äóÖNew Year, New Youäó»

Written by

It is officially 2017! It is a new year for everyone! Luckily for myself, I was able to spend my time bringing in the new year in Dingle. This was the experience of a life time for both myself, as well as my girlfriend Tara. If I would suggest checking out any area of Ireland, both in general and for New Year’s Eve, there would be no doubt in my mind that Dingle is the spot. We arrived on the 30th, and were able to spend two great days and nights there. The first day we were there we were fortunate to get a personal tour around the whole Dingle peninsula, and as told by our tour guide, National Geographic christened it to be one of the nicest places on earth. They definitely were not lying. The sights seemed unreal. We were fortunate to have a tour guide who had quite some knowledge on the area, being a resident his whole life, and he knew just the right places to stop and make the journey life-changing. Areas around the peninsula can’t be justified by words; I would be doing it a disservice if I did so. New Year’s Eve in Dingle was happening to say the least. For a small town with a population of only 1,500 people, the streets and pubs had to be filled with over 3,000 people. The atmosphere was electric, as the streets were pedestrianized and a firework presentation emerged over the Dingle bay just about an hour before midnight. Leading up to midnight, pipers and drummers paraded around the town, arriving back at a central location where the countdown then began. When the countdown reached ‘0’, 2017 was officially in effect. Almost all 3,000 of the people in town that night then paraded around the streets alongside the pipers and drummers, finalizing an incredible end to the great weekend it was.

 

Everyone has memories of 2016. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. Whatever it may be, don’t let whatever has occurred in the previous year affect how you approach this one. Don’t let failures defeat you, and don’t let success go to your head. Nothing is permanent. Take the time to re-focus yourself and prioritize the things that truly matter to you. Create new goals, new challenges, things that are going to help create a better ‘You’.

 

Never settle for average. There is always an area of your life you can improve. Don’t become content or believe it’s too late to change.

 

Make 2017 an unforgettable year. Make it the best year of your life!

 

Happy New Year’s Everyone!

 

DB

Coolin’ in Clonmel

Written by

            What’s up everyone! Clonmel has been equally good to us, and has offered us a different element of Ireland. We have seen some of the prettiest sunsets and the true countryside of Ireland. This camp was smaller than Dublin, but just as fun with the varying age groups. Diana and I left at lunch today to meet with John. He is a really nice guy affiliated with the Arsenal soccer club; but more importantly he is actively involved with the community program that we will be apart of. Gareth was of course kind enough to drive us to meet him and he showed us around the University of Limerick, our future home.

            I’m excited to work with Diana as an “assistant soccer coach,” a title I thought I would never have in life because I quit soccer at a young age. I can’t help that I wasn’t a big fan of running up and down a large field, which in my young mind never seemed to end. I’m sure Diana feels the same way about basketball, as she will be my assistant coach. Let’s just say we both found our sports and now will put our heads together to make good things happen in Limerick. Sports are just the way we will connect, but the real work will begin in the schools working on the reading and writing of the youth in the community.

            Nonetheless, we got a chance to go back to the gym this evening and work with an older group of people who just began playing basketball 2 weeks ago! Jared decided layups would be a good place to start and we finished up with form shooting and passing. On the ride home we saw horses! I almost rolled down a hill, as I went to feed a horse some grass and he sneered at me. I guess I will stick to dogs, and leave Princess Iowa (Shelby) to the horse feeding. Until next time everyone! *Waves bye*. 

The Ultimate Blessing

Written by

Being selected as a Victory Scholar has been the ultimate blessing! I am so excited to arrive in Ireland, and become immersed in the culture. I look forward to the great unique experiences that come along with my journey. I was attracted to all of the aspects offered through the Victory Scholarship program—I mean who wouldn’t love an opportunity to travel abroad, earn a degree, play the sport they love, and impact the lives of others through that sport?! I am excited about aiding in Sport Changes Life’s aspirations in raising young individuals' ambitions in life through the use of sports, academic excellence, and personal development. As a scholar I look forward to using my athletic and academic platform to reach Irish youth, to help uplift and instill in them self-confidence, and a love for the game of basketball. Throughout my journey in Ireland I hope to become immersed in the culture all while impacting the lives of others. Ireland, here I come!

BE A GOOD TEAMMATE

Written by

On Saturday night, I watched my teammates on the Wildcats national league team scrap, battle, and fight their way through our first official game of the season. I was unable to play due to the fact that I have not yet fully recovered from my knee injury, but I was determined to still have an impact on the game by doing the only thing I could: being a good teammate.

 

I think a lot of people underestimate the effect good teammates can have. A team can have all the talent in the world, but it doesn’t mean anything if the players on the team can’t figure out how to respect each other and work together. Being a good teammate means doing whatever you have to do to ensure that you put your fellow teammates in the best position to be successful. For instance, if my teammates and I are all playing to make each other better, that gives us a much better chance of success than each player merely playing to make herself better.

 

The same concept applies even for players while they are sitting on the bench. The bench should be an extra spark of energy for the girls on the court, constantly cheering on the current lineup. And since I was relegated to the bench for the whole game, I spent the entire evening cheering on my teammates like a wild woman and offering them points of advice for certain things that I could see from the bench but that they could not see on the court. I jumped up and down when the girls made great plays and even more importantly I encouraged them when they made mistakes. I whacked them on the back and said “good luck” when they went in and I high fived them and said “good job” when they subbed out. I tried everything I could to make some sort of impact on the game, without actually being able to step out onto the court, because I know my teammates would do the same for me.

