Irish Juniors at EYUC 2009

New blog for 2010!

2010-06-21T03:52:00.000-07:00

So, this year sees the Irish Juniors make the trip to the World Junior Championships in Heilbronn. Last year they made their debut in Europe, now its time to take on the best of the other continents too!

To follow their progress check out the new blog.

Best of luck lads, I'm sure you'll do us all proud!
Marko

Finals Day Photos...

2009-08-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

Finals Day

2009-08-11T04:44:00.000-07:00

Yes – our first decent lie-in all week! Our games were scheduled for the same time slot (2.30pm) which allowed the two teams sleep, go for a wander and find other breakfasts other than the tourney affair. A few of us went down to the pitches to watch the bronze medal game (scheduled for the first slot of the day for some reason) and were rewarded with an absolute cracker. Sweden went 14-9 up and a game to 16 was called. Germany knew they had to produce a run and produce they die, scoring the next 6 points to go one ahead 15-14. They got a D but couldn’t convert and a calm Swedish offence scored the goal to bring the game to a decider. 15-15, game to 16 – two loud sidelines and a lot of tension. Germany pulled and got a D within 5 passes. Immediately they gave it back though after a mis-communication between handler and cutter. Sweden took their time against an excellent defence and despite a couple of close calls, sealed the win with a punt up the line. Cue mass celebrations and more heartache for a German side full of Spirit and ability.

The 5 coaches then met at 11am to run through our tactics for the games later and some logistics for the party that night. We met as a team at 12 and set our stall out for the day – food, water, food, water and then 90 mins before game time focus o’clock. We met an hour before the games were due to start and spoke of the pride of the jersey and reminded the players how ending on a win is a special feeling. With that in mind the two teams took to the pitches to warm up, side-by-side – one vs. GB2, the other vs. Poland. Two good games ahead!

Ireland A
Final (for 13th place): GB2
Arguably the best match we were involved in during the week – two teams of similar ability fighting hard for every point. We didn’t start too well but fought back to get even at 4s. From there it was nip and tuck all the way with both Ds happy to use zone and fronting to pressurise the handlers. The trading continued until half with game on a knife edge. Our ling game wasn’t as prominent as it had been but the handlers were finding holes in the GB zone and using the disc well. Half: 7-6 GB2. After half the British team came out firing, they upped their D and got turns early in the half.One converted turn became two and after trading for two points they went ona three point run that wont them the match. We threw the kitchen sink at the, and fought right to the bitter end but it wasn’t to be. A team decimated by injuries had put it up to the GB outfit but fallen just short. A fine performance – one to be proud of.

Score: 10-14
MVP: Robbie Brennan

Ireland B
Final (for 15th place): Poland
Realistically, this game was ours to lose. We knew Poland’s weaknesses and what threat they posed to us on offence. A lot of their play relied on the obvious ability of a tall handler (no.26!) who was strong in the air and the best thrower on their side. We made sure to mark him hard and switched different players on to him every other point. Zone got us turns early on and despite nervy offence we soon took a commanding lead. A switch to a front up force put further pressure on the young Poles and were grew in confidence as the game developed. Our structure was vastly improved and dominated them in most areas. It was an excellent team display with every player contributing in spades. Lots of big grabs, fine throws and hard Ds secured a first win for Ireland Junior B!

Score: 17-6
MVP: David Ferris

After the final two games the teams warmed down and met in a tent near the two pitches we’d played on. We sat down in two separate circles and discussed MVP, MSP and A-Game votes. Each player had a word about who they felt should be voted for and then the two team voted. It was a nice way to tell each other what we thought and many of the votes (on both teams) were tied and we had to have a re-vote. In the end the results were:

Ireland A:
MVP: Yasin Mammeri
MSP: Richie Eyres (Steve)
A-Game: David Moriarty

Ireland B:
MVP: Cathal Tuffy
MSP: Mike Ryan
A-Game: Eoin Barry (Sticky)

The team presented the 5 coaches with a gift (deadly long-sleeved GAIA shirts) and thanked us for everything. Truth is, they did the work, they made the squad and they deserve the praise. It’s been the first year of an Irish Junior set up and the squad had been committed, honest and hard-working from day one. They’ve grown from a group of inexperienced players to a tightly knit bunch of athletes who really are the future of Irish Ultimate. Every one of them sis Ireland proud and a lot fo them will do so again in the future, at many levels.

After our small ceremony we ran home, showered etc and came back fro dinner and the last 40mins of the France Finland final. We arrived at 9-7 to the Finns. Soon it was 13-10 before France scored 3 in a row to bring it to 13s. At 14s game to 17 was called and the fast offences kept scoring. It was Finland who held their nerve though and, despite an amazing performance by the young French, won 17-15.

After a half hour of music and messing on the pitches the final ceremony began. There was recognition for the staff, a gift gift for each team, huge cheers for the two Irish teams and some cool trophies for the top 3 (one team managed to drop and break theirs on the podium, with the artist who made them within 10 feet!) of each division. It was a really nice finish to the week.

Final Results & Spirit:
U-17 Womens: GB, Spirit: Sweden
U-17 Open: GB, Spirit: Belgium
Junior Womens: Sweden, Spirit: Belgium
Junior Open: Finland, Spirit: Finland

From there we went to the Moulin Rouge in the city centre which was effectively like an underage disco - sweaty, a mix of brilliant and rubbish music and way more boys than girsl! Still, we had good craic, even had a bit of mosh and Tom & Robbie got to flaunt their moves :) After it was late night pizza, a bit of on street singing with the merry Germans and then the night bus home. Roughly 150 people, all frisbee players, squeezed onto the tiny bus with nobody paying and everyone sweating! Immediately the sing song began - Ireland's Call, Ole Ole Ole, Molly Malone and many more not to be mentioned! The Germans rivalled every tune with one of their own and with jumping and banging the roof. The atmosphere was brilliant! We were soon there and hopped of the bus for more singing before hitting the hay. A great end to a fun day.

