Day 4
The dreaded day had arrived, of a 4.45 AM start before leaving the hostel for the last time. We arrived at the bus stop shortly but because it was so early, we had to wait in the cold before it arrived!! Once it got there, we hopped on the packed bus that we were going to be travelling on for the next two and a half hours. Everybody had a nice sleep before waking up upon arrival at the airport. With a group of seventeen people all starving for food, we went straight for something to eat. Time started to run out when the last bit of food was served at 9.10am with everybody still needing to pay and our gate closing at 9.20am.
After much rush and fiddling around with money, we ran to security to find there was a big queue which started the panic to set in. Sheena spoke to one of the security men and explained that we were running late and we could possibly miss our flight, so he let us skip the queue which was a huge relief. Once through security, we quickly got to our gate to find that not one person had boarded the plane.
While thinking we were good to go, we were then informed that our bags were “too big” and we would be refused on the plane with out paying for each and every one. The two ladies working there made all seventeen of us come up and measure our bag which the rest of the people on the flight didn’t seem to like – and either did we. Dave sent for the manager where he explained that our bags were of perfect measure because otherwise we would not have been able to fly them over. The manager brought out a box and slid it in the hole where we measured our bags and said it was the “perfect” measurements, even though it was still taller than our gear bags. Each one of us then had to prove our bag was of the correct size before getting a “checked baggage” sticker to show that it was and heading on the plane.
When everyone had boarded the plane it set off straight away while everyone chilled out before we arrived home. After an eventful time in Frankfurt airport while having a good laugh we got back to Ireland safely. Before we went through the arrival doors we put our hands in for one last cheer for Ireland before going through and meeting our families and saying good bye to everyone until our next training.
Until Macedonia, Talk to you later,
Team Ireland.
(stay updated with the Under 16 Women's team this summer by following their blog and joining us on Twitter and Facebook!)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Day 3 - Two games in one day!
Day 3
We started our longest day yet by crawling out of bed at 7.30am for our 8:00 AM training session at the gym. As it was too early for breakfast to be served, some of the girls had bought sandwiches in the café the previous night so we had energy for our session. The tired atmosphere dropped when we reached the gym as it was time to focus on the changes that had to be made before our next two games later that day. With the full team back training Dave went through specific parts of our game that he wanted to be improved on. We finished our productful training with a loud cheer as the Dutch team arrived through the door before we got our stuff and left for breakfast.
With a couple of hours left to spare before our game against the Netherlands everybody left breakfast and went for a lie-down and chilled out to some music, while some of the players carrying injuries went to Sheena for some much needed physio.
Soon enough it was game time! We arrived at the gym with over 45 minutes until tip off so we laced up and had a shoot around before getting our regular warm up started. With everybody getting comfortable with the baskets, an unprepared Dutch team arrived late to the game wearing the wrong set of gear and had to get changed for a second time before stepping foot on the court.
We started the game strong while staying neck and neck with the Dutch for the majority of the first half. A lot of great performances occurred as everyone on the court had fresh legs when we moved to a five on - five off rotation. The first half ended with us still in the game so we moved to the dressing room for a team talk. We spoke on what was needed to be done in order to stay in the game. It was only until the 3rd quarter where we lost focus for 5 minutes where they took advantage and began to build up a lead. Within those 5 minutes they were up by thirty and we ended up chasing after them. After regaining our control, we started the 4th quarter wanting to get back into the game and finish well. We finished the game short losing 68-41 but took away with us the positive and negative parts and looked to use them against Luxembourg later that day.
We set off back to the hostel for some lunch before going back to the rooms and showering once again. Soon enough, we had to turn around and leave for game 2 of the day! The coaches had spoken to us about not going into the game overly confident because we had beaten Luxemborg two days previous but to treat them with the respect they deserved as they had proven themselves the night before when they defeated the Netherlands by a point after being beaten by 40 points in their first game against them.
At the tip-off Luxembourg showed they came ready to play after getting three consecutive offensive rebounds before we stepped up and showed we wanted it too. With a poor start to the game the score stayed close throughout the first half. After discussing what needed to be changed in order to come out on top, the game still stayed close until Luxembourg began to pull away and were up before we knew it. It was in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter where we dug deep and were up by 3 points with only a couple of minutes left on the clock. It was our turn to play tough defence when just as the shot clock was running down a three pointer was put up by one of the Luxembourg girls and went right through the net. It was 45-45 with under a minute left to go when the ball was pushed down the court and we were fouled. We went one for two on the line and secured the victory with some solid defence.
