As the winter finally comes to an end, I am starting to be able to see the finish line of my journey here in Northern Ireland. Plenty of things have begun to fall into place for me in terms of life after SCL, but there are so many events and plans still underway to consume the remainder of my time here. Coursework and exam preparations have become hectic and we are in the midst of planning the biggest basketball tournament of the year for our team in April; the Intervarsities. I am still taking part in five different eHoops sessions per week, in addition to my coaching and community work activities. It wasn’t until about a week ago that I realized there would be an opportunity to go home for Easter, because I had a full week without any responsibilities. I bought the cheapest roundtrip plane ticket I could find and told my family I would be seeing them for an impromptu return home for the spring holiday.

 

Since I spent Christmas abroad, this was my first time returning to Philly for about eight months; definitely the longest I’ve ever been away. A giant homemade dinner was waiting for me as I walked through the door, and although my mom’s cooking was delicious, I still couldn’t wait to be reunited with my favorite Wawa mac&cheese and classic Italian hoagie!

 

Since this trip home wasn’t particularly planned or well-thought out, I hadn’t taken the time to notify all my friends of my return, and rather spent the week around the house with family. On my last day home we had a giant family party at my aunt’s house, and all my extended family members asked me a million questions about what it has been like to work abroad with Sport Changes Life this year.  I couldn’t stop talking about all of the little phrases I’ve learned here as well as all of the unique aspects of the Irish/Northen Irish culture that I’ve noticed. I told them about what i do at eHoops, what it is like to play basketball in NI, and everywhere I’ve been able to travel throughout the year. The experience quickly made me realize that the time I’ve spent here in Northern Ireland is going to be something I’ll talk about for the rest of my life because it has truly been a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity. 

 

The week flew by much faster than I thought it would, but for many reasons, I was happy to return to Belfast. Originally, I hadn’t planned to head home at all this year, but I’m so happy I did. After speaking with my family about my life here in Northern Ireland and witnessing all their reactions to it, things have really been put into perspective and I’ve been able to develop a new sense of gratitude that I can carry with me for the remainder of my time.  With so little of it left afterall, (yet so much to look foward to), I’m feeling reenergized and excited for everything April has to offer. 

Hi everyone, 

Themes of the week; problem solving and people management. I went to the National School twice this week to coach my 5th year and 6th year groups. Over the last month we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on the fundamentals of basketball, paying attention to details and listening to the coach and teachers when they’re giving instructions. Things weren’t much different this week, except that this time, I had them organize their own teams prior to starting the drills. I told my 5th year group that they had to make 4 teams with even numbers and that one person in each team had to get a ball. I stood back and watched things develop. After a minute or so, I had 6 teams, 2 of which had 2 balls and 1 team that had at least twice as many players as I had initially said! 

I asked ‘Shona’ to step out of line, stand next to me and describe what she saw in front of her. As she stood next to me, her face turned red with embarrassment. I asked her to go back in line and try to solve the problem her classmates were currently facing. 
After she stepped back with her classmates, ‘Shona’ took control of the situation. Appointed another girl as the co-leader of the group and evenly divided up the groups in just a few seconds. It was something to see! The girls took the time to solve the problem and made sure they wouldn’t waste anymore of their session by responding very quickly to my challenge! 

Saturday’s Academy ran smoothly. We spent half the session working on shooting and the other half working on footwork and game situations. The routine shooting sessions are instilling great habits in these kids. Their shooting forms have become so much better it’s great to see. Some have even started to incorporate their new techniques in game situations. I truly believe that within the end of the season, they’re shooting percentage will have increased by at least 10%! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Talk to you again next week!

Will

What’s up everybody??
It was an extremely eventful week here in Galway. Let me start with last Saturday’s Titans National League game against undefeated Ballon. Ballon beat us pretty handily the previous Sunday, but we had a hard, intense week of training to prepare for Saturday’s rematch. We were down 15 at half but really stepped up the defensive pressure in the second half to tie the game with about 20 seconds left. With just a few seconds left I was pressuring the point guard as one of our other players came from behind stole the ball, went down and laid it in to put us up by 2 with 1.5 seconds left! The gym was absolute mayhem as they missed their last shot attempt and we handed them their first loss of the season.

A similar incident happened last night with one of the teams that I coach, my Titans under 12 boys team. The boys had a game against Bearna, and this was their first game in the new year, since winning their first game of the season back in December before Christmas. In the first half we had so many opportunities but kept missing lay ups which would come back to haunt us in the second as we were trailing by a few baskets. However, at halftime, I took one of my players aside and told him that he needs to focus when he’s taking his layups and that they won’t automatically go in. Sure enough, late in the game we’re down by 1, and that same player gets a steal with about 5 seconds left, dribbles the length of the court in the midst of pressure from 2 opposing players and makes a lay up as the buzzer sounds to give the Titans the win! After the game I was able to use that as an example and teach him how important it was to make lay ups, concentrate, and focus on what he was doing. After the game both teams got together for a photo, as we try to stress the importance of sportsmanship.