 

Even though we were down a number of key players and lost the game, the girls played with incredible heart. So for that I am proud of them, and I am proud to be their teammate. Our first game proved to me that, winning or losing, playing in the game or cheering on the sidelines, the Wildcats will always be a team that fights to the end, together. 

 

Victory Scholar: Katie Fox

Present University: Waterford IT

US League: NEC

Club/Community Partner: Waterford Wildcats

Alma Mater: St. Francis College

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland

 

 

Back

Written by

Ahhhh Christmas break went TOO FAST! It was such an amazing time. Watching Jen and her college team (Messiah) in San Juan, Puerto Rico was so awesome. They are currently undefeated (11-0) and have such a deep bench. They were cool to watch and hang out with. It was also nice to be in 80 degree weather with a lot of sunshine 🙂 My mom and I explored Old San Juan, visited a beautiful fort, and hung by the hotel pool. We were going to go snorkeling one day but it was cancelled due to high winds and choppy water 🙁 It was such a nice time! 

Home in Pennsylvania was also splendid. It felt like I hadn’t been gone long at all. I saw so many loved ones and was able to catch up with them. I saw my Saint Joe’s girls and coaches, some former teammates/friends, friends from college, my bestie from high school, my mentor from church, and of course, some of my extended family. Everyone was eager to ask me how things have been going in Ireland. It was so wonderful and I am so lucky I was able to make the trip home!

Now it’s back to the grind here in the Dub with our National Cup game this Saturday and training sessions leading up to it. Not to mention all the studying I need to do up until my finals next week. YUCK. We’ll see how it goes!

P.S. Happy 2017!!!!!   

Coach, Teacher, Friend…

Written by

We have been to two different primary schools, (elementary schools in the states) so far. It is overwhelming how exciting the kids are to have us, but also the teachers and staff are more than accommodating. It’s exciting for us to see and hear from the teachers how awesome this is for the kids and the school as a whole to have coaches and mentors brought in, even just once a week, to work with the kids.

 

Today we were at St. James Primary school just around the corner from UUJ. We worked with 4 or 5 different classes, some kids as young as 6 and up to 11. We started with some simple fun games and incorporated dribbling and passing. The kids really took to it and seemed to also enjoy themselves-especially the relay race competitions. After the first session, Ronnie, Ryan and I got into a rhythm and routine of how we wanted to run the sessions. Then the next four classes that came in we were able to better control the session and they flew by smoothly.

Aimee gave us one tip, and it was to really really really break the drills down for them with more explanation. It’s easy for us to forget and take for granted simple skills like passing, catching, jump stops, dribbling. The kids were all very capable but they grasped it even quicker when we really broke it down and gave tips like “make a W” with your hands for catching and passing. Its the little things like the W and asking their favorite ice cream and color that make the sessions count. Can’t wait to see what school I will be more permanently placed with for the rest of the year!

Taste of Home

Written by

 Among many much more important things, I knew that I would miss Sundays in the fall. The day most National Football League games are played. Despite all the hurling, rugby, and Gaelic football played in Ireland, none can give me my fix of those Sunday afternoons posting up on the couch watching hours of football. This was until I found Garvey’s Bar in downtown Galway. This bar plays multiple games of “American Football” every Sunday. So fellow Americans and I pack Garvey’s to get our fix of football to root on our favorite team. This is a very simple pleasure that gives me a small taste of home all the way in Ireland. 

 

Victory Scholar: Cory Starkey

Present University: NUI Galway

US League: Patriot League

Club/Community Partner: Galway Titans

Alma Mater: Bucknell University

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland

 

Journey through Dublin

Written by

I lied in my last blog, we didnt see a futbol match, we saw a HURLING game!! Hurling to me is a combination of just about every sport you can think of.  There was over 60,000 people there to see the game. The crazy part about it was the players were not getting paid to play, this was an ameutar sport.  The scholars tried to have our own hurling game, we went to a hurling club afterward, and I think Michele may have played hurling in her pervious life as she was great.

While in Dublin I stayed with the Vennie & Greene family! They were wonderful host and I learned alot of history of Irish basketball and Ireland in general from Vennie, who could make a living as a tour guide Dublin.

We hosted a camp in Dublin at the Kubs Basketball Club. All the young people were excited and thrilled to work with us.  I was surprised at how quickly they learned and picked up things on the court. 
Now we are off to Clonmel to work with a new group of kids to work with – gard to leave these guys behind but it great just to spend a little time in their company!!

Happy New Year!

Written by

My New Year’s celebration might be too wild to recount on my Sport Changes Life blog, but I’m going to go for it anyway:

I’m with a new friend I met. His name is Jay, and he goes to school in London. I know his name is Jay because instead of responding to my bored conversational advances, he was working on his resume for the entirety of the flight (7 hours). But the party really started during my eight-hour layover in Chicago. I knew it was going to be a good time when I discovered that the airport Wi-Fi wasn’t free… or maybe it was when I had to spend $5 on a bottle of water. Things got a little hazy for me between all the John Cusack movies I was watching. Finally, 4 PM came around, and I boarded my flight—seat 36k. I sat down next to my new friend Jay who, between reading his book for school, taking notes on a radio program, and working on his resume, was a little too busy to talk to me. How can someone be so productive on a flight? Meanwhile, I’m either sleeping, watching fight club, or staring out a window.