We finished our cool down and waited outside the gym for our drivers while taking some pictures. While turned away from the coaches/supporters taking pictures of the back of our kits, we were suddenly soaked. The coaches had started a water fight and to Danny’s mistake of running away so he wouldn’t get wet it ended up being twelve against one. We arrived back to the hostel and joined in on the festival that had been ongoing that day. Instead of having a regular dinner we enjoyed a barbeque before we settled down for the night.
Bye for now,
Team Ireland
We started our longest day yet by crawling out of bed at 7.30am for our 8:00 AM training session at the gym. As it was too early for breakfast to be served, some of the girls had bought sandwiches in the café the previous night so we had energy for our session. The tired atmosphere dropped when we reached the gym as it was time to focus on the changes that had to be made before our next two games later that day. With the full team back training Dave went through specific parts of our game that he wanted to be improved on. We finished our productful training with a loud cheer as the Dutch team arrived through the door before we got our stuff and left for breakfast.
With a couple of hours left to spare before our game against the Netherlands everybody left breakfast and went for a lie-down and chilled out to some music, while some of the players carrying injuries went to Sheena for some much needed physio.
Soon enough it was game time! We arrived at the gym with over 45 minutes until tip off so we laced up and had a shoot around before getting our regular warm up started. With everybody getting comfortable with the baskets, an unprepared Dutch team arrived late to the game wearing the wrong set of gear and had to get changed for a second time before stepping foot on the court.
We started the game strong while staying neck and neck with the Dutch for the majority of the first half. A lot of great performances occurred as everyone on the court had fresh legs when we moved to a five on - five off rotation. The first half ended with us still in the game so we moved to the dressing room for a team talk. We spoke on what was needed to be done in order to stay in the game. It was only until the 3rd quarter where we lost focus for 5 minutes where they took advantage and began to build up a lead. Within those 5 minutes they were up by thirty and we ended up chasing after them. After regaining our control, we started the 4th quarter wanting to get back into the game and finish well. We finished the game short losing 68-41 but took away with us the positive and negative parts and looked to use them against Luxembourg later that day.
We set off back to the hostel for some lunch before going back to the rooms and showering once again. Soon enough, we had to turn around and leave for game 2 of the day! The coaches had spoken to us about not going into the game overly confident because we had beaten Luxemborg two days previous but to treat them with the respect they deserved as they had proven themselves the night before when they defeated the Netherlands by a point after being beaten by 40 points in their first game against them.
At the tip-off Luxembourg showed they came ready to play after getting three consecutive offensive rebounds before we stepped up and showed we wanted it too. With a poor start to the game the score stayed close throughout the first half. After discussing what needed to be changed in order to come out on top, the game still stayed close until Luxembourg began to pull away and were up before we knew it. It was in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter where we dug deep and were up by 3 points with only a couple of minutes left on the clock. It was our turn to play tough defence when just as the shot clock was running down a three pointer was put up by one of the Luxembourg girls and went right through the net. It was 45-45 with under a minute left to go when the ball was pushed down the court and we were fouled. We went one for two on the line and secured the victory with some solid defence.
We finished our cool down and waited outside the gym for our drivers while taking some pictures. While turned away from the coaches/supporters taking pictures of the back of our kits, we were suddenly soaked. The coaches had started a water fight and to Danny’s mistake of running away so he wouldn’t get wet it ended up being twelve against one. We arrived back to the hostel and joined in on the festival that had been ongoing that day. Instead of having a regular dinner we enjoyed a barbeque before we settled down for the night.
Bye for now,
Team Ireland
Day 2 and Game 2
Day Two:
With an early training session we started working on mistakes from the first match. Cliona was still out from a head injury so we only had 11 players for the day.
After a filling lunch we were looking forward to our encounter with Holland and were busy preparing. We completed our warm up and had our team talks. We discovered that Holland were very physical and so it took us a while to get into the game fully. We made some mistakes and with being under pressure, Holland began to break away. We attempted to start again but we found it difficult to cope with the strong defensive Holland side. Holland had a big advantage heading into half time with such a large scoring margin. After the break we pulled ourselves together and fought hard to the end. We played far better holding Holland to just 8 points in the last quarter.
The rest of the day was spent recovering with a few team building activities.We all played pool, table tennis and relaxed in anticipation of tomorrows' two games.
Final Score: Ireland 27 Holland 97
(Upate at www.basketballireland.ie/international)
With an early training session we started working on mistakes from the first match. Cliona was still out from a head injury so we only had 11 players for the day.
After a filling lunch we were looking forward to our encounter with Holland and were busy preparing. We completed our warm up and had our team talks. We discovered that Holland were very physical and so it took us a while to get into the game fully. We made some mistakes and with being under pressure, Holland began to break away. We attempted to start again but we found it difficult to cope with the strong defensive Holland side. Holland had a big advantage heading into half time with such a large scoring margin. After the break we pulled ourselves together and fought hard to the end. We played far better holding Holland to just 8 points in the last quarter.