Other than those two exciting games, I had several coaching sessions between St. Pat’s, the Titans under 16 girls team, and the Titans under 18 boys team. The boys at St. Pat’s were great this week and are really showing some serious improvement (some of which showed in last night’s game as some of my under 12’s go to St. Pat’s). The U-16 girls team found a way to get me awfully frustrated at our training session this past week. They make such big leaps some weeks, but other weeks want to joke and mess around and not give 100% in the drills. So the challenge lies in making them try their hardest, but keeping it fun for them. After having them run a few sprints for throwing the basketballs all over the gym and missing lay ups, I eventually start making a few jokes and then proceed to explain how vital it is for them to pay attention during drills and try their hardest because that’s the only way they’ll be successful. They did start to listen and when they followed directions, they were making lay ups and plays left and right. I exclaimed “IT’S MAGIC. IT MUST BE MAGIC!” They began laughing but also were able to realize the potential they had which is what we were going for.

All in all a great week yet again in Galway. Classes are going well for the most part, with international corporate finance proving to be quite the challenge. However, we have a 1 hour tutorial each week in addition to the regular class time which has been extremely beneficial thus far in helping me understand what we’re doing. I’ll talk to you guys next week! Be well.

-Tim

I love looking at this picture of me on my first-ever basketball team. My dad, who coached me through age 14, always mentions how we didn’t win a single game that season. In fact, we barely scored at all that first year. I can recall losing a game 24-1 and being so proud that I had scored that single point.  

 

That little girl had no idea where the game would take her. (But clearly she did know that the sports headband is a great look.) To her, basketball was a fun activity that connected her to the interests of her dad and older sister. All she knew was that she preferred it to soccer and it was fun.

 

But by watching the enthusiastic passion of her older sister and being motivated by the encouragement of her dad, basketball became much more to that little number 11. Love for the game can start at such a young age, especially with the assistance of a great coach (my dad being the best of them!) and role model (looking at you, sis).

 

I’m lucky that I found both those figures in people so close to me, but it doesn’t have to be a family affair for everyone. The influence that my dad and sister had on me as a young player is what inspires me to work with young athletes now. I aspire to instill in these young people and players, I am working with through Sport Changes Life, the same enthusiasm and passion that I was gifted. 

 

I can only hope that some day, the young people I have worked with while being here, will look up to me in the way I have looked towards my coaches and role models throughout my life. 

 

Victory Scholar: Lillian McCabe

Present University: IT Carlow

US League: Atlantic 10

Club/Community Partner: ITC Basketball

Alma Mater: Davidson College

Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland

When I was around 13, my dad sat me down and told me even though he believed I could get there, it wouldn’t be easy getting a Division 1 basketball scholarship. The next four years I worked harder than I had ever before to reach this goal. My time in the gym was joined by one person other than my dad – with Mike C; the 26 year old basketball machine that could pound a ball harder than anyone I ever knew.

 

I will be forever grateful that my dad brought me to Mike C, who was known to me as the one who, behind the doors of the Calvin Coolidge Elementary School Gym, someone I tended to be a tad terrified to see.

 

It was the fear that came with going through the session, and how hard I would allow myself to be pushed; the fear of the process to get to the next level. It was the urge to not give up and the refusal to be content with my game is what these two together have instilled in me.

 

Mike and I would do 75-minute sessions, and eventually at the 1 hour mark I’d have to give my dad “the eye” signifying that Mike had forgotten to give me a water break! (I think it’s been enough time that I can finally laugh at this!)

 

So, from drill to drill, there was always the one I dreaded – the one-on-one continuous full court, nonstop with him up in my face; legs shaking; reaching in and then to see we are still stuck in the back court cause I can’t get by him. I’m starting to get a wheeze going on – the holding-in-crying, I’m-so-tired-and-want-to-give-up, and please-just-let-me-by-you type of wheeze. Haha. Oh man. I remember going through this situation in my head as I sat in the car with my dad on a snow day waiting for Mike to (hopefully not) make it through the snow and to the gym to work out.

 

I’ve found it so hard to not resist situations that I know will make me better in the long run. They are always the hard circumstances, of course, that we learn from and grow from. I may not have known it then, but this experience among many, many others have and will endure…and as long as I push to be there at the gym, to be there for a friend, to treat others right and not jip myself out of what life offers, I will be giving all situations what I’ve got.

 

Where I am today is no different than where I was that day in the gym. I eventually made it down the court and past Mike to score, and then I enjoyed my water, and got back up when the next challenge presented itself.

