October 2nd, 2022 | NEWS
Becoming a Wildcat!
Over the past few weeks, I have settled into Waterford and quickly made friends with my fellow Wildcat teammates. The Waterford Wildcats’ team is inclusive and take their sport very seriously while also making everyday fun. My older teammates especially have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome by taking me out for coffee and showing me cool spots to hang out around Waterford. One of my favourite places to visit was Dunmore East, a small village just outside of Waterford city with a scenic cliff walk overlooking the sea. My teammates have also introduced me to more local Irish cuisine including a “blaa,” tea, scones, and my personal favourite (so far) “Supermacs” which is like an Irish version of the McDonalds restaurant chains. It’s cool to see even the smallest differences in slang, food, music, and many other aspects of Irish culture compared to how I grew up in America. I’m so grateful to feel a part of a team again and have teammates who I can go to for anything.
Our Wildcat practices have been competitive and fast-paced. My team performed really well in the Superleague last year and hope to do even better this year, so everyone has been working really hard. My American basketball teams back home had a similar fast-paced “run and jump” style of play, so we are quickly gelling on the court as well. I’ve even started to learn some Irish words because my coach uses terms like “léim” which means “jump” and “seas suas” which means “stand up.” On our off-days, I bike to the gym to use the shooting-gun with the other American on my team. Seeing the sunrise over Waterford city on my ride to the gym has become one of my favourite parts of my week. I can’t wait for our first regular season game this weekend! (Maybe by the time you read this we will have got the W!!)
Ps. Shoutout to my fellow Victory Scholars, good luck in your first round of games also.
Maggie