Suddenly I think the night is taking a turn when the captain comes on over the radio to announce the New Year: “3…2…1… Alright, folks, that’s New Year’s.”

Wait. That’s it? A few awkward claps and a failed attempt at singing Auld Lang Syne, and we’re done? Goodbye 2016? In my mind, I guess I’d hoped for at least some champagne or maybe a hoot and holler from the easily excited passengers. Oh well.

I looked out the window for a few minutes after the announcement, feeling like I was suspended somewhere between 7 PM eastern time and 12 AM Dublin time. I was half excited to enter the new year in Dublin and half sad to be leaving my family behind for another four months. But mostly, I think I was just in need of some recovery from that intense New Year’s party I’d just experienced. I ended up getting back to my apartment at 6 AM and sleeping until 4 PM. Then I still slept like a baby that night. Happy New Year to me.

 

(P.S. The photo you see is not one that I took, considering I was in a plane. I found that lovely picture in the group chat with my Management class. Most of them went to the celebration in Dublin and certainly didn’t have as good of a time as I did.)

Everything Happens for a Reason

Written by

Everything happens for a reason is the only thing that I can say on how this opportunity came across me. At the certain time when I got the application to be part of the Sport Changes Life program I didn’t know what I wanted to do after college, I had sent job applications but nothing was falling through and all of sudden this came across me. Through my time at Gonzaga University I knew there was one thing that I really wanted to do and that was to help people in some shape or form. This was the perfect opportunity for that. The programs main mission is to help those that may not have the same chance as others because of life situations, family, financial issues, and more and I knew that this was my chance to help make a difference in somebody’s life.

 

The other factor that played a big role in my decision-making is that I could have the chance to be one of the first golf players to join the program. This was the most interesting part in that the previous years the program had solely just been basketball players and they wanted to include golfers as part of the Rory Foundation joining SCL. It just seemed that everything was falling into place. I get to help kids and I get to have the chance to fall in love with the sport that I had thought I wanted to give up.

 

The feeling of surreal is the only word that I can find to describe how I felt when I got the email that I had been chosen to be a Victory Scholar. It took some time to sink that all these great things were ahead of me in just a few months.

I put on for my city (Gaelic Football)

Written by

One of my goals before coming to Ireland was to learn about the pride of the fighting Irish and how it became so strong. 

 
In my Sports Management class this week I began to get a little taste. A member from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) spoke in our class. He spoke about the great things that the association does for youth sports and talked about how most of their revenue came from the tough nosed sports of Gaelic football and Hurling. These sports generate millions of dollars for the organization with ticket sales, endorsements and apparel but the athletes are all amateur, they don’t make a dime. A professional hockey player in our class asked how could a league like this exist, don’t these athletes expect to be paid? The speaker replied saying it was all about pride and representing your town, paying the athletes would compromise this. A Gaelic football player in class agreed he said no matter how good or bad his team was he would always play for them and his hometown it’s not about money. I loved it! It was something that spoke volumes about Ireland. It’s not about the money it’s about representing the people you love and the love of the game. It really opened my eyes. I don’t know if this could exist in the states, but I will tell you what, when the new Gaelic football season starts, I’ll definitely be at a game!
 

Victory Scholar: James Zuccaro

Present University: Ulster University

US League: Skyline Conference

Club/Community Partner: Ulster Elks

Alma Mater: College of Mount Saint Vincent

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland

 

School In Session

Written by

I didn’t exactly have to beat the tardy bell this morning into St. James Whiteabbey Primary school.

However, I did find myself running late to our first school session. In the schools, we teach kids the game of basketball in a fun way to hopefully inspire them to begin or continue playing. It was an exciting time for me this morning because I understand how much of a ‘sponge’ kids can be. They really soak up any and everything you tell them. It was my chance to make a good first impression, along with scholars Caroline and Ryan, to get them excited about our 8 week basketball class.

Right from the start, you could feel the excitement from every group of kids that we worked with as we dribbled, raced, and passed our way through 6 hours of fun! We did dribbling relays where halfway through, the kids had to stop and act as an animal (yes – I got my 6’4 lanky body onto the ground and barked like a dog) and they found this very amusing and fun. They had so much fun laughing at each other act as monkeys that they didn’t even noticed they were still practicing basketball with dribbling, jump stops, and chest passes. I’ve taught a 2nd grade summer school class and student taught in a Kindergarten classroom so I understand how teachers feel when their students come back to class all wound up. So we relaxed all the kids before the left with having them lay down and think about their favorite ice cream-bubble gum flavor is a hit here!

In the end it was an amazing first experience and I am itching for next week to be here so I can not only teach them more about the game of basketball but begin to build a relationship with the students. I did find myself keeping students a wee bit longer while exiting as all the girls and boys either wanted to touch my hair or have me shake it all crazy like a mad man, hopefully they made it to class before the tardy bell though.