 

Victory Scholar: Jennifer Morabito

Sport League: MAAC League

Present University: Trinity College Dublin

Alma Mater: Canisus College

Hello everyone,

Second week back and still going hard at work here. I had a very full week of coaching, basketball and school. Academically, I feel that the subjects we’re learning about are very interesting. My international business class has a cross cultural project we’ve been assigned to do. It involves working on a detailed business report with 5 other group members that go to university in the United States, India and Scotland. Within a few weeks, our specific tasks will be divided up and we should most probably have experienced some cross-cultural challenges while putting the project together! I’ll keep you posted on the development of the report. 

This week’s coaching sessions all went really well. The two coaching sessions I had during the week all revolved around the fundamentals and paying attention to details. I asked the girls to pair up and for one of the girls per pair to go get a ball for themselves and their partner. I made sure to tell them that once they got the ball they should walk back to their partner without dribbling or shooting the ball. Low and behold, the first thing they all did was dribble and shoot the balls. Once they all got back to their pairs I asked them what was the first I told them after I had given them the instructions to get the balls. They all said “do not dribble” looking a little embarrassed. 5 pushups everyone I said sternly. They all let out a sigh and did their pushups. The girls learned that paying attention to details, listening and executing can be very beneficial in life whether the guidelines come from the coach, teacher, boss or parent! 

This weekend at the academy we really focused on developing the proper habits on the court. A trend was obvious this week as paying attention to details was also worked on at the academy. We decided to look over the shooting form we had worked on last month for a few minutes. The kids really needed a refresher as their forms were all over the place. After working on the motion without the ball they eventually remembered how to shoot properly! 

Check in for more updates next week!

Will

Hey everyone!
It’s been a great couple weeks back in Galway. I got to finish up working the Titans shooting camp last week. This is a photo of one of our young players working on his shot as a couple of his teammates and myself watch his form. 

There was one particular instance during the shooting camp where I was first challenged, and then very moved by a particular young “lad”, who we’ll call Johnny. Johnny comes from one of the more underprivileged areas of Galway and is part of a Crime Prevention program. I had several conversations with him throughout the course of the week and he had plenty of questions for me. He was really interested in the game of basketball, where I was from, why I was in Ireland, etc. He informed me that he was still new to basketball and when I asked if he thought he would stick with it, he said he didn’t think so. I asked him why this was? And he said that he felt “anybody could just go run around and throw a ball at a hoop.” So then we continued to talk about it and I tried to point out the benefits of playing basketball, such as he can meet plenty of other kids, get into good physical shape, become really good at the sport, and have fun! By the end of our conversation he agreed with me and promised that he would stick with basketball and I even saw him trying a little bit harder after we had this chat. I was later informed by his social worker that they’ve tried bringing him to several different programs that haven’t worked out, but this basketball camp was the first one that he VOLUNTARILY wanted to keep going back to!! That’s a great step in the right direction. 

This past weekend the Titans Academy was back on which was great! We had big numbers in each of the sessions that I coached and the kids were as enthusiastic as ever to be back in the gym. Some were anxious to show me what they had worked on over the break and where they can now make shots from. I also coached twice last week at St. Pat’s, one of the local schools that I help out at. It was great be working with the boys again and makes me feel really special when they run up to me in the hallways and get all excited, so much so that they sometimes get in trouble with the teachers!

The first week of classes went pretty smoothly but one thing is for certain – this semester is going to be a lot of work. International Corporate Finance alone is going to be a ton of work, let alone our other classes. However, there is one project that I’m anxious to begin working on and it is one where we will be working with students from universities in as many as 6 different countries! We are all going to have to work together on a business proposal. We are going to have to deal with real-life international business issues of working across time zones, cultures, language barriers, and settling differences. It’s going to be a lot of work but I’m sure it’s going to be a phenomenal experience. 
Until next week guys!
-Tim

After learning that our class was cancelled on Thursday morning, two classmates and I decided to jump on the train to spend the afternoon in Kilkenny. It was such a beautiful day, perfect for admiring the green countryside as it whizzed by. I loved seeing the town through my Irish classmate’s eyes: he told us about where he used to come see “Santy” and showed us the best side allies to use as shortcuts. After laughing at the American cereal on sale for 10 Euro at the specialty sweet shop, we enjoyed some barbeque wings and fried ice-cream at a States-styled lunch spot.

 

It was an overall wonderful day, made even brighter by the shining sun (not a cloud to hide it!) Even in the simple days like this one, I am reminded of all that I have to be grateful for. Through this Victory Scholarship, I’ve been able to meet such great people and see some incredible places. I am also so grateful for the unwavering support of my friends, who encourage me in the classroom and come to cheer for me on the court.