The rest of the day was spent recovering with a few team building activities.We all played pool, table tennis and relaxed in anticipation of tomorrows' two games.
Final Score: Ireland 27 Holland 97
(Upate at www.basketballireland.ie/international)
On our way to Luxembourg!
Day One:
The Under 16 Women's team all met in the airport at 8:30 rearing to go. Everyone was excited for the weekend ahead and we checked in, said goodbye to our parents and headed off . The plane ride was eventful (with some screams of horror from certain people!)
When we arrived in Germany we had a two hour bus journey to Luxembourg for the tournament. On the way we had great craic on the bus singing and listening to Head Coach Dave’s lovely snoring.
Game time approached and all the team were ready to play our second International game. We had a slow start but eventually we got into the game. During the last quarter of the game, Cliona clashed heads and suffered a suspected concussion and had to go to hospital to be checked out. Thankfully she was given the all clear but needed to rest and keep hydrated.
It was a great win and we were really happy to get another game under out belts!
Ire 70 (M Clarke 13, D Geaney 11, K Moloney 9) Lux 23 (L Kaufmann 8, C Bidinger 4, M Scheer 2)
The Under 16 Women's team all met in the airport at 8:30 rearing to go. Everyone was excited for the weekend ahead and we checked in, said goodbye to our parents and headed off . The plane ride was eventful (with some screams of horror from certain people!)
When we arrived in Germany we had a two hour bus journey to Luxembourg for the tournament. On the way we had great craic on the bus singing and listening to Head Coach Dave’s lovely snoring.
Game time approached and all the team were ready to play our second International game. We had a slow start but eventually we got into the game. During the last quarter of the game, Cliona clashed heads and suffered a suspected concussion and had to go to hospital to be checked out. Thankfully she was given the all clear but needed to rest and keep hydrated.
It was a great win and we were really happy to get another game under out belts!
Ire 70 (M Clarke 13, D Geaney 11, K Moloney 9) Lux 23 (L Kaufmann 8, C Bidinger 4, M Scheer 2)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Barcelona: Day 5 (Tear!)
This is the last update from Team Ireland here in Malgrat de Mar, and it's been great news all the way because we won the tournament!! The big day started with our 2nd go at aqua aerobics. Breakfast followed, and the milk was cold at last. We were given time to buy some tokens for family at home. Everyone had some down time before lunch at 3. We were all on time for our last ever team meeting in Hotel Papi. After the game plan was in place, we met in the lobby to leave for the game, but the reliability of the Spanish buses came into question again. Dave acted quickly and ordered some taxis.
6 pm: The game started faster than ever. Our French opponents kept us on our toes, but we quickly got into the swing of things and finally won the game 55-23. Our Italian friends joined forces with our Irish faithfuls, so the support was great.
We arrived back at the hotel. We showered and sat for our final team dinner. After dinner, Dave asked for a medal where he presented us each with a memento bracelet that made this trip truly unforgettable. Our first official team dance performance went brilliantly in the packed pool area. After this, we returned to the Pavilion de Santa Susanna for the awards ceremony. All the teams that participated were packed into the gym for the presentation ceremony. We were presented with our winners' trophy and got some team pictures. We shared the bus back to the hotel with other teams, who seemed to be as tired as us. We just like to say we had an unreal experience and thanks so much to Dave, Danny, Laura, Emma, Sheena, and of course, all of our fab supporters and everyone at home who made our trip possible. We hope you all enjoyed reading this blog as much as we enjoyed writing it.
For the last time from Barcelona,
Slán,
Team Ireland
6 pm: The game started faster than ever. Our French opponents kept us on our toes, but we quickly got into the swing of things and finally won the game 55-23. Our Italian friends joined forces with our Irish faithfuls, so the support was great.
We arrived back at the hotel. We showered and sat for our final team dinner. After dinner, Dave asked for a medal where he presented us each with a memento bracelet that made this trip truly unforgettable. Our first official team dance performance went brilliantly in the packed pool area. After this, we returned to the Pavilion de Santa Susanna for the awards ceremony. All the teams that participated were packed into the gym for the presentation ceremony. We were presented with our winners' trophy and got some team pictures. We shared the bus back to the hotel with other teams, who seemed to be as tired as us. We just like to say we had an unreal experience and thanks so much to Dave, Danny, Laura, Emma, Sheena, and of course, all of our fab supporters and everyone at home who made our trip possible. We hope you all enjoyed reading this blog as much as we enjoyed writing it.
For the last time from Barcelona,
Slán,
Team Ireland
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