Last night I had the privilege to attend the Ulster University Sports Union Colours Award banquet hosted at the Hilton Hotel in Belfast. It was an elegant night to show appreciation for all the athletes, coaches, administrators and everyone involved in such a successful sports year for all of Ulster University’s sports teams and clubs. The night started with a classy champagne reception and was followed by a delicious three-course meal. A UUJ alumnus, and also a UK TV star from the show The Apprentice, was the guest speaker. He talked about how sport was his passport through life. How it created a path for him through academia and also through his future business careers. I could really relate to this idea as sport being a passport. Sport has literally gotten me quite a few more stamps in my passport this year J. Sport has given me this unique opportunity to spend this year challenging myself in new ways and growing as a person. The skills I’ve gained from basketball have never been more clearly relatable to everyday things in my life; communication skills, teamwork, sacrifice, hard work, dedication, pain, happiness. This list can go on and on. It was an honor to be recognized by Ulster University and receive a Full Colour award, “awarded to an individual who has consistently attained a high standard of performance and excellence whilst representing the University.”

Last week, my Irish family expanded a little more. I was able to meet and coach the kids that I am going to be with for the duration of my time here in Ireland. I will be coaching boys 12 years of age and under. Just in my first meeting with the kids, I was forced to use many of the skills and techniques that I have newly acquired from the courses that I attended at the University of Ulster up in Northern Ireland. In practice, I had to go back to all the basic fundamental of basketball; passing, dribbling, and lay-ups. All the things that you wouldn’t normally think twice about going over when developing a practice agenda for the children. But these are things that shouldn’t and can’t be overlooked when trying to help these children develop into better basketball players. Surprising to see, the kids were already showing signs of improvement in just one session with me, gradually getting the basic fundamentals down. As a coach, it’s always great to see your teachings impacting others positively. And now also, as a family, it makes me proud to see my little brothers listening and improving their game. I know it’s still early and there’s loads of time for this kids to get better and hopefully fully reach their potential for their age group. I am truly excited for the upcoming weeks to see the gradual development of the kids. Tune in next week with me to see how things went in my second week back here Galway. Take care and I’ll talk to you soon.
-Dre

Any fellow basketball player knows that vacationing in the spring is not an option when you play basketball year round; either college playoffs or the start of AAU would always interfere. Luckily, the super league season finishes just in time for a mini-vacation over Easter break!

There was much debate between where we should go (we meaning Meg and a couple of the other scholars); but we all knew we wanted somewhere warmer and sunnier. After comparing flights, we finally decided Spain was the most ideal spot, with warmer weather, beaches, and hopefully some amazing food (tapas for days)!! 

We have no idea where we are going in Spain yet, but I am excited to start planning the details of the trip; it gives me something to get through the cold days of February and March. And lucky for us, I have a Spanish classmate who will be able to help plan the trip as if we were locals 🙂

Let the countdown begin! #27days

Victory Scholar: Emily Leer

Present University: Trinity College Dublin

US League Partner: Big 5

Club/Community Partner: Meteors Ladies Basketball

Alma Mater: Villanova University

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland

Two weeks into my new life in Limerick, Ireland, and I can say with relative confidence that I’ve settled in quite comfortably. While I lack any semblance of a daily routine (I think it’s the first time in my life that I’m excited for the start of classes tomorrow), I have found countless means of keeping myself busy. Some of the highlights: 
– I’ve gone running almost every day – found an old, abandoned four-story castle on one of these excursions – provided adventure/pictures galore. 
– Explored the night life of the University of Limerick and the city (both shocked and impressed to find a band at the Locke Bar last night who were playing Pink Floyd)
– Had my first training with local club soccer team Aisling Annacotty AFC (knee is holding up well so far). 
– Attended various introductory meetings: international student orientation, postgraduate student orientation, Kemmy Business School orientation, MS in Work and Organizational Psychology orientation. 
– Met my classmates for the year – life in a new country becomes instantly easier when one starts to find friends. ….I’m pretending to ignore how pathetic that just sounded.
– Received my timetable for classes, allowing me to begin to prepare a possible coaching schedule.
– Purchased a used bike. 

At the risk of sounding like a clueless American who was embarrassingly conned, here’s the bike story.

On Friday, having reached a point of near intolerance for the size of this beautiful campus, and the time and energy it takes to walk to the library, let alone the grocery store, I set out to find and purchase some wheels. Nothing fancy. I wanted something simple, something inexpensive, and something that got me from A to B. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Stephen had driven down to Limerick that morning to check up on us before the start of classes and coaching, and he graciously gave me a ride into Limerick city, where I spent nearly 3 hours walking into every bike shop and sporting goods store I could find, asking for a used bike. Everyone was sold out. Seems like I’m not the only UL student looking for an alternative means of getting around campus. 