 

As Coach McKillop would say “You are not just part of a team, you are part of the Davidson Men’s Basketball program.” Truth resonates in this statement and it speaks volumes about the program, because it is not about the 15 guys on the roster any given year. It is about respecting the history and the people who have come before you and giving those to follow the same opportunity you were given. This program is also a family, and the people around you truly care.
Coach McKillop has had a massive impact on my life, whether it was a simple phone call during the toughest of times or a simple “I am keeping you and your family in my prayers.” I have learned so much from him on the court, as well as off the court! He gave me the incredible opportunity to join the Davidson Basketball family, first as a manager and then as a player.
There are two assistant coaches, who in particular I would like to thank as they helped make my dream a reality and have had a great impact on my life.
Matt McKillop was really the first member of the coaching staff that I met. Ironically, he is the one who kept my dream alive despite having to tell me twice that I was not going to make the team that year. Matt always gave me hope and would encourage me to continue to pursue my goal. It wasn’t always easy to continue to work towards something that neither of us knew would ever be possible, yet Matt never let me give up on it. I recall the day Matt asked me if I wanted to work out with him late at night before the gym closed. I saw this as Matt investing in me and believing that I still had a chance. Matt may have just wanted to get some of the rust off for his men’s league and he knew that I would be in the gym, but it meant much more than that.
Then there is Landry, who left after my sophomore year to take a job as Head Coach at Swarthmore College. Each year I work Landry’s camp at Swarthmore, and the summer before my senior year he said “You’re trying out, right?” He recognized that there was an open spot on the roster and seemed to expect me to go for it. Prior to this interaction, I was not sure if I was going to go for it, but I interpreted this rhetorical question as Landry believed I could earn a spot. After camp that day, I stayed after to get shots up and do sprints.
I have been blessed to be part of the Davidson Men’s Basketball Family! And I am lucky to thank the people who helped me achieve my dream of wear DAVIDSON on my chest.

Victory Scholar: Ryan Ansel

Present University: Ulster University

Alma Mater: Davidson College

Conference: Atlantic 10

Hi USNI friends, 

It’s been a short bit since my last post. I was in Montreal for a couple of weeks for the holidays enjoying my time with my fellow Canadians during the Christmas break. I first want to wish everyone here a happy new year and I hope the last couple of weeks have been spent enjoying time with family and friends. Although it was a great little vacation, it’s now time to put the shoes back on, pick up the clipboard and get back to work! 

It’s been great seeing the kids again. I had two sessions at a National school earlier this week where I coached some 5th grade and 6th grade groups. The girls remembered their basic knowledge of basketball, but I thought I should refresh their memory. We spent the majority of the time working on the proper passing techniques and eventually got into some competitive passing drills.

About thirty minutes into one of the sessions, a girl named ‘Justine’ came up to me and told me she was afraid of the basketball. I told her that there was no reason to be afraid of the basketball and that I’d be there to show her how to get more comfortable catching and passing it. After several back and forth chest and bounce passes and some confidence boosting talk, ‘Justine’ felt as if she could join the others in the passing drills. The final drill consisted of recording the number of passes made without dropping the ball in a limited amount of time. ‘Justine’ and her partner recorded a total of 62 consecutive passes, good for 3rd in the class! After the session ended, she came up to me and said she couldn’t wait until next week’s session! 

Saturday’s academy was as good as ever. It was clearly noticeable that the little Titans worked very hard over break, even though they started off a bit rusty in the early drills. We worked on our ball handling skills and then got into some 5 on 5. Looking forward to seeing the development in the year 2012!

Other than that, we have our first National League game of 2012 tomorrow. The team practiced hard this week to get back into primetime domination mode! The guys all seem real pumped about the second half of the season and I don’t see why it should be any different. 

Until next time, all the best!

Will

Back in Galway and it’s right back into the gym! I arrived “home” as my Irish friends have said, from my holidays spent in New York. I have recovered from yesterday’s jetlag and was back at Titans camp today. We have camp the next couple days as this week they are running a shooting camp for our younger players in the club. We are working to help correct bad habits that some players have developed over their years playing, as well as start from scratch with some of our newer players.

Probably the best part about today was that after not seeing some of our younger players for a couple weeks, I was really excited to see them, and they to see me! One of the best feelings you can have is seeing a young player’s face light up when you walk into the gym. What’s more, is that they had camp last week as well, and I have already been seeing tremendous improvements in only the couple weeks that I was back in the States. It is incredibly encouraging to me to see how much better our players are getting, but is even more encouraging to them as they are starting to realize that through a bit of hard work they can really start to reach their full potential.

I’m happy to be back in Galway and am anxious to get the second semester of school started on Monday. I’m sure some of these classes are sure to be challenging as our curriculum will be including courses such as Irish Economic Policy and a Corporate Finance class which is always fun. 

