The conclusion of Varsities this past weekend ultimately completes my basketball stint here in Ireland. The season was . . . unique. As a Victory Scholar, you compete at both the club level, in the National League, and collegiately; however, it is widely understood that the club season takes precedence, as it typically possesses more dedicated and skilled players, while the college team is open for all to participate in. Higher expectations are set for the former, while the later is more about the craic. And yet, my seasons proved to be a mirror image of this. My club team finished with an underwhelming record of two wins and twenty-two losses, bottom of Division One in the National League. In contrast, my college team found more on-court success, advancing to both the All-Ireland league finals and Varsities championship before ultimately dropping both contests.

In the spirit of full transparency, this season was an incredibly difficult adjustment. Losing so frequently was challenging enough, but exposure to a completely different culture surrounding the sport I grew up on broke me down at times. I come from high school and college programs that were highly structured, possessing meticulous details in the systems we executed. Adjusting to a more disorganized, fast-paced, up-and-down style of play proved difficult. I came from a culture where “If you’re early, you’re on time. And if you’re on time, you’re late.”. So seeing guys stroll into practice late, or leave early for other social commitments, was something I couldn’t rationalize. I came into this year seeking to change the culture of a team that has struggled with wins and losses the past few years, but my objectives came at the expense of truly trying to understand their culture first. The reality is that basketball in Ireland has different roots and upbringings than it does in the United States; that doesn’t make it better or worse, rather it’s just embedded in a different worldview than I was used to.

Though I’m leaving Ireland with a few silver medals and an ‘All-Star’ accolade, strangely I’m most proud to be leaving with the lessons I’ve taken away from this season. I try to look for the silver-linings in even the worst of situations, and I’ve reached this conclusion in retrospect: my year with the Titans has shown me more areas for my improvement with regards to leadership, centering around patience and cultural understanding. The team encompassed a lot of youthful faces, all possessing high upside potential. But I found that effectively communicating with them at times was severely difficult — just as when I was their age, today’s teenagers can still lack the attentiveness and responsiveness to coaching that we would like them to have. In hindsight, there were certainly moments from this season I would like to have back, but I wouldn’t trade the people in the Titans organization for anything. Though my tenure with the team is complete, I think the majority of them know my commitment to helping them improve is not, and I am always available if and when they need guidance.

Thank you both NUI Galway and the Galway Titans for welcoming me into your organizations and enabling to play the sport I love for one more season.

The last time I made a post about Basketball, my team was 15-0 at the middle of the season. We ended the season 22-1 dropping one game to Ballincollig from Cork Ireland. As the league winners, our team is now being promoted back up to the Super League of Ireland where they were competing last year. They were unable to win enough games two years ago and were demoted to the National League this year. One of our main goals of the season was to get Coliaste Eanna back up to the Super League and we were successful. There were a lot of ups and downs throughout the season but we stuck to together and were able to maintain a high level of play. Championships are special because they take hard work, dedication, togetherness, and sometimes a little luck. I learned a lot this season. The basketball culture and style in Ireland was different and it took me some time to adjust to the Irish ways but overall it was an amazing learning experience and I’m glad I got to share it with my team. 

The championship put the cherry on top of an already wonderful year. Outside of basketball I’ve made several life long friends. Whether it was going to grab food or out for drinks I could always count on my teammates if I needed anything. I wasn’t the only player on my team who wasn’t Irish. We also had another American from L.A. and a player from Serbia. We shared the experience of our first year in Ireland together with the help of our local friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end this season and my professional basketball career. Next year, I plan on staying around the sport but from a different perspective. With my master’s degree in marketing I want to explore sports marketing agencies that work to create content for athletic brands. My one year of playing pro ball has changed my perspective on basketball and also on the world. This is the first time I have been able to experience another country for a long period of time and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity without basketball. 

I’ve been wanting to write a blog for a minute now, but things have been happening so quickly I haven’t had a lot of time to sit back and reflect. Since my last blog post, I’ve celebrated my 23rd birthday, took part in the Varsities basketball tournament up in Dublin, played my last basketball game, and presented my last in class assignment for the year! All of these things happened in the span of two weeks…

As I look ahead for the next two weeks, I am currently sitting on a plane heading to Barcelona, Spain. I went on Easter break the moment my last presentation finished which was April 11th. This break lasts all the way up until April 28th. Before I left on break, I took the three days before April 14th to finish up some last minute work on an assignment that’s due online in May.

For these next two weeks I wanted to make sure I wasn’t in my room down in Limerick bored out my mind. I wanted to get out, do things, and explore! I booked two trips as well as two basketball camps. My first trip is Barcelona, Spain. I’m spending a couple days out there with the family that I met in Ireland (check blog – “Sometimes you don’t know the importance of moment until it becomes a memory”) Turns out that there is a huge U12 basketball tournament that goes on every Easter in Spain and the local club (Limerick Celtics) are taking part in it. Sarah invited me out so I took her up on her offer! I’m so excited, truthfully being from the Bronx I never dreamt of traveling abroad. Now because of the opportunity Sport Changes Life gave me, I not only got to experience Ireland, but I’m going to Spain for the first time. I’m looking to do the same things I’ve done in Ireland. Try new foods, do some touristy things, and even enjoy a night out in town.

Once this trip is done I’m heading back to Dublin Airport and spending two days with my friend and fellow Victory Scholar Jamie Sherburne. Jamie is an awesome person with such a fun personality and for some reason her and I just get on really well. She’s hosting her own Easter basketball camp in Maynooth and invited me to work alongside her. From our conversations, Jamie has mentioned nearly 80 kids between the two age groups are going to be in attendance for this two day camp! It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m glad Jamie asked me to do this with her. I love working with kids, and the excitement I see from Irish kids out here is something that you have to see to believe. Also while I’m in Maynooth, Lent will be finishing up on Holy Thursday which means my 40 days of no social media is up! I’m kinda excited to go back on it, but I’m also not. I’ve reduced my screen time a lot by deleting the social media apps off my phone. Also I don’t get the urges to always check my phone and stay in contact with everyone. I kinda like being lowkey and under the radar. When lent is up I’m looking to continue keeping the apps off my phone and only log onto them on my iPad or computer. Throughout these 40 days I’ve noticed my in person conversations have been better, my ability to wind down and relax have been greatly improved, and even my sleep has felt better with each night. Without having a these constant urges to always check my phone has allowed me to focus on things that are meaningful to me. Things like my health, my relationship with God, my relationship with my family, my relationships with my friends, and most importantly my daily living. As lent comes to an end this week, I’m thankful I gave up social media once again because it gave me a true sense of what’s meaningful to me in MY life.

After two days in Maynooth, I’m heading on another trip for a couple days to Amsterdam, Netherlands. A couple of the fellow Victory Scholars and myself planned this trip extremely last minute with the motto of “we’ll just figure it out when we get there”. Which is a motto I’m okay with now, if you tried to ask the “old Andrew” from last year if he would do something like this, he would have respectively declined due to lack of order, scheduling, and detailed itinerary. But in the spirit of my initial motto when I came over to Ireland of just “winging it” when it comes to experiences I have had a lot of fun with those experiences then those I planned out for weeks! I’ve heard from friends who went to Amsterdam before that it is a beautiful city full of history and local gems. I’m looking forward to checking out a couple historic landmarks, visit some museums, take part in the Heineken Experience, and most importantly…. bike around the city. Those couple days should be fun 🙌🏽

After that trip, I planned another basketball camp in County Clare, Ireland. Sarah, who I’m visiting in Spain currently asked me to do a two day Easter Camp with her club the Clare Cascaders. This club is far from Limerick (about an hour drive) but the kids who are a part of this club are so funny and cool to be around. I’ve done camps with them a couple times and I always leave those camps with my stomach hurting from all the laughter. The promotion was well received as the camp drew the attention of nearly 70 campers between the two age groups. This will be my last camp in Ireland before returning to the states and I’m looking to give these kids the best two days I can. I’m looking to give them all the knowledge I’ve received in my 15 years of basketball and hopefully motivate and inspire them in the process!