Castle Island

Written by

After returning from my Christmas Break in America, my basketball club jumped right back in to action.  We got invited to play in the Castle Island Tournament, which happened to fall on my birthday (December 28th).  This tournament was unlike any other tournament I have ever been a part of.  While it was still basketball, the rule changes made it a very different game.  The games were mini- games, only 10-minute running-clock halves, with each team guaranteed two of them.  The major rule change however, was that the refs never touched the ball during the game.  Anytime a foul was called or the ball went out of bounds, the team could inbound the ball as quickly as they like, creating a very fast pace of play.  We ended up losing two hard-fought games, but learned a lot from this cool experience.  The gym was packed all day and it was a fun way to spend my birthday.  After the games, some of my teammates and I headed to nearby Killarney to visit for the night.  My teammates rented us an incredible hotel room for my birthday, and we had plenty of time to wander around town.  We got a nice big dinner at a classic Irish Pub and explored the town for the night.  I thoroughly enjoyed Killarney and was impressed with the energetic holiday spirit that the town had.  Beautiful lights and decorations lined the streets, and the town was buzzing all night.  Overall it was a great 23rd birthday and I can’t wait to see what the New Year has in store. 

Special Delivery in Dublin

Written by

Hi everyone! Dublin has been great, much more than I anticipated. The family I’m staying with for a few days has a dog that I absolutely love! I really enjoyed working with the Kubs basketball teams at the center. There were so many kids at camp today and I was at the agility station with Bryan. The look on those kids faces were priceless when they realized what agilities was all about and they were breathing even harder once it was over. We didn’t need basketballs, just cones, our imaginations, and experiences from playing.

I never realized how historic Dublin is, well I never realized much about the history of Ireland because I never thought I would leave Virginia. We got a chance to see where the author of Dracula, Bram Stoker, lived and wrote the book; which I thought was pretty cool because I enjoy those kinds of horror and suspense genres. We also went to a hurling game, one of the coolest sporting events I have ever witnessed. Although my team Limerick took an L it was still exciting to see! I have to admit I’m not very good at the sport and I’m still learning the rules, but I will definitely go to another game.

We have another exciting fun-filled day of camp tomorrow and then we are on the road again. Even though it’s not the best living out of bags, the work we are doing is putting a smile on the kid’s faces. It is inspiring me to know that I’m really making a difference in another country and giving someone hope and a chance to believe in themselves.

I know the kids will come ready to work even harder tomorrow and ask lots of questions. They really like America, kind of like how I really like Ireland. One of the girls showed me their “dougie,” as her friend played the song “Teach Me How to Dougie,” and that was hilarious. My favorite group today was definitely the younger kids because they were really working hard during the scrimmages and they reminded me of my little sister. I know that everything we do over the next year will truly mean something and I wish all the Kubs the best of luck…..Go Kubs!

Being selected as a Victory Scholar

Written by

When I first found out what a Victory Scholar was, I was set in my mind that I had to become one right away! With being the one of the two golf Victory Scholars, it is such an honor to become a Victory Scholar!

 

After finding out I was selected to be a Victory Scholar, I wanted to tell everyone. The hardest part was keeping it secret before the launch date of the program. It was such a honor and a privilege to become a Victory Scholar. Once knowing I was a Victory Scholar, then the real fun started! I had to get all the paperwork done such as; applying for my MCS in Sport Development and Coaching and the University of Ulster- Jordanstown Campus. Once all that was done, I applied for my student visa which was such a handful. After all said and done, I was officially a Victory Scholar.

 

With being a Victory Scholar, it came with high expectations of us. The opportunity that was presented to us for being selected will not come easy. Hard work and dedication will be needed.

 

This truly is the opportunity of a lifetime!

Love what you do

Written by

As I sit here reading a case study for class, the topic really seems to be worth sharing. It is about the significance of task significance. In studies done, when employees perceive their jobs as high in task significance, they seem to display higher job performance. So when employees believe that their work improves others’ welfare in some way, they are motivated to work harder and better. For me, this emphasizes how important it is to love what you do and to love impacting the lives of others. It reminds me a lot of Sport Changes Life. Everyone who works for this program does so in order to enhance the lives of other people, and because of this they get to really enjoy what they do and work hard at it. I’ll end with a cheesy but very true quote… “If you do what you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” 

 

Victory Scholar: Meghan McGuinness

Present University: Trinity College Dublin

US League Partner: MAAC

Club/Community Partner: Meteors Ladies Basketball

Alma Mater: Niagara University

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland

 

Language Barrier.

Written by

On a late night train from Marseille to Milan, I sat opposite a man and his young son. As had been the theme of my entire trip, they spoke a language that was foreign to me. Their words passed through one ear and out the other without any internal processing. At least in France I could recall 3 years of grade school classes and once off conversations with my French roommates to comprehend about 20% of what was being said. My seating partners however, were speaking Italian, a language I have no experience with. If you've never had any extended exposure to Italian conversation, there is a beauty and elegance to the cadence, it's peaks and valleys that make every sentence seemingly bursting on the edge of song. After a long day of delayed trains and missed connections I sat back, closed my eyes and just listened to the rhythmic conversation. While I didn't understand a single word spoken, I could very much hear the intent of the conversation. I didn't need to be fluent in Italian to hear the curiosity in the young boys voice, to hear the careful explanations his father was giving, or to understand that this man loved his son more than anything in the world. After being peppered with questions for about an hour, the man continued to engage with the boy. After another half hour, the man looked over at me with an expression that said "sorry for all the talking." I simply smiled and gave a quick head nod, and he understood that I had no problem with it. 

