luggage it was still a very tight squeeze. We went our separate ways from Dublin Airport to the next car where we would be heading next.
I got dropped off at my house saying bye to the last scholars I would see, Carlow’s Mike and JB, but I was welcomed by my new housemate, Jazmine Boone. Jazmine was a Victory Scholar last year and will be my new teammate with the Liffey Celtics. Jazmine was nice enough to give me the big room. I can’t believe she got here first and chose the smaller room with the smaller bed! I got settled into my new home for the year and got ready for my first practice session.
My back still wasn’t 100% but I thought it doesn’t look good to skip my first practice of the season so I decided to give it a shot. The first couple of drills were difficult to get though then I turned funny on one play and the pain suddenly started to get better. It was a bizarre feeling to go from being in that much pain to having so much relief. I was still sore but it was more of a soreness than a pain. I am hoping that this will hold up and that I am on the mend.
As for the actual practice, I was a good session! It was cool to meet some of my new teammates and we had a good turnout in numbers. The Celtics have a new coach this year, Mark Byrne, he was the Meteors coach last year. I really enjoyed the drills he gave us and we worked up a good sweat. Practice left me feeling excited for the upcoming season!