Whew!!

Like I said earlier, the last two weeks were busy and I didn’t have any time to sit back and reflect. As I sit on this plane though I know the next two weeks are going to be even more eventful and memorable. I’ll be back on social media too so if you care enough you can follow me on IG to see it all unfold. ( @andrew.curiel_ )

-Cheers

Dear Basketball,

You were my first love. I can remember as a little kid going to my older brother’s games at the Bryant Center, and ever since then I have been hooked. You have taught me so much over the past 18 years, and brought as much joy and heartbreak as anything in my life. With my playing career officially over, I just wanted to take the time to properly thank you for everything that you have brought into my life.

Thank you for every coach that you have brought into my life. Regardless of how I viewed them as a coach, I learned so much from all of them. From the skills needed to be a successful player, to the habits needed to be a successful person, I owe so much to my coaches. I would like to specifically thank Coach Lupus, Coach Berkman, Coach Merkel, Coach Matturo, and Coach Hamilton.  Each one of you had a direct impact on the player I was and the person I am.

Thank you for all the teammates you have brought into my life. Some of the most meaningful relationships in my life are with my former teammates, and I truly believe it will be that way for the rest of my life. The work and dedication that basketball requires builds a bond that is impossible to fake. While my list of teammates who have had a lasting impact on my could go on for a very long time, I will limit myself to three. Pat, Grayson, and Luke you guys are like brothers to me I appreciate all you have ever done for me.

Thank you for teaching me how to work. The one thing that I love the most about basketball is the process, and how every player is given whatever they put in. Basketball does not care about race, religion, how much money you have, or what your living situation is. If you put in the work, you will be rewarded. You taught me that failures are opportunity for growth. You taught me personal accountability, and that I am in control of my own success on the court. This lesson is something that I will carry with me forever.

Finally, thank you for all of the opportunities you have given me. From getting to travel the country playing AAU basketball, to getting to travel across the world to continue my career, you really have given me so much. Every hour in the gym, every drop of sweat in the weight room, every tear shed in the locker room, every broken finger, sprained ankle, and twisted knee, it was all worth it. I have invested the last 18 years of my life playing the sport that I love and I would not change any of it.

Don’t worry basketball, this is not good-bye. This isn’t even a see ya later. This is simply a thank you for all you have given me in my playing career.

St. Andrews, Scotland is widely considered the home of golf. They have five courses in the town, the most notable (and important) of which is called “The Old Course.” This course was built in the 1500s, and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews lead the way of governing the game of golf for the vast majority of the history of the game. The Open Championship, one of the four majors in professional golf, is held here once every five years, and it has been a staple in the “rota” of courses since the inception of the event roughly 150 years ago. The Old Course also is credited with being the first course to implement strategic design and architectural principles. All of the most important and best players of all time have walked its fairways and reveled at its history. To say the least, playing the Old Course is on every golfer’s bucket list.

In the beginning of April, I got to play – and not just play the course, but compete on it, which added an entirely more significant layer to my experience. The R&A (golf’s governing body for everywhere but the USA and Mexico) puts on a select tournament every year for just 40 university students at R&A supported institutions, and they select competitors based off handicap and world ranking. I was fortunate enough to be included in the field and live out a dream that many around the world, including myself, have had.

I didn’t play particularly well, but I was too busy trying to take in the experience to really care. I had never before seen greens so massive or fairways so wide or bunkers so deep. The place truly is a puzzle and is more of a mental challenge than a physical one, which is why many regard it as one of the best (and certainly the most important) courses in the world.

Aside from the golf, I was able to take a group tour of the Old Course clubhouse, which is essentially the world’s best golf museum, filled with countless paintings and relics detailing centuries of great people, accomplishments, and historical events. Playing in this event was a total privilege and I will hold it fondly in my memory for the rest of my life. No matter how hard I try, words simply cannot do it justice.

Part of coaching basketball is finding ways to break a full game of 5v5 down into smaller parts, so you can focus on specific teaching points. Working in local Sligo schools and introducing games like 21, HORSE, 3v3, King of the Hill, Steal the Bacon, Knockout, and Around the World has been one of the highlights of my year abroad in Ireland because I remember playing these games in gym class when I was growing up. Passing that experience on in a foreign culture and seeing it resonate has been quite memorable. I’ve played dozens of basketball-type games over the years, but last week I got to try a new one, and it might be my favourite.

Every Tuesday night at IT Sligo there is wheelchair basketball played in Knocknarea Arena where local hoopers of all types can interact and compete for bit of craic. Aaron, my teammate and best friend here in Ireland, has been volunteering for years and is known as a liaison between the wheelchair basketball coordinators and the IT Sligo student body. He asked Connor and I if we’d like to join him one week and we agreed to go with an open mind. This has been a year of firsts, so why not add another new experience to the list?

The rules in wheelchair basketball are roughly the same. You “dribble” by throwing the ball out in front of you and giving two big pushes, just as you would take two steps. If you take three pushes without dribbling it’s a travel. There are also similar foul calls, scoring, three seconds, inbounds plays, etc. Connor and I picked things up fast and were some of the best shooters there, just because we’d had lots of basketball experience compared to some of the other players. The basket does look about three times higher when you’re sitting in a chair than it does when you’re standing, which took a little getting used to.

My favorite part of the evening was the new respect and admiration I gained for people in wheelchairs and their ability to maneuver the chairs with precision and speed. I could shoot the basketball with the best of them, but my skills in a chair were quite outclassed. The feeling of getting a defensive rebound, turning to run the fast break, and being absolutely LOCKED up by a 50 year old woman was quite humbling for a newly retired National League basketball player. When I tried to go right, she’d cut me off. Fake right, go left? Clamps. Time after time I’d pivot around in my chair trying to break free only to realize I was absolutely overmatched, forced to pass ahead to someone in better position. I’d no option but to tip my cap to the better player.

Wheelchair basketball allowed me to meet people I would never have crossed paths with normally. It was a new way to experience the sport that has given me so much and hopefully something I continue once I get back to the United States. I will be back next week to play for sure.

Back in December, I stumbled across the DKIT student-run clubs fair. I was there to help out the basketball team by talking to incoming students and their parents about any questions they may have about the team. When my shift was done. I looked around the gym one last time just to check out some of the clubs DKIT had to offer. The only one to catch my eye was the Philosophy club. Back in my freshmen year of college, I took a philosophy course that opened my mind and changed the way I view the world. It was by far my favorite course. So I signed up for the Philosophy Club. I knew I had a busy schedule and wouldn’t be able to make every class but I thought popping in on one or two wouldn’t hurt.