 

We often forget that language is product of human creation. It is a manipulation of sound with corresponding items, actions, and labels. No human is born speaking Italian or understanding the culture in which they live. These languages and cultural values are all taught to us by parents, siblings, friends, enemies, etc. We are only born with instinctual abilities, like knowing how to breathe or understanding that we need nutrients to survive. At birth we haven't been taught yet how to share, perceive, or interact. Most importantly, we haven't been taught how to hate, discriminate or promote prejudice, these are all learned behaviors. Just as I was so easily able to pick up the subtleties of the conversation between the Italian man and his son, a child can understand hateful tones and actions even without knowing how to speak. There is no problem with teaching a child a culture or language different from those they may experience. However it is most important to teach them how to interact and understand those differences because at one point in their lives humans are no different – just simply new borns who only know how to breathe, how to eat, how to love. Let's keep a children's default as love.

New Home

Written by

Since arriving in Carlow, Patrick and I have finally settled into our apartment and have been exploring our new small town. The apartment that we will be residing in for the year has the most amazing view with a tributary leading up to Carlow Castle that empties out into the River Barrow which is all visible from our lovely balcony.

After a busy weekend coaching during the Midlands Mania basketball tournament, I had some free time the rest of the week which I took full advantage of. The town is small so everything is within walking distance which makes travel convenient. I took some time to walk around the town and do some much needed shopping. I also got to visit the Carlow Castle up close which is an 800 year old castle– and a very popular attraction in the area. I had the chance to walk along the River Barrow which is Ireland’s second largest river. While walking along the river, we saw dozens of swans swimming by the local town park. It was a very spectacular day and interesting experience. I am not used to seeing things like this often since I have always been in a city like environment. It made me realized how lucky and blessed I am to have been given this opportunity to not only help the local community, coach and play basketball again, but how sports has really changed my own life and opened my own eyes to new amazing things. It’s crazy to think that I will be living in Ireland for a year. I have already had a wonderful time this far and am looking forward to the rest of the year.

Besides going sit seeing around the town, I also had my first two practices which were very exciting. It was different from what I’m used, but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to playing in my first tournament this coming weekend. Keep posted for updates on what I will be doing next!

Who said Nike doesn’t make dresses?

Written by

Every Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Wildcats basketball club hosts a clinic for girls in the Waterford community. Katie and I coach three one hour sessions in this order: 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. are 1st & 2nd class, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. are 3rd & 4th grade class, and 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. are 5th, 6th & 1st years. These camps are the highlight of my morning, not because I enjoy coaching, but because kids really say and do the darndest things.

 

During these sessions, Katie and I always promise the girls a fun activity to do at the end of the session. These activities can range from a variety of drills like hot seat (a simpler version of knock-out), tag involving basketballs, dribble knockout, shooting competitions, or whatever the girls’ hearts desire. Well today, we decided for the girls to play matches, or a basketball game, to keep them active and hope they incorporate what they learned from the hour sessions. Even if they do not use some of the skills we taught them, Katie and I are more than happy knowing that the girls had a great time wanting to come back for more next week.

 

After I split up the girls into their teams, the matches began. Each team displayed great dribbling skills and tough defense. However on one of the teams, a little girl decided to pull out her lip-gloss from her pocket and reapply it ignoring the fact that the match was in live play. For those that truly know me understand that I laugh at just about anything and my laugh has a presence of its own. As I witnessed this little girl do a “total girly girl” move, I howled with shock and amusement. The other girls on her team, whom I assumed were her close friends too, were just as mind blown. Her friends throughout the match decided to stop randomly and mock the little girl by saying “oh wait don’t mind me…just putting on my lip-gloss”.

 

Even though it can be seen as social suicide for a player to do that in a match, I completely approved of the little girl’s actions and thought it was absolutely adorable. Most girls that play basketball are tomboys, but it is perfectly fine to be a girly girl too. If my Saturday mornings are that entertaining each week, I can’t wait to see what is waiting for me for the upcoming morning clinics with these silly “divalicious” girls. 

 

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

 

Welcome to Dublin

Written by

What an eventful past few days it has been! After a bit more training with the other scholars on Saturday morning, Katie and I headed to Dublin to check out where we will be spending most of our next year. Much like the trip to Ireland that I was a part of with Saint Joe’s last August, the Yale women’s basketball team was to play a local club, the Meteors along with Katie and I as guests, Saturday night.

Although it was a bit of a tough game against the Yale squad, it was fantastic to finally hit the court here in Ireland. In addition to playing, we were able to meet the American ambassador as well as an Irish senator. I was also able to get my first taste of traditional Irish dancing in a wonderful (and thankfully long) half time show. Needless to say, after the game Katie and I were wiped out from an extremely long day.

The rest of the scholars joined us the following day as we prepared for our first day of camp with KUBS, which is the club Katie and I will be working with throughout the year. We had our first day of camp today, which had a much larger turnout than expected, and it was a great way to get us introduced to the kids we will be spending time with.