Our next National League match for the Titans isn’t until next weekend which should give us a chance to all get back together on the court and work on some things that will hopefully make us better this second half of the season. That’s it for me and once again it’s great to be back in Ireland!
-Tim

Belfast photographer Joe Carberry sent me a few more photos from our most recent photo shoot.  This particular photo is my favorite Joe really has captured my game face with this photo.  The photo shows me standing on the tracks of an underground train station which bring me memories of riding the trains in Washington DC and New York.  I will be posting more of the photos from the shoot onto my Facebook and Instagram page.  You can find me on Facebook and Instagram by searching my full name Jonathan McNair. Feel free to comment on a few pictures and let me know which photo you like the best.  Have an awesome day and let nothing steal your joy. “To God Be The Glory”    

 

Present University: Ulster University

US League: East Coast Conference

Club/Community Partner Ulster Elks/ Andersonstown Tigers

Alma Mater: St Thomas Aquinas College

Sponsored By: Teamwear Ireland

Learning from one of the Best Shooters in the World!

There is always room to Learn & Improve…

Earlier this month I had a great opportunity to meet one of the best and top shooter in the world…Dave Hopla. Dave came down to Carlow for the day and I had the privilege of meeting him and getting to attend one of his shooting clinics.  He has worked with numerous NBA, WNBA, college and high school players all over the world.

During his clinic he kept track of all his shots he took during his lecture and ended up being around 97% for that night. What was amazing was the fact that he has kept track of everyday that he shoots and the number of shots he has taken each day since he was 16 years old.

He was very enthusiastic and passionate during his speech, but my favorite part was all of the energy that he had during his lecture. You could really tell that he truly does love the game of basketball. It was unbelievable and incredible opportunity to watch him shoot and I learn some key and valuable lessons from him. The most valuable lesson that I have learned from Dave is to always have a positive mind set. In his speech he said that repetition is the key to learning and most important there is always room for improvement.

Hey everyone! So it has been a great last few weeks in Galway. We had 3 finals which I thought went relatively well and I was certainly glad that they were over! Finals ended just before our last game which was against Ballina up in Mayo. We rebounded well in that game after losing to UCD-Marian that previous week. The whole team played very well and we hit the 100 point mark which is always exciting, not to mention a monstrous 2-hand dunk that Will had in the first half.

As far as coaching goes, I am proud to announce that my Under 12 Titans boys team won their first game against Corrib! This photo was taken right after the game and you can see the sheer excitement and sense of accomplishment that the boys had after notching their first W. It is so rewarding to see them start to come together as a team and especially when they listen to what I say and really go out there and try their hardest. I always tell them that it doesn’t take talent to play hard and if they play hard they will have a chance to win every game. This was by far the best I’ve seen them play thus far, which is encouraging for them as players and myself as a coach.

Over the last few weeks I also refereed several games for Titans teams in the other age groups. There were a couple other teams who were able to get their first wins. I believe one team it was their first win ever! I enjoy reffing some of these games because while I may coach and teach some of them in the academies, refereeing gives me a different view of them as players. Furthermore, after games I will talk to several of them for a few minutes and explain what they did right or wrong or why I made certain calls. Either way, it’s really looking like all the work these kids are putting in during the Titans academies, their individual team trainings, and the weekly sessions are really starting to pay off. I think it’s great for the kids as they start to see themselves developing as players it makes them want to continue to work hard, keep practicing and grow not only as basketball players but as people as I feel these lessons translate to their other areas of life. It is important for the kids to see that if they really want something that they can work hard to make it happen.

In other news, I was fortunate enough to have some visitors over the last couple weeks. My brother and a couple of his friends came to Galway. My parents came for a couple days and everyone was able to see our game against Ballina. I absolutely loved having them there! After they all left, two of my best friends came to spend a few days with me before heading back to New York. I arrived back in New York today and it’s great to be home for a little while. I am going to hopefully be getting over to my old high school and checking out a bunch of basketball games there. So that’s it for now. I’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Enjoy!!
-Tim

Coaching was very interesting this week. I was asked by good friend Joe Coughlan if I was able to help coach a local high school’s under 16 team for an afternoon. The kids were getting ready for their cup games and they really needed a tune up on their defense. The head coach wasn’t able to be there, but he did let me know what he wanted his boys to work on. 

In the two hours I spent there, we spent about half the time doing shell drills and learning how to help the helper. We had to go a little slow at the beginning, but it eventually picked up. They guys figured out that when someone on their team was beat by the offensive player, they had to help out their teammate. By leaving their man, they trusted that their other teammates would pick up the slack and replace them by guarding their player. Once the ball was swung back out, the final defensive player would recover to the open man. In theory it seems very simple, but when the ball moves around fast and guys are attacking the rim at an explosive level, it gets a little tricky. 