One of the storeowners informed me of “donedeals.ie” (apparently Ireland’s version of Craigslist). I found a mountain bike listed for only 50 euros (mental alarms should have gone off at this point, but I was desperate). After a test-ride and subsequently deciding that the tires only needed a little air and the brakes a slight adjustment, I made the purchase and returned to campus the proud owner of a black (close inspection of the paint job reveals it used to be purple) mountain bike. I woke up the next morning to find both tires completely deflated and seemingly dry-rotted to the point of uselessness. This devastating realization was followed by a 45-minute walk (visualize me rolling the bike along, pathetically) to a “local” bike shop, where I dropped another 50 euros on new tires and new brakes – turns out the latter were in worse shape than I originally thought. 

Since this journey started three weeks ago, I think I’ve averaged a new lesson per day. This most recent 100-euro obstacle has taught me the importance of “going with the flow” – a mindset that often seems to pervade the Irish culture. My Americanized “get it done as quickly as possible” approach was tested and initially yielded stress and frustration. Nevertheless, with the help of some advice from a certain someone back home (for those interested, YouTube David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” commencement speech), I threw on a smile, and went on with my day. 

Classes start tomorrow. As do tryouts for UL’s soccer team. I will be attending lectures from 2-6, racing to the field for tryouts from 6-7, and racing back to catch my night classes from 7-9 (hence my need to purchase a bike). I realize that this schedule leaves very little room for breathing, let alone food and rest. Oh well…I’ll handle those obstacles when then come. Besides, I’ve recently learned to “go with the flow”. Until next time, 

Ryan

P.S. I’m continuously amazed at how polite and friendly the Irish are – from those strangers who point you in the right direction, to those who go out of their way to make your life easier with the smallest of gestures. 

Ten months later, and I’m back. We did it. We made it. A year packed with more memories than I can even divulge in one sitting, yet at the same time, it blew past in one big blur.

I remember the commencement of my Irish journey. The interviews before I was inducted into the Victory Scholar family, the phone call offering me a position at the University of Limerick, the application and travel preparation processes. It was all so surreal then, yet somehow just as surreal when I think back to those times now.

I remember my arrival in Dublin airport. I remember my good man Pat O’Neill being the first Sport Changes Life face I saw in person. I remember getting into the van after having a coffee with Aimee the energizer bunny at 6 am. I remember meeting each scholar and the exciting yet anxious period of getting to know one another as we embarked on a year ahead together. I remember very clearly my introduction to Gareth, Deirdre, Marc, and other Sport Changes Lifers who would guide us through the year. From Belfast, to Dublin, to Clonmel to Limerick, the first week of touring the Éire was the perfect prologue for the year ahead.  

I remember getting to know my roomie Kelsey in our early experiences at the University of Limerick, and being lucky and thankful to have such a sound of mind person in my academic courses and simply as a friend.  

I remember working in the Limerick community, engaging and connecting with youth and adults alike, and getting to know the town and the people of Limerick to the point where I felt as comfortable around town as if it were my home. I can’t forget my classmates, who became closer over the course of the year than I could’ve imagined.

I remember all of my Collingwood Cup and Harding Cup sessions preparing to represent the UL Wolves, the craic had at the cups themselves, and I remember all of the friends that I will undoubtedly keep for years to come. I remember Hillceltic FC, I remember our journey to the top of 2A, and I cannot forget all of the lessons I learned and the family I became a part of.

Outside of Ireland, my travels took me to Paris, Madrid, London, Amsterdam and South Africa, places I would have only dreamed of exploring.

My travels in Northern Ireland were just as enlightening and important to my year’s journey. The Mallon family and the town of Dungannon might have been the hallmark of my entire year, as I was reminded again what family and selflessness means while thousands of miles from my own home.

I could go on and on recounting the great moments and memories, and I hate to sum it up or generalize my experience. However, after such an extraordinary year, I can sincerely say that the past ten months have served as a formative life experience. As I prepare to enter another year in Europe, this time in Spain, the way that I conduct myself, the way that I go about introducing myself into a new environment, and the manner in which I develop and maintain relationships are forever marked by the lessons that I have learned over the past year. Placed in many situations that might at first evoke feelings of anxiety or uneasiness, I have tapped into levels of confidence and self-knowledge that I never thought existed. The uniqueness of this past year is so much more than the year itself. Every single relationship built and every single person that I helped grow also helped me grow in a distinct way. This is because I can truly say that my year is an accumulation of each relationship, each experience, and each memory that transpired every single day. So, although it is important to remember the little things, the small tokens that made each day memorable, what I now carry with me every day is the timeless value of a year that has taught lessons that are best exemplified rather than verbalized. The worth of the year that has just passed deserves to be demonstrated, dispersing the beauty of such a year through acting upon what I have profoundly learned. As I sit in the Georgia sun and reminisce on the year, I know that talking about my year doesn’t do it justice, but personally embodying the growth, love, and learning that the Victory Scholar experience held will be a worthy attempt.

Hey guys! My name is Gretchen Gaskin. I’m one of the 7 scholars this year. I’m from Chicago and will be pursuing my Masters in Strategy, Innovation & People Management at NUIG in Galway. I currently have a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Supply Chain Management from the Kelley School of Business and I am really looking forward to this year!