I am beyond excited to have finally arrived in Dublin, even if it is only for a few days. The kids are certainly going to keep us on our toes, but will no doubt be a blast to work with. I am definitely looking forward to the adventures ahead.

Merry Christmas from Barcelona

Written by

After Italy, Megan went back to Ireland to celebrate Christmas with her family who was visiting from America, while Raychelle and I went off to Barcelona, Spain. Growing up in Pennsylvania, it was a bit interesting to have such a warm Christmas time, but I was not complaining!

We stayed in a hostel where we met amazing people from around the world who had such interesting stories, lives and experiences. On Christmas Eve, Raychelle, one of our hostel roommates, and I went to a midnight mass at the Basilica de Santa Maria Del Mar. What an experience! This Christmas Mass was actually on a list of the Top 7 best midnight masses in the world! First of all, the cathedral was gorgeous. It had almost a gothic style and architecture to it. Absolutely breath-taking. The acoustics with the chorus was outstanding. Finally, the Mass was of course all in Spanish, which made it so cool! So glad we were able to take part in such an incredible service.

When Christmas day came around, I woke up to a kit-kat bar at the foot of my bed with a little bow on it that said Merry Christmas! Our new friend who we shared the hostel room with had woken up early to give all 5 of the girls in our room a kit-kat bar present. I know it was just a little piece of candy but even the thought of someone we just met doing such a thoughtful act was so heartwarming. When we thanked her, she said that she wished she could have bought us something more, but she wanted to make sure we had a little something special on Christmas morning.

Needless to say, I feel so thankful to have had such a caring and fun group of people to be with over Christmas! Raychelle managed to make every moment of our trip a blast. From trying new foods at markets to making an adventure when we were completely lost, we couldn’t have had a better time! So thankful to have had such a positive and adventurous travel buddy! I am so excited for our next adventures to come!

Being Selected

Written by

My process of being selected as a victory scholar began last fall. I became aware of the program during my sophomore year in college since I knew Jim Mower, who completed the program in 2014. I put it in the back of my mind as an opportunity I’d want to pursue and that’s why I began applying for the program earlier than most scholars. I reached out to various past scholars, some I knew one way or another and some I didn’t. The main point each scholar made was how much they enjoyed the program and the experiences they had while in Ireland. After hearing how it was the best year of their lives for most, I knew it was an opportunity I wanted to pursue.

 

Once I found out in May that I was selected, I was excited and had a ton of questions pop into my head. Which school will I attend? Who will I be living with? I could’ve listed ten questions at the time, and looking back now it makes me laugh. Even though I’ve only spent a little bit of time with the SCL program thus far, the biggest takeaway I’ve received is to roll with the punches. There won’t be an answer to every question you have, and a lot of things you’ll have to figure out on your own. But in a way, that is the fun part about this experience. Going to a new country with a different culture and having to figure it all out on your own will be the experience of a lifetime, and I can’t wait to get the ball rolling in Galway.

The Basketball World is a Small One

Written by

At 7 p.m. in Mercy’s Secondary School gym tip off was sparked for the first scheduled Super League match for the Waterford Wildcat’s against DCU Mercy. The thrill to win and perform exceptionally in front of our Waterford fans was not the only excitements I had about this game. Our competitor, DCU Mercy, had a girl on their roster that was my long-time and good friend named Chelisa Painter. Chelisa, or “Lee Lee”, and I have been pals since my high school days, from training together in sessions to playing against each other for the rest of our basketball careers. For those that have no idea about the basketball world, it is an extremely small one that bonds people through their love of the game. Lee Lee and I’s friendship revolved around our passion for basketball: in high school, we battled for the state title in Virginia and in college she played at Old Dominion University, an old William & Mary rival that we had on our schedule every year, and now we were playing against each other overseas. The only time we ever played on the same team was in the summer for a basketball amateur league hosted in our home state, Virginia. Despite our competitive basketball nature, we have always remained great friends.

 

True competitive basketball players never acknowledge each other too much during warm ups or tip off. Now these actions are not because we don’t like one another or that we aren’t actual friends, but real competitors play to win and playing friendly basketball doesn’t result in a win. Based on that statement, you can bet our teams battled throughout the game in which I had to guard her for most of the match (how convenient – she’s 6’2” and I’m 5’7”!). Despite our hard fought efforts, my team lost by a significant amount of points. On the bright side, Lee Lee and I were both the leading scorers for our teams.

 

After the match, we gave each other a big bear hug and talked about a wide range of things from basketball to our Irish experiences so far. In Virginia, Chelisa and I are from an area where people constantly boast about our area code “757”. However, seeing her friendly face was more than a prideful moment of home it was the continuation of a long lasting friendship that will never cease to exist. #757

 

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

 

Feeling like a Freshman Again

Written by

During this week we made our first grocery store run to Aldi Foods, completed a week of International Orientation and our Master’s Course Orientation, met the rest of our awesome roommates, had my first training and coaching sessions for the UL Huskies Basketball Club, and ended it with a day trip to Limerick City to see the “Giant’s Journey” with the Royal de Luxe theater company.