So about a month later, I finally found some time to pop in on my first philosophy club meeting. We met in a room with a big round table and chairs around it. Perfect for a discussion. There was only 5 people there, but as the meeting went on, I noticed not once did I want to look at my phone nor did anyone else. I was completely submerged in my own imagination and the imaginations of the other people in the room. The time flew by and before I knew it, the hour was up. I knew I would be returning. Since then, I’ve been to about 8 meetings. We talk about everything from the future of civilization to conspiracy theories. It’s a place where people can come share their opinions about the world and not worry about being judged. Instead most people are trying to get a better understanding of why you think that way.

About two months ago, the club leader was too busy to attend our weekly session and reached out to me to run it. At first, I was a little hesitant but in the end I approached the idea with optimism. It turned out to be one of our larger sessions as 9 people showed up. I really enjoyed monitoring the session. It showed me that running a philosophy club was something that I’m interested in doing moving forward. There’s something I enjoy about hearing new ideas from different people. So, one day expect me to send you an invitation to my philosophy club. 

Coordinating a trip to Amsterdam with five guys in five different time zones was not easy, but we did it. We all became best friends in high school or earlier, but are all scattered around the planet at the moment. Austin works in Oregon on the west coast of the US, meaning he is 8 hours behind Belfast. Shaun is finishing his CPA work in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which is 6 hours behind Belfast. Josh works in Philadelphia which is 5 hours behind Belfast, and Preston (who missed this picture) is currently living in Cologne, Germany which is an hour ahead of Belfast! To say the least, finding time to do a group Facetime call to organize this trip was difficult.

They all were doing a two-part trip: four days in Amsterdam and four in Prague. I elected to just join for the first half of the trip, but we made the most out of those days. We saw the famous Rembrandt’s exhibit which was temporarily in the Rijksmuseum, we explored the Van Gogh museum, and did the “Heineken Experience” at their original brewery. Aside from that, we spent pretty much all day just traversing the city by foot, taking pictures of the seemingly endless canals and doing our best to avoid getting hit by bicycles. I’m not kidding about the bikes – I’ve never seen anything like it. People don’t slow down. They just ring their bell and keep trucking at top speed, evidently willing to plow into you if you don’t get out of their way.

Overall, Amsterdam was a fun and unique experience. It is not the kind of place you could have a ton of fun by yourself, but with a group it is tough to beat. I was especially impressed by how clean, organized, and beautiful the city is. Amsterdam can get a bad reputation sometimes for how laid-back their laws are, but I would say it is one of the safest, friendliest places I have ever been and I hope to one day return.

Throughout my life, I’ve considered myself to be pretty good at multi-tasking and time management. Playing two varsity sports while attending Grinnell College challenged me in these areas, but I found a way to balance it all and have an incredible college experience. Being a Victory Scholar has definitely helped me further develop my time management and organizational skills.

We manage busy schedules as Victory Scholars. We study to get our Master’s, play for two basketball teams, and coach different groups in our communities. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming, but taking everything day by day has been helpful for me. I’ve become better at setting goals to accomplish everyday and holding myself accountable to achieving them. I’ve always made to-do lists and planned out my days; however, being a Victory Scholar has challenged me to do even more. There are kids in our communities relying on us to bring positive energy and enthusiasm to their basketball sessions, so I’ve learned to schedule my time so that I can give the kids my 100%.

I’ve also enhanced my ability to separate tasks and stay focused. Something critical I’ve learned is that there are times when you just have to shut your mind off. Sometimes, you have to stop thinking about your final research project or what you’re going to coach the next day, and you just need to take a few minutes and think about nothing. Taking this time to recharge helps me to stay focused when I do have a task to perform or plan.

Living in Ireland as a Victory Scholar has been an eye-opening experience. I’ve learned how to adjust to a new culture and live an ocean away from my support system at home. On top of this, I’ve learned how to find a balance with a potentially busier schedule than I’ve ever had. If I can find this balance as a Victory Scholar, I’m confident that I will be able to do so in my next steps in life.

Its mother’s day here in Ireland and, in light of my grandmas death in early March causing a trip home to my family and in the month of international women’s day, I find it a perfect time (even though it’s a constant thought) to appreciate all the women in my life who have contributed to my development and have impacted me in a positive way. Today, I’m especially grateful for two women who have been exceptionally influential in my life–my mom.. & my grandma, aka “Lou Lou ”—the matriarch of the Burke family.

Let me give you a brief background on LouLou to give better idea as to why she was such an inspiration and role model for myself, her kids, and my 31 other first cousins (and 14 grandkids)…She was born as an only child, and orphaned at twenty years old. She graduated from her Fordham University class of Pharmacy as just ONE of TWO women in a class 84 total #BossLady. Married my grandpa Jack Burke in a marriage that lasted 59 years, and went on to raise 9 kids, my mom being the fifth– just like me. She was intelligent and driven, but fearless and free spirited all at the same time. On paper, she’s a bad ass chick. In person, she was even more.

Growing up just about two blocks away from my grandma, I spent a lot of time with her. Frequently, she was at my house after school sitting at my kitchen table awaiting my arrival. Whether it was attempting to join her in water aerobics, practicing my driving skills, or googling the answers to cross word puzzles that she was desperate to solve, there was never a dull moment by her side. Reminiscing with photos and videos when I went home reminded me of how hilarious these moments were… I used to record the conversations we would have together and much of these consisted of her advising me “not to chug a lug beers” “to finding a good man” and videos of her simply trying to teach me how to sing or aid me in piano lessons…really, there was never a dull moment. The most recent photo I have of us is a screen shot of her FaceTiming me while I am in my room in Ireland–she was also fascinated by the fact that I had the opportunity to explore the homeland, and my mom made sure we would be able to stay connected while I was here.

As I grew older throughout high school and college—so did my grandma. But, as her health began to fail, she continued to fight her fight until 89 years old. My mom’s dedication, along with her brothers and sisters, to her as she was ill, coupled with my grandmas fight to live each day, inspired and continues to inspire me in an unfathomable way. My grandma was a boss. My mom is a boss… my hope is that one day I can have the type of impact on my kids as they both have, and continue to have on me.

A few words from her eulogy that my mom so gracefully delivered that especially inspired me:

“she was welcoming, there was no such thing as a stranger to my mom.”

“She was always willing to listen to your story.”

“always displaying patience, she was an example to all of us on what it takes to achieve a successful marriage.”

“always encouraging, giving all of her children to succeed in life. Rarely did you hear the words that you couldn’t do something in the Burke house.”

-Ellen Byrne

27 March

To my New Balance life

7 months…I have been living in Ireland for 7 months now. Just to think about that is crazy. I have had quite the experience with all sorts of roles and responsibilities that have kept me on my toes. Looking back on these past 7 months I realized the schedule I had was a bit hectic. As a student athlete at Niagara University I had a busy schedule as well, going from lift to class to student teaching to the cafe to practice to study hall to dinner and then finally sleep and repeat. I had to balance the many responsibilities that came with school and basketball. In Ireland, I have had a new balance lifestyle. While most of my blogs are appreciation blogs or (hopefully) inspirational ones, this one is going to take you through day-to-day life in Ireland since September.

Basketball:

I am on two basketball teams, training four times a week. I play for the college team, where we train twice a week at the university. All our matches are during the week… in fact this past week we played in our division final and won! I also play for a club team called the Portlaoise Panthers. I train with this team the other two nights in Portlaoise. All these matches are on Saturdays. So far our team is 16-5 and looking to win our first playoff game next week.

Coaching:

I coach for the North Kildare Basketball Club located in Maynooth. This is a brand new club this year, one of the few in the Kildare area. I have the privilege of coaching the u12 and u14 girls teams, as well as helping out with the girls u18s if I am available. We have training twice a week!