The academy this weekend went well too. We had about 35 kids show up, so it was difficult to manage, but the coaches did a good job making sure everyone was looked upon. We still spent half the time working on the fundamentals of shooting. You can really see a difference in the way some of these kids shoot the ball. Their form is so much better. It’s great to see. Obviously some kids have a knack at picking things up, but sometimes it gets a little difficult for the uncoordinated fellas. Although some are developing at a slower pace than others, it does seem that everyone is getting better weekly. I kept telling the kids, Practice, practice, practice, repetition repetition repetition, keep shooting, keep shooting, keep shooting with the proper form! It seems to be paying off! 

Besides that, the end of the semester is here and exams start on Tuesday. Wish Tim and I luck! 

Will

The University of Limerick’s campus never fails to amaze me. Rain or shine, usually rain, the landscape and buildings are absolutely stunning! What enhances the campus even more are the various pitches and fields used for hurling, rugby, and football (soccer)… look at me finally getting the hang of the Irish terminology. Anyway, the University of Limerick has phenomenal athletic facilities dispersed all throughout the campus.  

 

I recently discovered the Pavilion, a restaurant that overlooks the hurling and rugby pitches. I walk by this building every day, but only just recently have I actually sat down and ate there. To say the least, the food was delicious! But what made it better was the ability to look out the window and watch the various matches down on the pitches. Hurling is so intriguing to me and being able to watch it pretty much whenever I want is an added plus.

 

The indoor and outdoor seating options at the Pavilion only adds to the atmosphere. Since it is still fairly cold, I can stay warm and dry while watching these fascinating games! But once the weather finally gets warmer, it will be a great option to sit outside, and enjoy the nice weather.

 

Not only does the Pavilion have great food, but also it has a great, quiet atmosphere, making it a perfect place to get some work done. This semester is in full swing, leaving me with quite the workload. Being able to go to the Pavilion to get some work done, with the occasional hurling match distraction will definitely come in handy.  

 

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

 While in Barcelona I got to experience a completely different culture and style of life. I wandered the streets and squares of the Gothic Quarter where I got to see some amazing artwork and the Sagrada Familia which was an amazing church which was concentrated by Pope Benedict XVI. It was an amazing cathedral and incredible structure. Also, while walking along the street I admired all of the amazing architecture and art work which was displayed all around the city. I got to try some of their cultural food such as the seafood paella and fresh tapas at local restaurants. I really enjoyed spending some time in the Gracia neighborhood which had many little bars and restaurants on the streets to sit outside during the evening. My two favorite places I would have to say were the Camp Nou Stadium where F.C. Barcelona Football team plays which seats almost 100,000 people. When I walked into the stadium it was almost breath taking and an amazing atmosphere to be in. Besides visiting the stadium, my favorite place in Barcelona was the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc which was located below the Palau Nacional on the Montjuïc hill. When I walked to the top of the hill, I was able to look across and see the whole city of Barcelona. That was truly an amazing and wonderful opportunity that I would not have been able to experience if it wasn’t for SCL.

 

Hey guys! I’d like to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving, or Happy Thanks-for-giving, as my Uncle would say. As you can see by the picture I’ve posted, Gillian and Joe Coughlan, being the wonderful people that they are, were kind enough to have us over for Thanksgiving dinner. They (meaning Gillian) cooked a ton of food and it was everything I could have hoped for. I was truly thankful for what they did, and once again truly thankful for the experience I have here.

In basketball news, we won our game this past weekend against St. Brendan’s of Tralee. What Will was too modest to mention in his post was that he had the highlight of the game throwing down a two handed ally oop with authority in the second half! It was an incredible pass from yours truly, if I do say so myself. This weekend we have a National Cup game against UCD-Marian, which should give us a challenge. There is pressure with every Cup game, as it is one loss and you’re out!

I have been doing a bit of coaching over the last week or so as well, between Titans Academy on Saturday, St. Pat’s School during the week, Titans U-16 girls team, and then another Academy today before training. What I noticed over my first few months of coaching here is that I was getting frustrated relatively easily because perhaps I was asking some of the young players to do too much. I never want to say I expected too much of them, but some players lacked some of the basic fundamentals, or even knowledge of the game, which prevented me from helping them reach their potential. Over the last couple weeks I have taken a couple HUGE steps back to work on some of the basics of the game, and even teach the rules of the game. Like Will has done with his kids, I have started getting them all in close and teaching proper shooting technique. We have done loads of ball handling drills. I have been teaching the basic principles of defense, which not too many kids enjoy, as defense is hard work! At St. Pat’s, I took about 10-15 minutes out of the beginning of each session to go over as many rules of the game as I could before we got into games. In previous weeks, some of the boys would look at me like I was crazy if I called a travel on them and now they understand how to pivot and avoid traveling. What was encouraging during these sessions, as I was afraid they would get bored, is that in each session so many of the boys were asking a TON of questions. They really wanted to understand how to properly play the game which was great!