So this past week all the Victory Scholars met up in Belfast (Northern Ireland). The week began with a long journey through Dublin and then up to Belfast/Jordanstown to the University of Ulster. We were all meeting for the first time and were about to spend the next week getting to know each other, the Sport Changes Life Foundation, and our roles as coaches/role models for the kids.

Our week was made up of class in the morning, dinner together in the evening, and then off to basketball practice. Dinner each night brought everyone together and allowed us to bond a little more. By the end of the trip it felt as if we spent the past month together rather than just a week. Overall, during our certifications we learned a lot about how to handle challenging behavior as well as a number of coaching drills, techniques and skills to use for all ages in terms of basketball. I know there is so much more to come, and I’m excited and grateful for this opportunity!

ps. I ♥ Stephen… psych! 😉

Hey everyone!!! I have never blog about anything before, but this will be the first of many entries to tell everyone about my experience as a Victory Scholar at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown, Northern Ireland. First off, my name is Matthew Graves and I’m from Upper Marlboro, Maryland which is about 20 minutes outside of Washington D.C. I am truly blessed and very excited about the months to come as a student, coach, and player all at the same time, thanks to Sport Changes Life. I received a bachelor degree in Business Management from Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina. I also played all four years for the men’s basketball team which is NCAA Division II.

As for my experience so far it has been GREAT, EXCELLENT, STUPENDOUS, and SPECIAL!! I have had a great time ever since I stepped off the plane to meet Mrs. D (Deirdre), Gareth, and their three girls (my long-lost little sisters for the year). Jim and I were immediately greeted by the Ulster Elks Basketball Club with an hour and a half conditioning session on the soccer (football) field!! Let’s just say I was pretty sluggish running laps around the field, lol. 

Last week, all of the other Victory Scholars from Galway (Gretchen and Andre) and Limerick (Sarah and Ryan) came up to Northern Ireland as we had training as Victory Scholars. The subjects ranged from safeguarding children in sport to learning different games that would not just be fun, but also encourage a healthy and active lifestyle. I can tell we all really took in what the instructors were telling us and we were able to get to know each other individually as well (I know Andre has a very big personal space, lol). 

Lastly, Jim and I have worked the past two weeks in the E-Hoops program. As the program’s session comes to a close soon, we were able to meet the boys and get a feel of what the E-Hoops program was about. It was great to hear how these kids have bonded and changed throughout the session. As one of the activities, we played soccer with them and they were running circles around Jim and I!! I couldn’t believe how good these kids were until I couldn’t score the entire hour we played!! I can definitely tell that this group of young men has made great strides as throughout their time in E-Hoops.

Sorry for the length of this entry, I just have a lot of great stories to tell about my first two weeks as a Victory Scholar!! I look forward to a great year ahead and I will keep you posted about my experience in Northern Ireland!! Talk to you later!!

I have my last home UL Eagles game coming up this weekend. We play the number one team in the league, which is Templeogue, but what is ironic about my last home game is Templeogue has a former Victory Scholar on their team. The former Victory Scholar is Paul Cummins and I first talked to him about a year and a half ago.

I reached out to Paul last year to learn more about the Victory Scholar program and to hear about his experience.  At the time, I was interested in applying for the Victory Scholar program and Paul answered all my questions and gave me advice. I had never met Paul before but the reason I reached out to him and not another former Victory Scholar is because I found out that Paul went to Ravenscroft for high school, which just so happens to be the rival school to my high school.

I went to Broughton High School and everyone in Raleigh knows how big of a rivalry Ravenscroft vs. Broughton is. Broughton is one of the largest public schools in Raleigh and Ravenscroft is the largest private school.  Paul is older than me but a lot of my friends in my neighborhood that went to Ravenscroft knew of him. I wrote a previous blog about all the connections I have found between my life in Ireland and my life back in America and Paul is one of them.

I find it fitting that my last home game in Ireland will be against a player that attended my rival high school and is a former Victory Scholar. What are the odds?

I’m excited for the matchup!

Victory Scholar: Staats Battle

Present University: University of Limerick

US League: ACC

Club/Community Partner: UL Eagles

Alma Mater: North Carolina State University

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland

I chose not to play for the Northern Ireland regional team at the end of the season. I was ready for a wee break after a game season that lasted from October 8^th to April 18^th. In addition, the tournament was in Cork, which may be the longest drive you can make from Belfast, and I had already done twice with my U18 girl’s squad.

As the date drew near, Gareth Shortt decided to convince me to join the squad. Although I resisted at first, I obviously gave in, or this blog would have had a very different title along the lines of  “Weekend Studying for Exams.” Not only was Gareth on the trip, but the wee Tigers’ legend and SCL Mentor, Marc Mullholland, was going to be balling. There was no spot on the roster, but it gave me an excellent opportunity to join the team as an assistant coach.

The coaching experience was great, but the craic was greater. I only knew 3 of the guys before starting the journey to Cork, and by the end I befriended 11 guys from various backgrounds. Who would have thought a Northern Irish team would have a point guard from Barcelona, two shooting guards and a power forward from Lithuania, and a New Yorker who has since settled in Derry. The 6 hour ride down to Cork, traveled at 60 MPH thanks to the speed limit for busses, was a great bonding experience.