I also work in the local primary schools of Maynooth during the school days. I work with the Girl’s Presentation school where I coach basketball during their physical education periods, and on another day I go to the Gealscoil Ui Fhiaich and do the same. In addition to coaching in the primary schools I also train the post-primary (high school) girls basketball team once a week.

On Saturday mornings I coach the Maynooth Basketball Academy. This is a program for young kids from ages 6-11 looking to learn and play basketball in a fun and friendly environment.

School:

My masters program at Maynooth is called Literatures of Engagement, which focuses on the relationship between politics and literature. I have read Joyce, Beckett, and other famous Irish authors, along with New Zealand and Australian authors. I am fortunate to only have 4-6 hours per week of class time, but with that being said the workload outside of class is very time consuming.

I have had a pretty jam-packed schedule, which can be very stressful at times but worth it. I have had my moments of being overwhelmed and exhausted of balancing school, coaching, and playing… but then I think about where I am in my life and how fortunate I am to have an experience like this; to be abroad, coach, play, and earn a masters is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Although I know I am at my best when I am busy I would have never been able to keep this pace without the support I have received.

To: Sport Changes Life, fellow victory scholars, the Maynooth community, the Henseys, Jim Walsh, the North Kildare families, Maria, my roommates, classmates, my college coach Brian, the Portlaoise panthers community, my teammates, my coach Peter, and Sinead.

Thank you all for supporting me during this incredible journey.

It’s almost two weeks since we won our college championship here at LIT.

Ever since I first stepped foot into limerick all I heard from the rest of the basketball players was how much it means to them to win the college championship. Even from my own coordinator and his boss, winning the college championship was a goal to be accomplished.

On Wednesday March 13th that goal was accomplished. My college team is made up of 15 total guys including me (I got a really big team *drake voice*) and every single one of those lads show up to every training session every Monday. Their passion and enthusiasm for the game of basketball is something I have never seen. Their willingness to let Matt and I play our game judgment free and with confidence is something I appreciated all season. 

Being on the national league due to Basketball Ireland rules two non Europeans can not be on the court at the same time. But, with the college league that rule is non existent. Having limited amount of minutes was frustrating at first, but once the college league came around I was happy as ever to display my true talent and help the team achieve our goal. 

We ended up finishing the season undefeated in the league with two more games to go to be considered CHAMPIONS! Due to our high seeding we were able to clinch a semi-final game at home vs Maynooth College, another top team in the college league just from the northern conference. Back home I’m used to large crowds at games especially at playoff games so I asked a few of my teammates if people would come to our game and some of their responses were like, “Doubt it! No Shot! The school doesn’t even know we’re in the playoffs.” I could tell the team never truly got support from the LIT community given how unaware the team is and especially with basketball not being a huge sport here in Ireland. I decided to invite everyone to my game. From my class, to locals, to even everyone on my social media. From there my teammates followed and promoted the game on their social media! On the day of the game we were all nervous, but we decided to get to the gym as early as we can to practice and just be around each other. We started to slowly notice the gym get packed! In LIT we don’t have bleachers and barely any room for people to sit/stand, but due to us asking people to come to the game we had a full on crowd to cheer us on! In that crowd I saw kids I coached before, parents I met in the community, classmates and even friends of friends. It was so nice to see everyone that we knew come together to support the lads in our pursuit of a championship. 

We ended up winning the game with a score of 97 – 79. Truly, I credit that game to the energy in that gym. With every score, pass, assist or defensive stop our bench and crowd roared in celebration. That energy feeded into the five players on the floor at that time and the end result was a perfect representation of that.

After the game we came together and knew we just accomplished something special, but the goal was still not achieved. We had one last step, one last “inch” to achieve to be called champions. 

With that win we were going to go head to head with IT Sligo. All year we heard of this team doing very well in the northern conference and Matt and I knew why. They had two great Victory Scholars in Zack and Connor. Both of them played at high level schools back in the states and even helped their national league team make the playoffs this year. We knew those two were good but had no idea about the rest of their squad. 

As a leader I knew my team was deep in numbers, energy, and enthusiasm for each other. Regardless of how many guys play I knew I had 15 guys supporting each other till the final buzzer regardless of anything! I was hyped up for this championship game because my last appearance in a championship game was in Highschool. In college I only made it to the semi-finals twice with disappointing losses in both appearances.

Due to all the college championship games being scheduled in a 3 day span, we were given an 11am start time in Dublin. Limerick is about 2 hours away, so in order to have enough time to eat, get changed, and warmup we had to leave at 6:30am. I hateeeeeee mornings, I literally consider myself a night owl. But for this day I could suck it up (pause) and be ready to go to war with my brothers. We boarded the bus together and I can see in everyone’s eyes, they were pumped! I don’t think anyone went to sleep on the ride up, either they were playing their favorite music or watching film/prepping for Sligo. I decided to watch film with my teammates Dylan and Kyle.

Dylan is a young lad, 19 years old and understands basketball well for his age. He understands his role as a point guard and is a phenomenal defensive player. Oftentimes throughout the season he was tasked with guarding the best player and did very well. The day of the championship game was no different – he was tasked with guarding Sligo’s best player Zack. What he does for our team is not pretty, but I tell him all the time his contributions aren’t noticed on the scoresheet, but they are noticed within the 16 guys on this bus and we all appreciate it.

Kyle is an older guy about 24/25 and from Canada. He’s studying Strength and Conditioning at LIT and is currently overcoming an ACL tear. The work I seen this guy put in throughout the year and the constant progression he made with each training session was inspirational to say the least. To see him have a big part in winning  this championship was incredibly fulfilling given his backstory.

As we got off the bus to head to the arena everyone had their music on… getting in the zone. We started warming up with the constant focus of just treating this game as any other game. I can see everyone was ready to go!

The game began and Sligo was off to the races! Zack was pulling some unreal three pointers while Conor was dominating in the post. We had NO ANSWER for those two, but my boy Matt managed the deficit to a reasonable amount. We ended the first quarter only down 3 points with a score of 27-24.

We were in the timeout pretty calm and understood what type of competitor Sligo truly was. They weren’t like the other teams, they were just like us… in regards to skill set and personnel. As the second quarter began that 3 point deficit grew…and grew… and GREW! By the time halftime rolled around we were down TWENTY ONE points 🤦🏽‍♂️.

All 16 of us got to the huddle and we just stared at each other for what felt like an hour. We had no words of encouragement, game-plan… NOTHING. We were never in this position before, but we knew we came too far to just give up now.

Now credit to my guy Mike… in Ireland for some reason you don’t call your coaches “coach” you just call them by their first name and in my situation my coaches name is Mike. Mike came to the huddle with no board or sheet of paper but with a simple message that will stay with me and those 15 other guys forever. I’m paraphrasing now, but he said something along the lines of “…lads it’s time to fight! It’s time to fight inch by inch….INCH BY INCH! COME ON LIT!” 

I swear to you we came out that huddle so pumped up and ready to go I felt like I was in a slow-mo scene of a movie. Despite being down 21 we had 20 more minutes to try to figure this out… game play resumed and BANG Sligo hits a three… down 24 now 😅. We come down miss a shot, they get the rebound and drive to the basket to force a foul. The guy ends up making one out of two. We are now down TWENTY-FIVE POINTS with a score of 61 – 36 in the Championship Game of the college league.. embarrassed is the word to describe those minutes on the court, but Mike pulled us together once again and reinforced the message of just going “inch by inch” in our pursuit of winning this game. We came back out onto the floor with a fresh perspective of not trying to get all the points back all at once, but just simply “inch by inch”. 