With the U-16 girls team, not only did we work on fundamentals, but I wanted to help work on their fitness, speed, and agility. I had them doing some more advanced drills involving single leg jumps and defensive slides. Although they weren’t the biggest fans of the drills, it was great to see how hard they worked because they are starting to see improvements which is encouraging for them as players.

Wish us luck this weekend in our game!
-Tim

Last week of school is finally over! We have one week of studying before we have to take our final exams. Rounding up the three final exams Tim and I have are the Strategic Management, International Cross Cultural Management and the International Human Resource Management exams. The finals will be over with next Friday! I’m really looking forward to the end of the semester. 
The last couple of weeks at the Titans’ Academy have been very fruitful for the kids. Nial Coughlan and I decided it was time for us to take a step back and to teach the fundamentals of shooting to the 12-14 year olds. Basics basics basics… that was the first thing we told the kids. We needed to make sure they understood that if they learned to develop the right shooting form, their shots would consistently go in and they would be able to develop as basketball players at a higher pace. After a couple of weeks of basic training, some of the kids really showed an improvement in their ability to shoot the ball. There was one young boy that caught my attention. This weekend was Ross’ second time playing basketball. Rugby was his sport of choice, but his parents wanted him to develop a liking for basketball. After explaining what the right shooting form was and what to look at when you shoot, etc etc, the kids went on to shoot. As I’m walking around correcting the kid’s shooting forms, I notice a nice arcing shot with a flawless follow through. I look more closely and it’s my man Ross. Ross had the best looking form in the entire gym. Then I realized he never had the chance to develop a bad shooting form because he’d never play basketball before. The shooting form he’ll forever remember is the one he developed this week! It was great to see these kids learn!!
Besides school and coaching, we lost our game last Friday but won the game this weekend. The previous week was pretty rough. We couldn’t buy a shot or get any loose balls. Some would say that the other team wanted it more than us. Saturday night, we made sure a repeat from the last week didn’t happen. We beat the opposing team by 30 pts and felt good with the way we played! USNI scholar Tim Coyne played a great game. I’m pretty sure he flirted with a double double amassing about 12 pts and 10 asts! 
Following this weekend’s game, Thalie and I headed to Dublin for two days. We decided it would be a nice little trip to take before my final exams. We had a great time sightseeing, walking around the city and seeing some of the city’s monuments like the Guinness Factory!!! Haha. 
Until next week!
Will

As I have mentioned in at least a couple of blogs, it rains a lot in Limerick. When I first heard this fun fact, I was a little bit hesitant. I am not a huge fan of rain, but then again who is? After the first couple of weeks of living in Limerick, I wondered if I was going to get sick of the rain. Much to my surprise, I didn’t. Yes, I don’t love getting rained on, but there is something about the rain that is quite comforting. The rain has become something I expect, and to be honest, it would be weird and a little bit off, if it didn’t rain as much as it did.

 

After a couple winter months of many days with heavy rain, overcast clouds, and gusts of wind that could almost blow you over, it begins to feel very normal. It only was a few days ago that I began to appreciate all of those winter days. For the first time in a long time, it really felt like spring outside! The sun was out, there was not a dark cloud in the sky, and the landscape looked fresher and greener than I have seen in quite some time. It was an exciting day because hopefully it meant that spring was near and I would start to see more and more days like this.

 

I had such an appreciation for this beautiful spring day because of the winter I had to endure to see it. I’m a firm believer in the saying that “anything worth having is worth waiting for.” The incredible beauty of the University of Limerick was amplified simply by the fact that I hadn’t seen the campus like that in awhile.

 

I really do appreciate the little things like the Limerick rain, for the outcomes it produces are so worth the wait.

 

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

After an incredible time in Barcelona, I finally arrived back in Ireland. Upon my arrival I visited the Trinity scholars Jen and Christine. On St. Patrick’s Day I got to attend the parade and celebrate one of the biggest holidays in Ireland. There were thousands of people and tourist from all over watching the parade and celebrating. It was very different from the way in which I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day back home in Philadelphia in that the atmosphere was so lively and energetic with people up and down every street in the city with traditional Irish music playing. It was great getting to see all of the pride and family’s celebrating the holiday in the city. After a long few days in Barcelona then St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin it was finally time to head back to Carlow. It was great being able to travel and get a break from everything for a few days. It was defiantly one of the best weeks that I have had and really appreciative of having the opportunity to do so.

