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Volume 1 (1999/2000)
Issue
1 (March 1999)
Issue
2 (Nov. 1999)
Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)
Issue 4 (Feb. 2000)
Issue 5 (March 2000)
Issue 6 (April 2000)
Issue
7 (May 2000)
Volume 2 (2000/2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2000)
Issue 2 (Oct. 2000)
Issue 3 (Jan. 2001)
Issue 4 (March 2001)
Issue 5 (April 2001)
Issue 6 (May 2001)
Volume 3 (2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2001)
Issue 2 (Nov. 2001)
Categories
Sport: 1
2 3
Lifestyles: 1 2
3
Commentary: 1 2
3
Review: 1 2
3
Writing: 1 2
3
Event: 1 2
3
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Mairead Finnegan
St. Brigid's Secondary School, Killarney
Mairead Finnegan, St. Brigid's Secondary
School, Killarney, was part of the Irish Under 16 team that won the Four
Countries International Tournament recently. This is her account of their
success.
Preparations began in earnest eighteen months ago. Since then, we have
travelled the length and breadth of the country training and playing tournaments.
We trained as a team once a month and almost every weekend during the
summer, spending countless hours perfecting moves and playing matches
to ensure that we were ready for the Four Countries International Tournament
(F.C.I.T.). As well as this, we had an individual training programme to
follow in between training sessions. This included shooting drills, skipping,
stretching, running and ball skills. In addition to this, we took part
in tournaments in Portlaoise, Limerick and Moyne. As part of our preparations
we went to America and played in the AAU Tournament, winning 3 out of
five games. This was a great experience both on and off the court. We
went to Boston, New York and Connecticut in June/July 1999, over a duration
of 2 weeks. Definitely, this was one of the highlights of the programme.
With all the training over and preparations completed, we met early on
Thursday, March 2nd, in Dublin Airport, waiting to board a plane to Scotland.
Before we knew it we had flown in to Prestwick, Scotland. A three hour
bus journey later, we arrived at our destination, The Patio Hotel, Aberdeen,
safely. As the other teams were also staying in The Patio, we got our
first glimpse of our opposition. The excitement and anticipation was palpable.
On the afternoon, we made our way to the Beach Leisure centre. This was
the sports complex where the tournament was being held. We had an hour
to shoot around and to get familiar with the rings, court and surroundings.
It was then back to The Patio for us and in to bed to get our rest, as
we had three tough games ahead of us in the next 2 days. Hopes were high
as we retired for the night.
Our opening match of the competition was against the home side Scotland
on a snowy Friday evening. The first half was a closely contested affair.
The lead changed sides many times. However, just before half time we pulled
away 36 pts. to 32 pts. In the second half, we used our superior fitness
and dominance under the boards to our advantage and finished the match
as victors by a margin of 16 (85-69).
Our next match was Saturday morning against the Welsh National Team.
Even though Wales never gave up, this was a one-sided match, thanks to
our great team work and scoring power. The final score was 92-97.
Our third and final match was against defending champions, England. We
went into the match knowing that a win would guarantee first place. However,
it was England who settled quickest as they got the first score. But we
rapidly equalised and added a number of more baskets to build up a sizeable
lead. Due to great work on defence, England were never given the chance
to get back into the match. Yet, we were able to add to our score because
of good shot selection and great execution of the fast break. Despite
this, England did not give up without a fight and thanks to a succession
of quick 3 pointers without reply they came to within 10 points of us.
However, we upped the pressure and finished winners by 13 pts. (67-54).
There were joyous scenes as we heard the final buzzer, as, not only had
we won the match, but we had also won the F.C.I.T. Our captain, Mags Bourke,
accepted the trophy on behalf of the team. There was then a reception
for all the teams. This was a great opportunity to socialise with girls
from the other teams and meet them as friends, not opponents. The celebrations
continued late into the night and culminated with a sing-song in which
all the teams contributed and showed talents other than basketball.
We arrived back to Ireland on Sunday night with mixed emotions; sad we
were finished with the team because, after spending a year and half together,
there was a strong bond of friendship between us all and yet, glad of
the memories of the times we had spent together.
A special thanks must go to our coach, Joe Kavanagh; assistant coach,
Siobhan Byrne and team manager, Brigid Lalor. They deserve a lot of credit
for all the effort and time they gave to us.
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