A few defensive stops here, a few three pointers here, a couple free throws here and slowly but surely we were coming back, “inch by inch”. At one point Sligo’s best Irish player who was giving us big problems on the court with his play making ability fouled out. This was HUGEEE!!!! With that player fouling out, we were well on our way to regaining this lead. By the time the fourth quarter began we were only down 12 points with a score of 74 – 62. Momentum was on our side, we believed in ourselves and most importantly we believed in each other! 

We came back onto the floor ready for war! 

Matt turned up (NY slang for did really well) in the first two minutes nicknaming him The “Scamuffo Show” and cut the lead to 8! But Zack “turned up” too with 5 points of his own.

I was in foul trouble (per usual) and was watching all this unfold. I wanted to help at the moment, but I just couldn’t risk getting another foul and being out of the game. But my boy Peter did his thing! Peter is a young lad, just turned 19 and only been playing basketball for a few years now. He knows how to use his body and understands his role on the team very well. He kind of does the things no one else really wants too. Diving on the floor, taking charges, fighting for rebounds all that fun stuff. Anyway, he just come off an ankle injury and this was his first game back. He was in my position since I was on the bench and had the most impressive 2 minute span I’ve seen in a basketball match during my time in Ireland. Peter fought for a rebound and ended up tipping the ball to Matt to score an easy two points. Then he ran all the way back on defense took a charge on Conor causing him to sit the bench for a few minutes. Then on offense he made a floater to cut the lead even more! Then on defense, Peter got switched on to Zack (Sligo’s best player) and ended up forcing him to turnover the ball!! Mike subbed me back in for Peter as it was obvious he just gave all his effort for the team. I gave him a hug and said, “thank you so much, we’re gonna get this!” 

As game resumed time was running out and we were down 12. We had to make baskets and get stops on defense…QUICK! 

Matt and I ran a pick a roll all game with either him or I making a layup. We decided to keep doing this, but with Conor out and a smaller defender on me I decided to pop for a three point shot instead of roll for a layup. When I popped after the screen, both defenders went to Matt leaving me wide open at the top of the key. Matt passed me the ball and I hit it! Down 9 now, we get back on defense and get another stop! We come back on offense and run the exact same pick and roll play, and again both defenders went with Matt leaving me wide open… BANG! I hit another one, I was hypeeeeeeee!!! Down 6 now! We get back on defense and get ANOTHER stop! It was so lit, our bench and the crowd was roaring for us to get another basket. Again, Matt and I run the pick the roll, but instead of both defenders playing Matt one stood with each of us. Matt drove and kicked the ball to the far corner and hit our teammate Mark, where he sinked another three pointer! Down 3 now! We get on defense with our bench supporting us, 

“defense 👏🏽👏🏽, defense 👏🏽👏🏽” our teammate Krystian got a steal passed it to me and I drove drawing the defender and I passed to Matt and Matt made the layup with the foul! The gym went crazy!!!! We were down 1 point 81 – 80 with 5 minutes to go! Sligo called a timeout! We came back to the huddle with a roar of a reception from our teammates! 

Mike looked at us and told us, “lads it’s time to go for the last inch”! And we allllll knew what that meant, in 5 minutes we were going to be CHAMPIONS! Play resumed and Matt hit the free throw to tie the game up 81 – 81.

It wasn’t until the three minute mark where Matt and Zack were going back and forth scoring points for their teams. The last minute of the game was intense, Zack pulled up from the free throw line to tie the game at 88. With time winding down, I set a screen for Matt and he sank the three pointer to go up 91-88. Sligo had one more possession to potentially tie. We just came back from being down 25 points, their was no way we were going to allow them to make this game any longer. We played good defense and their shot was off at the buzzer! 

WE DID IT! We were CHAMPIONS! Inch by Inch we fought and over time we achieved our goal! 

This championship game was one I will never forget…I’m actually hype because the game was streamed on Facebook and some of my friends and family was able to watch at home. 

The togetherness, belief, and willingness to continue to fight inch by inch by each of us on that team is something players wish they could be apart of. I was lucky enough to BE apart of it. Thank you Mike for believing in me and never giving up on us, this win is just as much credit to you as it is to us!

To my LIT team…my brothers…my family… like I said at lunch later that day that trophy is something tangible. That will always be a representation of our year together! No one can ever take that away from us! 

Three cheers for LIT !!!!

I was texting one of my friends back home and in conversation she said,

“Going to Ireland really the best thing you ever did!! “

And right there I thought for a second… all these flashbacks came rushing to my mind  of everything I’ve done these past 7 months. I really grew up, experienced new things, and “found” my wings (shoutout to my homie Khalil).

In college I was very organized, scheduled, and didn’t stray off what I had “written” for me. If events weren’t in a plan I usually wouldn’t do it in fear that it would affect me later on down the road. Especially with the strict schedule of basketball I hardly went out. But I pledged to myself when I flew over to Ireland to be more free flowing and say “yes” more often so I can have new experiences. It’s not everyday a kid from the Bronx gets to do what I’ve done…

It never really occurred to me how much I’ve truly done here, just in 7 months I’ve done so much in Ireland…

The list includes:

1. Lived away from my family
2. Tried Guinness
3. Visited Belfast, Northern Ireland
4. Made new friends (lifelong friends for sure)
5. Visited the Giants Causeway
6. Got to experience studying abroad
7. Go to graduate school for free
8. (Attempted to) Surf
9. Played professional basketball overseas
10. Organized the first Halloween basketball camp at LIT
11. Coached a women’s college team
12. Had Thanksgiving with 33 incredible people
13. Worked the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic as a Team Liaison
14. Visited the Cliffs of Moher
15. Experienced New Year’s Eve in Galway
16. Organized a New Year basketball camp at LIT
17. Visited St.Johns Castle
18. Played a basketball game in front of my mom
19. Went to a Post Malone Concert
20. Went undefeated in the division two college league
21. Won a College Championship
22. Visited the Ring of Kerry
23. Experienced St.Patrick’s Day in Dublin
24. Went to a Drake Concert
25. Went to a Munster Rugby match
26. And of course experienced Irish foods…

Coming up I’ll be adding to this list, I’ll be celebrating my 23rd birthday, competing in the Varsities basketball tournament, traveling to Barcelona, running another basketball camp in County Clare, attending my first WWE Live event in Europe, and finishing my course in my masters program.

To say this experience was great is underwhelming, this has legit been the biggest life changing experience of my life. I couldn’t even imagine where I would be if I wasn’t here.

My friend Sowah back home loves the rap artist J. Cole and constantly restates to me on the one line that made him a fan. The line goes, “Keep grindin’ boy, your life can change in one year, and even when it’s dark out, the sun is shining somewhere”. Most recently this line has been sticking out to me, last year around this time I was in a completely different mindset. Scurrying around with college, clubs, jobs, and what I was going to do after graduation…. I never thought in a million years I would be here. But with the right amount of work, timing, preparation, and an opportunity I’m fortunate just like J. Cole said to be in a different place in just one year!

To those people who may be struggling with ANYthing going on in your life, it’s okay… it’s just a bad moment, not a bad life…

“keep grinding, your life can change in one year, and even when it’s dark out, the sun is shining somewhere”.