We didn’t win the tournament, but I am very happy I took that long and grueling drive with this great group of guys! I have to thank Gareth and Marc for making me see the light and join the team.

Victory Scholar: Ryan Ansel

Present University: Ulster University

Alma Mater: Davidson College

Conference: Atlantic 10

“This is the true story of [eight] strangers, pick to live in a [dorm], work together and have their lives [watched] to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being getting real.” This is MTV Real World: Ireland! This is exactly how I felt this past week in Jordanstown, Ireland. Here I was put on the campus of University of Ulster to live with Gretchen, Brendan (both of whom I met the week prior), Jim, Matt, Sarah and Ryan. Well, it wasn’t exactly like the MTV Real World series; there wasn’t any fighting between roommates or anything like that. I was fortunate enough to live with people that actually really liked staying with. 

Hey everyone!

I’ve arrived safely back in Galway after an amazing 10 days in Hong Kong. It would be utterly impossible for me to completely encompass my entire trip in just one post. We did so much, saw so much, and had so much fun.

The main reason for the trip to Hong Kong was due to the fact that we are doing a masters in International Management. A primary focus this year was doing business in China. Therefore, our course director suggested at the beginning of the year the possibility of taking a trip out there to see what things were actually like. It took a lot of meetings and coordination but finally he was able to finalize a well-rounded trip.

We arrived on a weekend so we were able to kind of relax and enjoy the weekend, as well as catch up on sleep from the long journey out there. The following week we visited the Independent Commission Against Corruption. They allowed us to browse some of their exhibits before bringing us in for an excellent presentation. Followed by that we went over to the IFC, Hong Kong’s second tallest building, in the business district and got a tour of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It wasn’t as crazy as we had anticipated. It was actually relatively quiet as much is done through computers. 

We were fortunate enough to have a meeting with an employee of Enterprise Ireland based in Hong Kong. He gave a tremendous lecture on what it was like to do business there and what his job was like acting as a mediator between Ireland and it’s overseas subsidiary. Another excellent talk came at the Hong Kong Baptist University by Leo Ho, former CEO and current lecturer. He was an absolute wealth of information. He had done business in China for years, had his failures, learned from them, and then became a great success. 

Our last meeting came with a friend of our course director and his colleagues who work for a company that helps to manage the movement of expatriates to their overseas locations. They aid in the actual move as well as finding a place to live and getting schools for their children. 

We had plenty of free time to ourselves which allowed us to do a bit of sightseeing such as going out to Macau, seeing the Big Buddha, visiting a couple different temples, going to some of the street markets, and relaxing on the beach. 

It was an unbelievable experience and I cannot believe how fortunate I am to have travelled to Hong Kong for 10 days. Prior to leaving we had to hand in a pre-departure report. Upon arrival back in Ireland, we now need to write a business report on our experiences there and what we learned about doing business in China.

As far as things back in Ireland go, after 24 hours of travel back to Galway, I went straight to the gym for 3 hours of coaching on Monday night. Tonight I’ll have the boys for their offseason strength training program. The girls are preparing for their tournament next weekend in Biarritz, which should be a great time!

That’s all for me. I’ll talk to you guys next week!
-Tim

My family is absolutely the most important thing in my life. For those who don’t know, I am the oldest out of six, with five younger brothers. Being in a house with so many boys has been interesting, there’s really never a dull moment, that’s for sure. The best part about my family is that we all get along so well. My brothers and I are all best friends who genuinely love hanging out with each other, no matter the age gap.

We have the occasional catch up over FaceTime, but it only makes me more excited to have the summer to spend with them! Although getting to talk to them means the world to me, the message I got the other day from my brother Nick tugged on another heartstring.

Nicholas is 13 and for his class, he had to create a poster and write a paper about their hero. Much to my surprise, he chose to write about me.

My family is absolutely the most important thing in my life. For those who don’t know, I am the oldest out of six, with five younger brothers. Being in a house with so many boys has been interesting, there’s really never a dull moment, that’s for sure. The best part about my family is that we all get along so well. My brothers and I are all best friends who genuinely love hanging out with each other, no matter the age gap.

We have the occasional catch up over FaceTime, but it only makes me more excited to have the summer to spend with them! Although getting to talk to them means the world to me, the message I got the other day from my brother Nick tugged on another heartstring.

 Nicholas is 13 and for his class, he had to create a poster and write a paper about their hero. Much to my surprise, he chose to write about me.

On a side note, in order to access the essay he wrote, I had to scan the qr code at the top of the poster he made. When he told me that, I first of all had to ask what a qr code was, as well as how to scan it! I could not believe that 7th graders were using qr codes to scan and access their writing! Now more than ever, I realized that my little brothers probably have more technology knowledge than I do. 

The poster on its own was so cute, and means so much to me. It truly will be something I cherish forever. But after reading the essay that went along with it, I realized how special the bond I have with Nicholas, as well as my other brothers is.

Seeing Nick’s project was such a nice surprise! I already knew how special my relationship with my brothers was, but after seeing his project, I realized it more than ever before. As sad as I will be to leave Ireland in just a couple of months, I will be very excited to see my brothers on more than just a FaceTime call.