Hey everyone! What a week it was for me in Galway! I finally got to play! We won the game by 50 points and I played pretty well, despite a little foul trouble in the first half. As Will mentioned I had a pretty well rounded game getting some stats in several categories. What’s more important however, is that we played really well as a team and took care of business to advance to the next round of the National Cup. This coming Friday the pressure is going to be on Will as we play our crosstown rival, Maree. I can imagine it’s going to be an exciting, yet intense game.

This past week I was able to ref a few games, coach one game, coach at the Titans academy, and coach at St. Pat’s. A very basketball filled week which was great as the workload in school definitely lightened up a bit after last Monday’s big deadline. Now I just have one more essay to do and 3 finals for this semester. We get our timetable for the finals at 4pm today which will be good to know. 

As far as the picture I posted, this past weekend while I was playing my first game in Ireland, my brother, 2 of my sisters, 2 of my cousins, and several other family friends all competed in what is known as the Tough Mudder. The Tough Mudder is about a 12 mile race up and down a mountain with approximately 32 obstacles. Obstacles include crawling through the mud under barbed wire, scaling really high walls, swimming through ice cold water, running through fire, and even running through a live electrical field. It is absolute insanity, which I was supposed to partake in as I signed up for it before I had the privilege of receiving the Victory Scholarship. The race is teamed up with the Wounded Warrior Project, that helps military service men and women who were injured in battle. This is a picture of my brother and his best friend Mark (Mark lost both of his legs in Iraq but still completed the race!) going through one of the obstacles. I think this picture is a fantastic image of inspiration and a great example of teamwork.
Wish us luck this Friday!
-Tim

Good day everyone.

There was so much going on this week that I really don’t know where to start! No kidding! Most of our projects in school have been taken care of and I’m still sitting out the basketball games. I did ref one game and coached a couple times this week at Scoil Rois and at the Titans Academy. The kids were a little out of control but ended up calming down after doing several series of pushups and situps! 

On a positive note, the Titans won their 4th game with a 50 pt blowout of Ballincolling. USNI scholar Tim Coyne made his debut and performed really well. Tim dished out 6 assists while only amassing 1 turnover in over 30 plus minutes! Our little guy tallied up 7 points and 6 rebounds to round out his stats! Great job Timmy!

11:35 am Sunday morning: Ring, Ring… Ring Ring… [I pick up the phone]. 
Joe Coughlan: Hey Will, are you awake? 
Will: Yeh, just got up. What’s up?
Joe: Did Matt ask you to ref? 
Will: Ref what? When? Where? 
Joe: We need two refs at Westside Gym for the U14 boys Cup game. Can you make it? 
Will: When do you need us over?
Joe: The game’s schedule for 11:30. The kids are warming up and we need a couple refs. 
[I look at Tim and nod at him.]
Will: Yeh Joe, we’ll come ref. 
Joe: Thanks. There’s a car parked out front waiting for you guys!

The last couple of days have been really hectic! The Titans needed to play their scheduled games prior to a certain date. Coincidently, all the games for about 6 different levels were held over a two day period! The people organizing the games over the weekend were drained after chasing after people to coach and ref the ‘scheduled’ games! 

It was just another day living the dream in Galway City!

Until next time, 
Will

Whenever someone asks me why I love basketball I instantly think back to my childhood.  The moment when I finally became strong enough to just get the ball high enough to reach the rim made me feel like I was on top of the world.  The joy of finally being able to dribble the basketball between my legs the way I saw Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson do so effortlessly seemed like the greatest achievement in the world.

 

This past weekend was my first time coaching children ages 6-8 years old.  I was asked to lead both their practice on Saturday and game on Sunday.  I didn’t know exactly what to expect right before Saturdays practice.  I decided I would make practice fun by doing some of the things that I enjoyed while playing basketball at their age.  At that age I just wanted the basketball in my hands (not much has changed) so I made sure everyone had a ball during all of our drills.  The children had so much joy as they played it was contagious.  I literally could not stop smiling as we went from drill to drill.  On Sunday it was game time and I could see the nervousness, excitement, and anticipation on each of their faces.  The game brought the competitive spirit out of them as they cheered for each other and ran as hard as they could from one end of the court to the other.  I was asked 230,000 times “Coach is it time for us to go in the game”.  The energy that those children brought to the game was infectious.  I started giving out high fives to everyone and cheering louder then the children at times.  Coaching the Andersontown Cubs reminded me of all of the feelings that made me fall in love with basketball as a child.  I want to replicate these feelings in every vision and goal I embark on in the future. “To God Be The Glory” 

 

Present University: Ulster University

US League: East Coast Conference

Club/Community Partner Ulster Elks/ Andersonstown Tigers

Alma Mater: St Thomas Aquinas College

Sponsored By: Teamwear Ireland