It’s late March here in Jordanstown.

Basketball is finally wrapping up. Everyone’s starting to recover from St. Paddy’s day… The job hunt continues. I’ve progressed from a horrible cook, to now just a really really bad one. Coursework is starting to pick up. And finally, signs of spring are starting to…. ha i’ll stop there. There is no Irish spring…

March has been the toughest month for me so far this year. In between basketball commitments, 2000 word essays, intense boccia competition, and missing my people stateside, I’ve had to spend 4-5 hours a day studying for the GRE (one option for next year is a GA position at UMASS). It’s so hard to juggle everything and also make time for yourself.

I also feel like after 6 months of this amazing program, the feeling of novelty is finally starting to wear off. I haven’t been home in 8 months. It’s hard to FaceTime in on family events or get-togethers with friends and not feel like you are missing out. It’s easy to let the anxiety of getting left behind take over, which makes it impossible to stay in the present.

The past couple days I’ve been listening to a song by the band “Modest Mouse” called “Lives” on repeat. Fair warning- if you know me, you know I’m an old soul and catch a lot of grief for it…. Bieber fans, maybe skip to the next blog.

A couple of lines from the chorus stick with me:

Its hard to remember we’re alive, for the first time 

Its hard to remember we’re alive, for the last time

It’s hard to remember that our lives, are such a short time 

It’s hard to remember when it takes, such a long time 

A lil’ Modest Mouse works to remind me that these next two months might be the last I ever spend abroad. When my time is over in Ireland, even if on some cruddy days it feels like “it takes, such a long time”, I know how much I would regret it if I spent the next 8 weeks wondering what’s going on back home. I miss my Yanks across the pond, but I gotta be in the moment here.

SO!!!! Here are 5 adventures I will be going on this week. And for each one, I will be leaving my phone at home.

1. Surfing in Portrush
2. Sunset hike up Cavehill, with a few Ciders
3. Find some live folk music in Belfast
4. 2 morning walks at sunrise on the coast of “Titanic Sound”
5. Win every boccia game I play in, at all costs

Until next time,

Mike

Nothing beats a sunny Paddy’s Day in Dublin! It was so nice to meet up with the majority of the other scholars to celebrate. We spent the morning having brunch together at Trinity College, then went into town to watch the parade, and enjoyed each other’s company at Huck’s bar. Cheers to St. Patrick!

I can remember back in early September, when I played my first game as a Viking. In fact, it seems like just like week I was writing a blog about that experience. I wrote about how young the team was, and how much room for growth we had. And boy did we grow. After starting the season on a 13 game losing streak, we won 6 of our last 10 games. While our record is a great representation of our growth, it goes much beyond wins and losses.

We grew as a team. I developed a relationship with each one of my teammates off of the court and that undoubtedly carried over to the court. It took a month or two for us to figure things out, but once we did our team’s chemistry was something serious.

We grew as an organization. While the team I play for is the top team in the organization, the Vikings family is a lot larger than one team. And this game showed that. The stands were packed with fans of all ages, many of whom I have been coaching all year, all decked out in blue and white. The crowds had been growing and growing all year, and this last game exemplified how much support our team received all year.

My teammates grew as players. I remember my first couple of practices with the Vikings. To be brutally honest the level of competition was not where I was used to it being. Oh my how that has changed. I am not sure if it is just more confidence in my teammates, or Pat Burke’s visit to our team having a lasting impact, but our practices have turned just as competitive as our games. Almost every practice over the last 2 months have run at least 15 minutes over our gym time, because everyone refuses to lose the last game. Competing like this is my favorite thing about basketball, and my teammates have definitely raised my competitiveness.

So while I may never put on a Vikings jersey again, I cannot wait for what the future holds for the club. The amount of growing that has taken place this year will serve as an incredible foundation for the future of the Waterford Vikings basketball club. I cannot wait to be watching them win the cup from back home in the next 5 years.

Last week our men’s college team at LIT won the Division 2 All-Ireland championship in Dublin! We played against IT Sligo with fellow victory scholars Zack and Connor. It was an absolutely electric game. The final score was 91-88 and came down to the final seconds!

The first half was all IT Sligo. They could not miss. Zack and Connor absolutely dominated the game. By halftime we were down 50-36.

In the second half we were able to turn it around though. We had some great defensive series and were able to get bucket after bucket on the offensive end. Our entire team was so engaged and really impacted the game. The “defense” chants from the bench really boosted our intensity on the floor.

Up until about the 5-minute point in the fourth quarter Sligo had the lead and what seemed like complete control of the game. However, after two huge back to back threes from Drew, we cut the deficit to single digits and then tied it on a traditional three point play! After that, the game was back and fourth with each team trading baskets.

There was under a minute left and I hit a three to put us up 2, then immediately after Zack came down for Sligo and made one of the toughest pull up jumpers I’ve seen to tie it up. There was only about 18 seconds left, I got the ball waited for a few seconds then came off a screen from the top of the key. It was a great screen that left me open enough to shoot a pull up three. Luckily it went in to put us up 3! This shot literally hit every part of the rim and bounced in, I’m still shocked it went in! There was only a few seconds left and we made it very difficult for Sligo to get a good shot off at the end. We were crowned champions as the horn sounded!

It was such an exciting game. We were down by as much as 25 points. We fought our way back and inch by inch we cut the deficit. I was fortunate enough to score 52 points and to be awarded MVP of the game. This college team is a very close-knit group so it was really special to bring home one last W for LIT. My teammates have been great all season long and playing on the court with them has been an absolute pleasure!

After my last college game in the states concluded last March I really thought my basketball days were over. I give so much thanks and appreciation to SCL for providing me with the opportunity to continue my basketball career. It definitely was an unique experience but I’ve enjoyed every aspect of it.

One of the biggest things we have been doing this year is playing Boccia, a paralympic sport, with the elderly and the disabled at community centers and retirement homes.  Every few months, we invite teams from all of our groups to the SCL office for a big competition, and they have been a wild success thus far.  They play a big round-robin first round and then we narrow it down to the final four based on points, and then determine a championship through single-elimination.

For most of our participants it is an incredible effort just to be in attendance, so we give medals to all of them before we bring out sandwiches and sausages and treats.  This festival was a great idea by Mac, who runs most the community outreach work we do (particularly with the disabled or elderly), and it is something I hope carries on in future years.

The day of our last Mystics game was quite a sad day. Unfortunately, our team ended up never winning a game. We came close in a handful of games and gave a lot of teams a run for their money, but we could never close out the 40 minutes with a W. While one might think that a winless team would be happy to see the end of a season, this was not the reality for us. We all wished we had a few more games together, to fight some more battles and to “get mystical” (this became our unofficial team motto).

My experience on the Mystics got me thinking about the importance of team chemistry. On our walk home from a varsities practice, Amy and I spiraled into a deep conversation about how team chemistry can make or break a season. We both found it truly incredible that our team camaraderie on the Mystics stayed so steady despite fighting through so much adversity. This was a true testament to the quality of the people in the Mystics organization. We had a group of people—players, coaches, and managers—that never gave up and never placed blame on each other. We lost every game as a team.

I wouldn’t trade my time with the Mystics for anything. While I personally experienced some tough times with all the losses, I know that these experiences have made me stronger. I’ve always said that I hate to lose more than I love to win, so losing did bring me down at times. Fortunately, I had eleven incredible teammates to lean on through the bumps in the road.