The poster on its own was so cute, and means so much to me. It truly will be something I cherish forever. But after reading the essay that went along with it, I realized how special the bond I have with Nicholas, as well as my other brothers is.

Seeing Nick’s project was such a nice surprise! I already knew how special my relationship with my brothers was, but after seeing his project, I realized it more than ever before. As sad as I will be to leave Ireland in just a couple of months, I will be very excited to see my brothers on more than just a FaceTime call.

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

As classes ended and coaching slowed down we saw an opportunity to travel to a place none of us had ever dreamed of experiencing. Fellow scholars, Ashley, Christine, Kelsey and myself spontaneously decided we were going to Africa. We booked our flights and four days later we were leaving for Morocco! We boarded the plane to Marrakech not really knowing what to expect other than we booked an overnight trip to the Sahara Desert where we would ride camels and camp over night. We arrived to Marrakech after dark and we took a taxi to our hostel. Well, as far as the taxi could take us, then we were led by foot to our hostel. People always asked us if it was a culture shock moving to Ireland and I never felt it really was, of course there are a lot of differences, but nothing too dramatic. I felt a dramatic culture shock as we followed our hostel guide to our hostel. Once we got inside the hostel was big and filled with lots of travellers. We were immediately presented with tea, which reminded me of Irish hospitality. We took a long but majestic and beautiful journey to the Sahara desert the next day. The scenery was not what I expected Africa to look like. We could see snow covered mountaintops and the different textures and kind of mountains everywhere was breathtaking. After two days travel we arrived to the desert where we rode on camelback to our campsite. We spent the night under the stars and a full moon. Our local guides shared food and music as we enjoyed the serenity of the vast desert around us. When we were back in Marrakech we ventured through the maze of markets. Spice markets, clothes, food, jewelry, everything you could think of. It was amazing to experience such a different culture but also realize how similar we still are.

Hey guys!

So finals are over!! It was a long couple weeks of studying and cramming for exams. A few late nights and a full all-nighter thrown into the mix, but they’re done. The Irish Economic Policy and International Corporate Finance exams probably gave me the most difficulty but I think I handled them just fine. 

Anyway, now that classes and exams are over, I am on my way to Hong Kong for 10 days with my class! Given that we are doing a masters in International Management and China being an emerging market, our course director thought it would be a good idea for us to take a trip and see what it would be like to do business in China. We had to do a pre-departure report and will do a full business report upon returning from the trip. We have a full itinerary for our time there composed of going into a few businesses, attending meetings, listening to speakers, and even attending a lecture or two at a local university. My classmates and I are beyond excited to say the least.

As far as basketball goes, the last week or so has been a busy week full of basketball and offseason training. The girls continued to work hard on the court as we are preparing for a tournament in France at the end of May. We have been working a lot on individual player development up until this point, but have started to work in a bit of team stuff, such as man to man defense and helping each other out. A few of the girls tend to have a bit of low self-confidence which can make it difficult at times when trying to run a drill or have them work on something. They can be hesitant to step up or participate in a drill. It’s important that I remind them that the only way they can get better is by doing the drill or giving it a shot. I also have to ensure them that it’s ok if they make mistakes. “Everybody makes mistakes, even me” I tell them! (For some reason they find that hard to believe, but it’s true nonetheless).

The U18 Titans boys have continued to work their tails off in the offseason, both on the court and in the weight room. I encourage them to push each other and challenge each other, a task they’ve really taken upon themselves. It’s exciting to see their improvements in such a short period of time, as well as seeing some of them really embracing the role of stepping up and being a team leader. I like to think that this is really helping their development not only as basketball players but as young adults too!

I was also back coaching in St. Pat’s this week, which was nice after not having the boys for a few weeks due to Confirmation practice. Given a few weeks without basketball I didn’t make them do any drills, but instead taught them how to play knockout and then we went straight into matches.

That’s it for me. Wish me luck in Hong Kong and I’ll try and give you guys an update while I’m over there. If not I’ll talk to you when I get back!!

-Tim

What’s up everybody??

First off I’d like to give a big shoutout to Darryl for his 62 point performance against Wales the other day. 62 points!!! That’s an amazing accomplishment no matter who you are. Check out the video that Deirdre posted to see highlights from his performance.

So it’s been a long week of studying here in Galway. Irish Economic Policy. Global Business. International Corporate Finance. Global Marketing. NO FUN. As much as you never necessarily look forward to taking finals, I certainly am anxious to take them and get this week over with. 

I had no coaching in the schools this week as the boys’ basketball sessions were cancelled due to Confirmation practice. However, I did have several coaching sessions with this past year’s Titans U16 boys team (who will be the U18 team for the next 2 years) and our Titans U18 girls team. I am working with the girls team because we have a tournament in France at the end of May. We have excellent opportunities to train 3 times a week now, which is significantly more than we’ve had all year. The girls are making tremendous improvements in their individual games and next week we’ll start working on 5 on 5 stuff to get ready for the tournament.