 

First let’s start off with the grocery store run. We soon learned from other students that Aldi foods is the cheapest and best place to grocery shop – and I completely agreed as soon as we saw our receipt! However, one minor change in Irish grocery shopping vs. North Carolina grocery shopping is the use of shopping carts… Back in North Carolina, shopping carts freely come and go at the shopper’s own accord. Here however, the carts all are locked together and only unlock by depositing a 2 Euro coin (which you receive back once you return the cart). If you can only imagine me trying to figure out the system for roughly 5 minutes until a nice lady came over to help me… needless to say it solidified that I was new to the area!

 

I was also able to have my first practice sessions with the UL Huskies SuperLeague team, as well as help out with the training sessions for the UL Huskies 18u, 14u, and 10u practices. All of my teammates are great, and everyone involved with the Club obviously loves the sport of basketball and loves what they do! I’ve been welcomed with open arms into the Club, and couldn’t thank them enough for their kindness. We have our first preseason tournament the weekend of September 20th and a couple of scrimmages before that, so we’re in full gear preparing for the season!

 

To cap off the week, I ventured downtown to Limerick City to catch the Royal de Luxe parade (aka Giant Granny) on Sunday.  After a night out with some of my roommates, I was tired to say the least… but the venture to the city was well worth it!! The streets were packed with people as we all anxiously awaited the oncoming parade, and it was a great way to see some of the excitement of the city.

 

Be on the lookout for my next blog as I start my first week of classes!

 

Coincidental Christmas.

Written by

As the semester wraps up (even though final exams are after the winter break, a system which I will never understand) everyone is heading home for the holidays. This year I opted to take advantage of the close proximity and cheap flights to Europe to do a bit of traveling. My plan for the trip, was not to plan.  I booked a plane ticket to Paris, back from Geneva and whatever happened in between I was leaving open. The thought behind this was to move and travel as frequent (or infrequent) as I pleased and with the incredible time we live in, Airbnb makes that type of journey comfortably plausible. First stop on my solo adventure was Paris for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I booked a hostel in advance for this knowing that many people would probably not want to open their homes to a foreigner during Christmas. My plan was to fly in from Belfast, find my hostel, check in, then just go. I spent my first night exploring the East side of Paris, getting my bearings for where exactly I was in relation to the landmarks of the city and figuring out the most effective way to sight see the following day. During my Christmas Eve exploration I happened upon friend who had been a student I graduated from Wesleyan with (for a school with less than 3,000 students this happens more than you would think). After a brief discussion she told me her family was visiting Paris for the holidays and insisted that I join them for Christmas brunch the following day. I refused, saying that I didn't want to interrupt the family holiday but after a bit more persuasion I caved and agreed to meet up for brunch. 

The following day I met them at their Airbnb and we headed to brunch, during the meal I explained my life in Ireland and my travel plans. They were interested listeners and over the next two hours we shared stories and laughs until all the food, coffee and dessert had been finished. As the meal wrapped up and they discussed what the next step in the day would be they asked if I would continue to join their Christmas celebration. After I agreed, we took off for Paris in search of everywhere and anywhere that was open on the walk home. Fast forward 8 hours, several meals and bottles of wine later and I found myself still with this family, at 3am, discussing topics of the world in their living room. I had went from feeling bad for intervening on their Christmas brunch to spending over 12 hours talking, laughing and eating with them. For a kid who was perfectly ok with spending his Christmas alone in a foreign city, these people reminded me that holidays are best shared with friends and family. So to Hobert's, thank you for welcoming me into your holiday. Your kindness will not soon be forgotten. 

First Dublin Experience!

Written by

Shelby and I fell asleep in the car as soon as we hit the road, and when we woke up, we were pulling into Kubs! We went to play with the Meteor’s, one of the Dublin Superleague teams against Yale who was on a tour of Ireland. As it turns out, I will be playing with the Meteor’s all year. It was a great group of young women, and I think I will have a lot of fun! Although the Meteor’s don’t usually play at Kubs, we also found out that we will be there ALL the time. This will be the club both Shelby and I will be working with all year. Everyone was very welcoming, and I have had more tea in the last 24 hours than in my entire life.

Right now we are staying in Dublin with one of the guys involved with Kubs, Hugh, and his lovely wife Jenny. Just brilliant!  I just wanted to give a quick update, we are all over the place with training and touring, etc. and I am so excited to get settled in Dublin again next week and really start organizing the rest of this year! Shelby and I are determined to know everything about this Island and its history before the year is up, and it is alreay flying! 

Shoutout to my teammates at home, it is very different playing again without all of you guys! Miss and love you all!

“I am delighted to inform you”

Written by

I was studying for my last final at Gettysburg College in the Musselman Library when I got an email from Sport Changes Life. I had been awaiting this very email for the past few days. However, I seriously considered waiting until after my exam that afternoon to open it. I was anxious to find out if my dream for the past two years would be reached. Unable to resist, I opened the message; “Dear Jessica, I am delighted to inform you…” you can never go wrong with that! I got it! The feeling was surreal! Throughout the application process I explained to my friends and family what Sport Changes Life was all about. I told them that they were an organization that used sport to inspire youth, in all aspects of their lives, by instilling them with self-confidence and hope for a positive future. In addition, Victory Scholars would be getting their masters and playing basketball in Ireland. The immediate response from everyone I told was, “That just sounds too good to be true”.