I want to shout out a few people from Mystics who made my experience a great one. Coach Terry Kennedy instilled us with confidence every game and made me a better basketball player. Maura Harte, our team manager, provided endless amounts of support and generosity to the whole team and never stopped believing in us. Mike Murray did most work from behind the scenes, but also contributed to the welcoming environment that is the Mystics organization. Finally, my eleven teammates made the season one that I will never forget. Each player brought something special to the table, and on any given day I could look to a different person for motivation or support. I’m incredibly grateful to have been placed in Galway with fellow Victory Scholar, Amy Hasenauer. It’s weird to think we won’t be in the same place next year, but I know our friendship is one that will continue for life. I am a strong believer in the saying, “It’s the people that make the place.” In this case, the people in the Mystics organization definitely helped make Galway a place that I will always remember, look back on fondly, and likely come back to visit!

Last week, I finally found the time to catch an official Northern Ireland Game of Thrones guided tour. Like everyone else I’m a huge GOT nerd, so I’ve been dying to get out and see where the show is actually filmed.

Our trip started around 7:30 AM in the Belfast City Center. It wasn’t hard to spot our tour guide, Jason- a long haired bearded man with a white walker printed on his jacket. And my goodness lemme tell you… Jason was quite the character. He had worked as an extra for the show in all 8 seasons (gladly he didn’t hand out any finale spoilers), so it was unreal to pick his brain about his experience with the cast and crew. We hopped on a bus and headed down the Causeway Coast. Even if you’ve never seen the show, the GOT tour would be well worth the money. The scenery truly takes your breath away. Long, windy roads that look out over the Irish Sea, cliffs and mountains that are 10 different shades of green, the list goes on and on.

The trip included stops at GOT film locations such as Castle Black, the Northern Wall, the Iron Islands, Dragonstone, Winterfell Castle, Braavos, and the Dark Hedges. Jason even led us into the cave where Lady Melisandre (The Red Woman) gave birth to that weird demon baby thing… Scary stuff.

At each stop, Jason would talk for 10-15 minutes about famous scenes filmed there and show us pictures that compared the actual scenery to what fans see on screen (a lot of CGI mixed in). It’s amazing to learn about the level of detail that goes into filming a show like Thrones. Jason mentioned on most days, cast and crew are filming in 4 different countries around the world simultaneously. And in order for the show to remain successful, everyone from Khaleesi to background actors like Jason must be on the same page. I can’t wait to re-watch the show and pick out places I’ve been able to explore 🙂

BRING ON SEASON 8!!!! Arya is ending up on that throne, you heard it here first.

“Culture” is a word I have been using quite often since I first arrived in Ireland. Between the language, the pace of life, and social norms, I have felt as though I have become more “cultured” as they say. However, yesterday was a day truly like no other…a day in which I had the opportunity to experience a lifestyle so foreign to me. I experienced a day on an Irish farm.
My American teammate, Feesh, and I went to visit two of her friends, Aine and Ann, down in Kilkenny who happen to live on a farm. We were excited going into it, but we never knew that it would soon turn out to be one of the best days of our lives. Having arrived at Aine’s homes, I immediately fell in love with her beautiful view overlooking endless green hills of grazing animals. She supplied Feesh and I with a pair of “wellies”, or as we Americans like to call them, rubber boots. The four of us then hopped on a quad as we took off for the animals. My heart nearly exploded as I witnessed eight newborn lambs. Just hours old, some of them were even still wet from being born. As an avid animal-lover, this was a dream come true for me. But after picking up the lambs and taking a few pictures, the “work” began.

Feesh and I were taught how to tail a lamb to prevent it from developing maggots, followed by marking it with spray paint so as to decipher between whose lamb is who’s. It is vital for lambs to drink their mother’s milk within the first few hours of life as it contains immunogens for the lamb to fight off future illnesses. My next task was to squeeze milk from the sheep and force-feed the lamb by prying open its mouth. Next, we put down fresh, new bedding for the lambs, which required rolling a hay stack around before evenly spreading out the straw. After this was completed, we went next door in the barn to witness the new calves, including one that was born just twelve hours prior. We put down bedding for the cows, but only after driving by a field in which a sheep had just given birth to two lambs minutes ago. We watched as one of the lambs learned, only after failing several times, to stand on its own four legs for the first time.

With the help of Aine’s sheepdog, we then had to lead direct a herd of sheep from the field down the road and into the barn. In making sure the lambs did not veer off the path, I was given the job of waving at them and screaming “Yah!”. Nervously I awaited this task, as soon came forty sheep heading down the road towards me. I waved frantically, as the last thing I wanted to do is have to chase down the herd in Kilkenny. Fortunately, I succeeded in sending them in the right direction. The sheep veered right, heading for the barn for Aine to be weighed in order to determine if they were heavy enough to be sold. This required aggressively grabbing the sheep by their hind leg to get them on the scale, and the sheep did not want any part of this. After weighing them, we sent them back to the fields, only to take in the pregnant ones in case any lambs were born throughout the night. And so that ended the day’s work…
Feesh and I could not help but find ourselves repeatedly saying “what a day.” We drove a tractor, held newborn lambs, pet newborn calves, performed bedding, rode a quad overlooking Kilkenny, in complete all the entire time. Meanwhile, for Aine and Ann it was just another ordinary day. Despite how amazed I was by everything, it amazed me even more that for some people this is the norm. Because for Feesh and I, it was the most unique day we’ve probably ever experienced. Different terms, different outfits, different views, different means of travel, different pets, different everyday tasks….different cultures.

I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job exploring Belfast and Northern Ireland in my time here, but my exploration of Ireland has been lacking significantly.  Luckily, my mom and my aunt made the overseas voyage last week which gave me the perfect excuse to see as much of it as I could in a short stretch.  It also gave me an excuse to finally get behind the wheel of a car on the other side of the road!

I rented a car in Belfast and drove down to Dublin airport to pick them up, and after a brief breakfast in Dublin we headed west to Galway where we stayed for two nights.  We made the mandatory day-trip from Galway down to the Cliffs of Moher where we endured the windiest day I have ever seen.  Not only were the normal gusts up to 70mph, but there were certain areas of the cliffs that caused wind tunnels that became so windy most people could not walk through it!  Some people literally had to turn around because they physically could not pass.  It was probably the most tourist-filled spot we went to, but I was glad we did it.

After Galway, we drove north on the Wild Atlantic Way, through the incredibly remote region of Connemara and up County Mayo to the Downpatrick Head, which is pictured as the header of this post.  I loved that it was way off the beaten path – it felt like we had the place to ourselves.  It’s free to see and is completely untouched and undisturbed; a fittingly raw spectacle in an area of the world that is known for its mythical-looking environment.

The next day, we hiked a big portion of the Sliabh Liag (Slieve League), Ireland highest sea cliffs (almost 3x the height of the Cliffs of Moher).  I can’t believe how massive the walls are – it is essentially a mountain pushed right up against the ocean, and the only reason it sees less tourism than the Cliffs of Moher must be due to the difficulty getting there.

We finished our Tour de Eire with a drive along the north coast and a stop at the Giant’s Causeway before returning to Belfast for a few days before they went home.  I was glad to show them around the city I know best, but even happier to see family that I hadn’t seen since last summer.  In just over two months I will be on my way back to the USA.  I have enjoyed my time here, but I am starting to itch for a familiar culture, dryer, warmer weather, and seeing family on a regular basis.