The boys that I coached this week and will be doing so for the next 6 weeks or so are not training for a tournament. However, they were very interested in offseason player development as well as strength and conditioning. I was thrilled about the opportunity to work with these boys as I see the tremendous amount of potential in them as well as their burning desire to become better basketball players. I have challenged them a lot in our first couple sessions on the court, throwing very advanced drills at them. From time to time they can get down on themselves for messing up, but I tell them that it is ok to make mistakes. I tell them that if they were not making mistakes on the court then either I’m not pushing them hard enough, or they’re not working hard enough. Everybody makes mistakes and that’s how you get better.

Given my CrossFit certification and experience working in the fitness field, the boys were excited about the opportunity to participate in and learn about effective offseason strength and conditioning. I will be taking them into the weight room twice a week for the next 5 or 6 weeks and be putting them through an offseason program. I have also been discussing nutrition with them and how important it is to take care of their bodies. They’ve been admitting they’re a bit sore because they’re not used to it, but they’re excited about the thought of getting stronger and becoming better basketball players!

Anyway, wish us luck on our finals this week!!!
-Tim

There has been some seriously exciting news at Sport Changes Life this month. SCL has partnered up with Rory McIlroy’s charity organization The Rory Foundation. Their generous contribution will allow SCL to continue and grow its mission to support and inspire young people in Belfast and all over Ireland!

 A few of the scholars got to be apart of the excitement firsthand, attending a photoshoot for the announcement of the new collaboration. We got the pleasure of meeting Barry, the director of Rory’s charity. Barry and Rory are both from County Down, just down the road from Belfast. I then realized that it wasn’t just sport that SCL and Rory have in common. Its no surprise that the work SCL does hits home with Rory. The partnership will be a great way to show kids a true role model and where dreams and dedication can take you!

It was a privilege to see the beginnings of this #VICTORY that will benefit SCL for years to come!

Victory Scholar: Clare Sullivan

Present University: Ulster University

US League Partner: Patriot League

Club/Community Partner: Ulster Elks

Alma Mater: The College of the Holy Cross

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland 

A few weekends after finishing up Dynamo’s basketball, Christine and I had ‘Varsities’ for Trinity. Varsities is a college basketball tournament, this year held in Belfast, where we competed against the other scholars attending the University of Limerick, Carlow, UUJ, and Galway as well as other colleges across the country.

It was the weekend we had been looking forward to all year long! Finally, we were all together again in Belfast where we started off 8 months ago in August for training. The weekend was a great get-away from the books as exams started the week after…ah!

We ended up playing 5 games in 3 days… No, I am not 13 playing AAU anymore, but yes, I managed to survive it – but only with the much-needed help from Chris in Sunday’s Championship! Man, we were struggling to shoot anything but an air ball. Literally. But then late in the game, Chris decided that it was her last game EVER and should pull out a few tricks! She went on to hit like five 3’s and we all were immediately kissing the ground she walked on…or actually it was up to a slow jog/trot at this point in the weekend…(#struggle).

The end of the game and her shots were unreal and I was so happy for her and the team. She got MVP and Trinity took home ‘The Cup’!!!

In terms of my basketball experience, Sport Changes Life and the Victory Scholarship has allowed me to have a great deal of fun playing some bball. Whether in my coaching, or on the floor myself, this new perspective on basketball I’ve gained has allowed me to learn and help others enjoy the game and with all that comes along with playing as much as I do.

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We are all praying for VS, Nicole Krusen’s father who was in an accident while they were traveling in London. You can keep up with his progress via the link below:

https://www.caringbridge.org/signin

Hi guys,

How’s everything going? Things here have been pretty good. The sun’s been out, there hasn’t been much rain, people are happy and you can really feel like summer’s a few weeks away! Things this week have been very quiet. I’ve been studying for my exams for the most part as we have three coming up next week. First one on being on Monday. Can’t wait!! Haha

I coached my girls at the National School this week. Both sessions went very well. These were pretty much my last sessions with the girls. So we spent the majority of the time doing some competitive layup and passing drills and finished things up with knockout. It was the first time these girls played knockout so it was very interesting to see! 

The one thing I’ve come to realize when interacting with people that don’t know HOW to do a specific activity is that you really need to describe every single detail of the activity if you want it to go right.

A friend of mine once told me an interesting story. He was in one of his MBA classes one day and his professor showed up with a jar of peanut butter, one of jelly, a loaf of bread and a knife. He asked my friend if he’d be able to teach him how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without acting it out. He could only describe the actions. My friend obviously said “of course I can, it’s pretty easy.” 

So my friend starts describing how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He says “you take the bread, you put some jelly on one of the slices and you put some peanut butter on the other slice. And you have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich”. As my friend described this, the professor took the jar of peanut butter, picked up the loaf of bread, began putting the jar of peanut butter on the loaf, as my friend said and did the same with the jelly. As you can imagine, the professor wasn’t able to make a peanut and jelly sandwich with my friend’s instructions. 