            College reinforced my desire to give back to others and become involved in community outreach. Since the moment I heard about Sport Changes Life, in my junior year of college, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for as my next chapter in life. I imagined all the opportunities that were to come! I was shocked. Having never been able to study abroad, mostly because of my conflicting basketball schedule, it was awesome to think that basketball was now bringing me across seas! I cannot wait to get started, meet new people, embrace a new culture, and make a difference in the world!

Happy Days

Written by

Watching intense rugby matches and traveling to Dunmore, a small fishing village located 15 minutes outside of Waterford, describes my past weekend. My teammates, Helena and Sinead, generously took Katie and I to watch the Wales vs. England rugby match at a local pub on Saturday night. For those that have no clue about rugby, it is comparable to American football without padding. No offense to my fellow Americans, but rugby is far more engaging and physical. Players in Irish sports make players in American sports look like pansies because of the lack of equipment and padding involved. Even though my Irish friends had to explain the rules of rugby to me, I could not take my eyes off of the game. With the entire bar rooting for Wales, you could imagine the night ended well since Wales’ rugby team defeated England in the match.

 

After practice on Sunday, Helena, Sinead, and Katie thought it would be a great opportunity to take a trip to Dunmore because it was a beautiful day in Ireland. The cliffs and beaches in Dunmore were astounding and the view overlooking the ocean was gorgeous. We DID NOT get into the freezing ocean, but Katie and I did snap pictures of every possible angle of the view with every single one of our Irish pals. After our touristy moments, we all grabbed lunch at a restaurant and watched another rugby match between Ireland and Romania. Ireland dominated the match and left with a win ultimately ending my weekend on a high note.

 

In America, my college teammates were some of my best friends that became family so it is natural for me to become nostalgic at times. Luckily, this past weekend allowed me to spend quality time with my teammates, Helena and Sinead, outside of the basketball court. As my friendships with Helena and Sinead grow closer, I feel like I’m getting closer to home. “Happy Days” is an Irish phrase that means awesome or describing something positive and this past weekend was just that 🙂 

 

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

 

Christmas at the O’Connor’s

Written by

One of my favorite holidays of the year is Christmas. It is mainly one of my favorite holidays because everything stops on Christmas, in my family at least. No one has work, basketball practice, Emails, workouts or coaching to go to. It is a great time to actually hang out with family without distractions. We always went to New Jersey for Christmas every year until my brother bought a new house on Long Island so we moved Christmas to his house and started some new traditions.

 

One of the newest traditions that we have started in the last two years is the saran wrap ball game. Instead of doing stockings we all buy gifts that would go into people’s stockings (no bigger than an iPhone) and we would saran wrap them all into a giant ball. The object of the game is to unravel this massive ball and try to see how many gifts you can get before the person to your left rolls doubles on a pair of dice. In the middle of the ball will have the grand prize which so far has been amazon gift cards (which are like gold in my house). This game has been a big hit in our house the last two years and we will probably keep it going.

 

My family always gives out Christmas lists of what they want from everyone. One of my favorite things to do is to get people things off of the lists. I don’t like knowing what I’m going to get so I try to throw in a few surprises for others as well. I think I have been voted best gift giver in recent years (slightly bragging here).

 

Then lastly one of my favorite things we do on Christmas is that my brother and I always watch the Christmas NBA games no matter who is playing. Generally, I prefer NCAA games over the NBA but we make an exception on Christmas. Then after the games we sit down and have our big Christmas dinner and sit at the table for hours just enjoying each other’s company. I used to hate sitting there for ages when I was younger but as I have gotten older I have realized how valuable that time is with my family and never want to get up from the table.

 

 

Friendships Forming

Written by

After three weeks, I’m happy and surprised to say that I can no longer count my friends on two hands. Not only is everyone in SCL already great friends, the five UUJ scholars are bonding hard. Late nights playing cards games like rummy, and some good old fashion conversations without any television have gotten us feeling like besties. Ronnie is still a little upset about losing in rummy and claims the scorekeeper Ashley counted wrong. If you ask me, sounds like we may be up for a rematch. 

 

The Elk’s club team, #ElkNation, has also taken us under their wing. From letting us know the happening tourist spots in Belfast, to inviting us to a Birthday party everyone is welcoming us with arms wide open. Our beloved Elk’s coach, Stephen, has even put up with me and Ashley on a shopping adventure to the Abbeycenter as well as listening to us complain every inch of the hike to the top of Cave Hill. 

 

Friendships are forming and I couldn’t be more excited for the campus to finally fill with fellow students. Orientation is coming up and I know we are going to meet so many different people around campus as well as in our Master’s programs. Can’t wait to find out my class schedule in the coming week! 

Stay Updated! Sign up to our newsletter

Stay Updated! Sign up to our newsletter

Sport Changes Life, Unit 22, Argyle Business Centre, 39 North Howard Street, Belfast, BT13 2AP

 +44 (28) 9621 8637     info@sportchangeslife.com

Sport Changes Life 2025  |  Terms & Conditions  |  Corporate Social Responsibility  |  Privacy & Cookies Policy  |  Website Design & Build by Mammoth