It’s my favorite month and for several reasons:
– My birthday is at the end of it
– The NCAA basketball tournament happens
– It’s one month close to summer and the weather is better
– St. Patrick’s day

I celebrated St. Patrick’s in Sligo with some of my Spanish teammates and coaches. It is not quite as ruckus as some parties in the states but it was fun none the less. I still need learn some good Irish songs by heart… The weather is getting better, but for the rainy days March madness will keep me satisfied! I’ve made three brackets, of which one is far superior, so far. I have Duke winning it all over Tennessee in the final (knocks on wood*). The odds of having a perfect bracket are slim to none but it’s fun to see what you can guess right. Lastly, it’s my 23rd in a week and my friend from college in the states is coming over to see what life is like over here.

All that being said I am looking forward to April as well. So far in April Avengers Endgame is coming out, the final season of Game of Thrones is starting, the end of March madness will happen, and Easter break is looking like it’ll be fun. I’m spending the second week in Amsterdam with Zack Yonda and our teammate who’s name is also Zak. It is a short update but that is all I have for you this time, have a good month y’all!

Joke time (bday month so I’ll give two):

What did the pirate say on his 80th birthday?
Aye, Matey..

When I was young, I used to feel like a male trapped in a women’s body, then I was born..

If you read my last blog, you’d know that I complained that my golf game is utter trash as of late due to the lack of time I’m able to allocate to practice.  Perhaps it isn’t trash, it’s just inconsistent!  I say this because the week after the event where I missed a cut, I played the best golf I’ve played in months.  Mark (other Victory Scholar golfer) and I were alternate shot partners while representing Ulster University at the Irish Colleges Match Play near Dublin, and we won!

Our team knocked out Trinity College and Cork in the quarter- and semi-finals, where Mark and I cruised to wins in our matches.  In the final match, against fellow Belfast school Queens University Belfast, it all came down to Mark and me.  We were clutch down the final few holes and won with a clinching birdie on the 17th hole.

They say winning solves everything.  It doesn’t solve the paper I have due in a week, but it solves a lot of other problems.  Hopefully there are more wins in store this spring!

Winners win by doing what losers won’t. Sport Changes Life gives every scholar it funds several opportunities to pursue life goals or simply have a fun year well deserved year abroad while working with great people. My attention was drawn to program because of my love of basketball. I love learning and growing and challenging myself, but traditional classroom learning never tickled my fancy. As I go through what is hopefully my final semester of school in a long while, I find myself struggling to be as eager about academia as I am about athletics. An extreme case of senioritis if you will. That being said, I know I can earn this master’s degree, so I will.

In other news, I caught up on some more Game of Thrones! Great show! Things are heating up, the dragons are getting huge, (I don’t wanna ruin anything for anyone else who hasn’t watched, but) John Snow… my goodness there’s some drama.

On top of bingeing all of season five on one of my days off, I got some new basketball shoes with more ankle support. Yay! They will come in handy as my national team continues to compete for a spot in the tournament to move up to the super league. They will also help me compete for a national title for the IT Sligo club team. We play UL wolves this week in the semifinals and hopefully we keep our streak up. Alright, until next time.

So two men are arguing and decide to take their fight outside. One man draws a line in the dirt and says if you cross that I’ll hit you square in the jaw.

That was the punch line..

Picture from:

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/winner-businessman-first-ranking-3190947/

Of all my blogs so far, this one might be the most painful to write. Future Ulster Elks, PLEASE read this one. Make sure you learn from my mistakes.

As all of you should know, Ulster University is in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. It is the only school partnered with the Sport Changes Life Foundation in Northern Ireland, which means that all other scholars are stationed in the Republic of Ireland- which is part of the European Union.

This means a few things! Scholars in Ireland need Euros, whereas the Ulster Elks use Pound Sterling. There are slight changes in culture and lingo across the island. But I encountered one of the biggest differences in locations before I even arrived. The infamous Student VISA.

As a United States citizen, you need to acquire a Student Visa in order to study abroad. For the 30 Victory Scholars stationed in the Republic of Ireland, the application process can be done AFTER arrival in Ireland. For the 6 Ulster scholars, it’s a little different. The U.K. requires U.S. students to obtain their VISA before they leave home.

For me, this process quickly turned into a nightmare. There are 6 or 7 steps of paperwork and registration that need to be completed before the illusive visa is in your hands. First, you need a  “Confirmation of Acceptance” (CAS) letter from the University you are attending (for me that was Ulster). Then, you fill out a lengthy application online and sign up for an appointment at a local VISA center (in Virginia, local = two hours away). At the appointment, a government official will interview you and get your fingerprints. From there, they will mail your application to the U.K. Consulate in New York City.

The key factor to remember in all of this is: *the VISA process occurs in phases*. Once you are finished with one phase, you move on to the next. You need your CAS number to finish the online application, you need to finish the online application before you have your appointment, and so on.

For me, it all started going downhill on STEP 1. I emailed Ulster for my CAS number in June, and did not receive a CAS number back until July 27th….From there, I got the first appointment I could (August 14th), and mailed in my application to the NYC Consulate the day after. I paid an extra 400 dollars to expedite the entire process, which put my VISA application at the top of the priority list. In theory, my VISA would be confirmed and sent back in five days. Think again.

Day after day went by, and no email. No UPS truck. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent staring at my phone refreshing my email account. The “Victory Scholar Launch” (day all the scholars fly over to Ireland together) was set for the last week of August. Finally that day came, and I had not received any word from the NYC Consulate.

The week before launch day, I let the SCL staff know the situation and asked if there was anything I could possibly do. Unfortunately, there is nothing ANYONE can do. Once you send in that application, all you can do is wait. There is no customer service you can call, no one you can email… I even tried calling the London Consulate office, and all they could tell me was “to be patient-I am sure you will hear soon.” I started to doubt whether it would come at all. What if this Visa never came, or my application was denied? What happens if I can’t get to Ireland…

Launch day was held at Marist College- about a 9 and a half hour drive from Virginia. I decided that even though I wouldn’t be able to fly with the group after, it was important to make the trip. It was nice to meet all the scholars I would be spending the year with, but I couldn’t help but feel out of place and totally embarrassed knowing that 33 scholars would be flying to their new home that night, while I would be stuck in a car to Virginia.

More than anything, I felt like I had let my parents down. They had supported me unconditionally for 22 years, opened SO many doors for me , and I repaid had them with this.

Finally, 37 days after I sent in my expedited VISA application, I received an email from the NYC Consulate: “your application has been accepted.” Receiving that email was one of the happiest moments of my life. I remember running outside and giving that lucky UPS driver a massive bear hug.

The next day, my mom, truly a saint of a woman, drove 7 hours to JFK Airport, only to turn right back around and drive 7 hours back for work the next day.  I hopped on a plane to join my 33 friends. I’m so appreciative of how patient and kind the SCL family was through such a stressful and uncertain experience. Believe me, the next time I need a VISA, no fooling around…. I am sending that app in 6 years ahead of time.

Future scholars, PLEASE… PLEASE take my advice. Do not procrastinate on your VISA application. Do not hesitate in sending a follow up email to Ulster in order to receive your CAS number. If you have to, send one every single day. Get it done in June!!!! Being the “34th” scholar is no fun, trust me.

Lastly, if future Ulster Elks have any questions about the VISA application please DO NOT hesitate to ask. I’m not proud in saying I know everything about the process and would be more than happy to help you through it.