Long story short, the professor told the class that if you want something to be done the right way, you’d have to go down to the very basic of details. To make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you would have to : pick up the peanut butter jar, twist the cap open, do the same with the jelly. Open the bag where the bread is and take two loafs out. Place them on the table. Take your knife, dip it in the peanut butter, make sure you’ve got some butter on it as you take it out of the jar. Place it on the bread. Do the same for the jelly. Once that’s done, you pick up one of the slices and put it on the other making sure both buttered sides are placed one on top of the other. Then you can take the knife and cut the sandwich in a linear fashion through the middle. And there you have it. A perfect peanut and jelly sandwich! 

So basically the point of this story is just to show you that when teaching a group of kids how to do something, you can’t expect them to know what you mean when you say do a layup and make sure you hit the backboard at the proper angle.. what you need to do is make sure you teach them how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich first, before expecting them to do it the right way by themselves!

Talk again next week!

Will

Hey guys,

As the other guys have already stated, Darryl and the Ulster Elks took home the championship last weekend at Varsities in Limerick. Naturally, I really hoped that we would win with NUIG, but if it wasn’t going to be us, it certainly should be a fellow Victory Scholar and our counterparts in the North. So I’d like to wish them a HUGE congratulations as they certainly deserve it.

I enjoyed playing with the rest of guys on the NUIG team even though many of them were our rivals during the National League season. We all got along very well and had an awful lot of fun playing together. I was fortunate enough to have my family over for the weekend as well. My parents, sisters, and some cousins were all here for the holiday weekend. They really enjoyed the opportunity to see me play because it’s been several years since my playing days at St. John Fisher College.

All that being said, you hate for the end of basketball season to be here. I cannot believe how fast this year has been flying by. However, as a coach, I am excited about the off-season. This week I will begin training the Titans U-16 team from this past year, who for the next 2 years will be competing at the U-18 level. They are a talented group of young basketball players who are anxious to work hard and get better. I only got to coach this specific group of boys sparingly throughout the year so I’m definitely looking forward to the next 5 weeks or so of training that we’ll be doing. 

And as for this next week is concerned, when I’m not training the boys I will be studying, studying, studying, and doing a bit more studying. We have 4 finals next week over the course of 7 days and there is still a lot of material for me to go over. So it’s back to the books for me! Talk to you guys soon!
-Tim

This weekend I got to chance to watch the Gaelic Football Sigerson, or varsities tournament. For the American readers, each sport at the university level has a national tournament once a year that everyone calls ‘varsities.’ This year, the site for the football tournament was right here in Jordanstown. Some of the international students decided to check out our home team’s semifinal match last Saturday.

Gealic football was like nothing and everything I’ve seen before. I can only describe it as a combination of a handful of other sports. You can kick it like soccer, but run it like American football. You can score like a soccer goal, but also like a field goal through two posts above the net. All of this happens with what looks like a volleyball, which is sometimes passed around like a serve. It was also the closest thing to Quiddich I’ve ever seen. For having no idea what exactly I was watching, I really enjoyed watching it!

In the end, the game ended in heartbreak with Ulster losing to DCU in a match that came down to the wire. Always next year, lads!

Victory Scholar: Clare Sullivan

Present University: Ulster University

US League Partner: Patriot League

Club/Community Partner: Ulster Elks

Alma Mater: The College of the Holy Cross

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland 

So, it looks as if I’ve ended my basketball career…but have I really? It’s so strange to think about as I started playing 16 years ago on the St. Mary’s boy’s team when I was 7 years old! Not a year has gone by when I haven’t played, and I’m feeling a bit old…

It is so strange to the Irish that after college, we don’t play on teams anymore; our competitive careers are just over, and we move on to…well trying to motivate ourselves to go to the gym like normal people…? Here, there are leagues for the youngest, all the way till you can no longer move anymore with leagues that compete across the country. I love this, as well as many aspects of the sport world in Ireland.

Looking at the ending of our season, my girls and I at the Oblates ended on one of the greatest highs I’ve ever had in basketball. After losing to Portlaoise in the Cup Final a few months back, we made it to the end of the season League Final in March, where we faced them for yet another, and final time. Emotions got a tad high as my voice cracked like no other while attempting to give a little motivation speech; AKA jumbled sentence and a half.

The game consisted of great contributions from many of our players, and in this fight – we weren’t willing to give into and thank goodness – came up on top!

At the buzzer, — aaah at the buzzer!!! It was like in the movies …Okaaay, so at the buzzer all the girls and our coaches: Terry and Lynn and our manager Jen came running on the floor jumping and screaming and not caring about who we may be knocking over or stepping on one bit. Our wonderful fans that traveled with us, and other friends and supporters rushed onto to floor, and at some point during this I gave a huge sweaty hug to Victory Scholar, Ryan, who was there cheering us on. We sang the Oblate Dynamo signature chant, and then got together to receive our medals, where I was honored to accept League MVP and Player of the Game.

The whole season and experience with the team was really, all I could have ever wanted. Surrounded by good people, I was able to be myself, support them in all ways I know how, and come to see these girls have become great friends. I could be my nutso self in practice and in games; at any and every opportunity to create some energy (that may have scared them at first…or still…) not only for my own enjoyment (laughing at myself), but in order to motivate and show them just how much this all means to me.

It’s so sad they we have no more Tuesday/Thursday night practices, and I’ll miss the full gym at the Oblate hall for home games; the warm up tape and getting ‘giddy’ when training was moved back to the 9pm slot…

I will forever be thankful for my Victory Scholar experience with the Oblate Dynamos!

“DYNA – WHAAAT?”…  😉

Hi everyone,

So as you can see from Darryl’s post, NUIG didn’t win the varsities. We lost to UCD in the semi’s by 3 points. They wanted it more than us and it showed. We played well for the majority of our games though. As I said last week, our team was comprised of the Maree and Moycullen guys. The core group was young and athletic so it was a lot easier to run up and down the court. We had a lot of weapons on the team which might also have led to our demise… I want to wish good luck to the NUIG guys next year in their respective teams and hope they have loads of success on and off the court. 

I also want to congratulate Darryl and the Ulster squad on a great season. The Ulster Elks won the varsities in the final minutes of the game against UCD. Clutch performances by several players from the likes of Aodhan, Paul, Darryl and Paddy led to this win for our Northern neighbors. I also want to congratulate Paddy for his MVP performance in the finals! I heard without his clutch rebounding and defense, the win might have slipped away! Good job Paddy!

Here I am back in Galway, hanging out and studying for my upcoming exams. As you know we have three weeks to study for these exams and two have already passed. This week is crunch time and will mostly be spent reviewing for the three finals I have next week. I think economic policy and corporate finance might be a little tricky, but with a good amount of time spent reviewing I don’t think there should be any problems! 

Hope everyone is doing well and we’ll chat again next week!!

Will

What’s up everyone?

First of all, I want to wish a Happy Easter to everyone here. Hope you all had the chance to spend some time with your family and the people you love! This week marked the first of three study weeks for school. Not much studying was done though. We spent the majority of our time coaching camp and getting ready for the varsities. 

Tim and I ran a camp this week for two different age groups, the 12-14 year olds and the 14-17 year olds. We worked on ball handling, shooting, layups and Tim also showed them some cross-fit moves. By the end of the week, these kids were wrecked and so were we! 

During the first half of camp, some of the kids weren’t really taking it seriously and were constantly missing layups. At one point, we decided to make them run through a full court layup drill. The objective was to make 10 consecutive layups in 3 minutes or else they’d have to do a suicide. They failed. As I was about to tell to get on the line, I gave them an ultimatum… double or nothing. If they beat the drill, they wouldn’t have to do a suicide, but it they failed they would have to do two. After a minute of consulting with one another, they rejected my proposition. They’re reasoning was that they thought they couldn’t reach the goal. Tim and I weren’t too pleased with their decision. With that said we made them do the suicide and then gathered them in for a quick talk. 

The reason they came to camp was to become better basketball players. But for some reason, when the opportunity came to get better, and accept a challenge, they backed down. We took this moment to let them know that in life, you need to take risks. You need to accept challenges and to believe in yourself. Your skills might not be the best at the present moment, but with hard work, you can develop them and get better each day little by little. By rejecting our proposition, they decided not to get better at that specific moment. Never waste an opportunity to get better. 

Since that moment, they accepted every challenge and never looked back. Their level of concentration, dedication and determination wasn’t comparable to the first half of the session!

As you all know, NUIG is competing in the varsities this weekend in Limerick. We are playing teams from all over Ireland and really think we have a good chance of reaching the finals. The guys on the team have shown that they are truly committed to win this. We won our first two games yesterday and have the semis tonight. Jordanstown is in the semi as well and we hope we get to play them in the finals! 

Talk next week!

Will

This past weekend I babysat at the Deegan household. During my time over here in Ireland, I have gotten very close to the Deegan family, as they have taken me in as one of their own. With that being said, when I babysit for them, I hardly consider it babysitting, it’s just another day hanging out with my Irish fam.

Harry, who is 9, loves to play his Xbox, which means when I come over I get to play as well… can’t say I hate it! But similarly, I have twin brothers back home that are of similar age to Harry, who also love playing video games.

After playing a game of NBA 2k16 with Harry, I remembered that my brothers absolutely love playing that game as well. After shooting a quick text home, my brothers and Harry were able to connect their Xbox’s to play each other in a game of NBA 2k16. Not only could they play against each other, but they also could talk back and forth to each other while the game was going on.

I was absolutely amazed by this entire thing. I would consider myself pretty good with technology, and I still was astounded that my brothers could talk and play against us in a video game all the way over in Ireland.

The most hilarious part was hearing my brother’s responses to the Irish accent. Being only 10 years old, they haven’t been around too many people with accents. On multiple occasions my brothers had no idea what Harry had said.

In a way, it was like my brothers had just become the equivalent to pen pals through video games. Gone are the days where you create pen pals by writing letters back in forth through snail mail. It is ridiculous how quickly technology has advanced.

 I thought it was so cool to see my two worlds interact. More importantly, to expose my brothers to another culture different than their own. Hopefully one day they can actually meet each other, I have a feeling they would be pretty good 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