Photos From Day Three...

2009-08-11T04:08:00.001-07:00

Day the third!

2009-08-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

Friday was memorable for a lot of reasons – Finn’s 18th birthday, a clash of the titans (the two Ireland teams), increased game time (up to 100mins from the 80mins of the previous days) and increased temperature too. We were rewarded for 7 games over tow days with a ‘late’ start (10.30am) so got an extra little sleep before the crunch games. The usual wasp-infested breakfast – they are everywhere! – and off to warm up for the As. Ireland B had the luxury of a shady sit down until their warm up at 11.30am, game at 12.30pm.

Ireland A
Game One: Italy
Before I talk about this game I’d like to assure everyone that this was the team’s best performance to date. It was full of heart, skill and courage and is one that, despite the result, will be remembered as one representative of the Irish jersey. To say the team did us all proud doesn’t cover it. Italy came out with a stronger line than they’d used against the B team the previous day and it showed with their front force particularly effective. Despite this pressure, the offence used the great Ds we got and put itself in a position to convert repeatedly. We traded to 3s or 4s I think and then Italy stepped it all up a notch. We switched to 2/5, called a time out but nothing could stop them going on a big run (to the tune of 8 or 9 points) and we were then chasing. The lads’ heads never dropped though and they showed real character to bring the game back their way. We switched to a zone and it immediately had an effect with 2 or 3 points going our way but it was too little too late. A tough loss to take for both coaches (we learned a zone should be deployed as a tactic before half way through a one-sided 2nd half) and players, all of whom had high hopes to win it. Lifting the heads was tough when we all hurt but it’s a pain we can and will grow from.

Score: 10-17
MVP: Yasin Mammeri (tightest yet – team performance)

Game Two: Ireland B
From the A teams point of view this was a game they could not lose. Not only did they owe the Bs revenge for a Summer League lost 10/14 days ago, but they also had a score to settle with GB 2, who were waiting for the winners. Importantly, for both the players and coaches, this was an international fixture and deserved the usual warm up, respect and attitude. We spoke to both teams about how to best approach the match, divided the coaches across the teams (with me as an unbiased photographer!) and played the game seriously, despite the odd nature of facing players who’d trained alongside each another and knew all your tactics! The game was sloppy, especially in the first half when the Bs rest proved stronger and they were clearly more up for it. Some calls that we wouldn’t usually make crept in and threatened to turn it from an intense match into a call fest but common sense (just about) prevailed. As the first half wore on, the team got into their stride and pressured the Bs into turns which were converted. 9-7 at half but with lots to do. After a stern dressing down from Seamus and Podge the team went on a roll and opened up a lead.

Score: 17-13
MVP: Niall Connaughton (Pius)

Ireland B
Game One: Hungary
From the beginning we knew this would be a very tough game and that there was the chance that we’d be outclassed by team who were very unlucky to finish in bottom 8 (having beaten Austria who narrowly lost to Sweden in the quarters). As we’d seen against the A team the Hungarians were physical and aggressive. Their zone stifled us but our O was much improved with patience a new trait and a long game beginning to show. There were lots of turns but Hungary made more of them than us and broke the mark, first with insides until we stepped across, then with arounds. The early afternoon heat increased and in the face of the physicality and skill of the Hungasry team we wilted as the game drew to a close.

Score: 3-17
MVP: Cathal Tuffy

Game Two: Ireland A
We spoke at length before this game about how we would treat it as a real international fixture and discussed our reasons for motivation. The warm up was high tempo and it showed as we took the lead against a rattled A team. The opening 9/10 points were as good a start as we produced all week with high intensity on D and with the reset working a treat. The long game was repeatedly successful, but as half drew close a few small errors were punished and we went in 2 down. After a 10min break we came back out to face a fired up opposition who’s D won them 3 points in a row. It looked like the game was slipping away but another late rally made things spicy! It was however, too little too late and the shock that was on the cards was snatched away. A great match all the same.

Score: 13-17
MVP: Cathal Tuffy (14 votes!)

Elsewhere saw some big results in the Juniors Open Division – GB were upset by France in their quarter final, Finland cruised past Czechs and then beat Swedes to join the mighty French, beaters of Germany in the semis, in the final. The finals a tough one to call – the French are strong on the throwing side of things and are a real team. The Finns have been here before, they know pressure and their offence is top quality. Intriguing final ahead!

In the evening we watched some of the show game - Womens U-20 GB v Finland (cue old school Finnish team streak!) and Sweden v Germany and were then served the best dinner of the week – ribs, sausages, a few different salads, and potatoes. It was the perfect meal for after the relaxed coaches vs. staff game, in which myself, Shimbo and Sam took part. After the relaxed game came the boots on, serious game which was of a very high standard. Nice to watch! It as a nice relaxed night, with some poker available also – in which the lads won a few t-shirts and even a hoodie.

The story of Day Two...

2009-08-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

Another early start saw Ireland 1 playing at 8.30am. We were rewarded with a slightly improved breakfast with some ham and cheese added. Happy days! A good start to what was to prove a long and tough day, much like day one. Added to difficult games against stronger teams was the heat factor – it was in the high 20s from early in the day until late in the evening. There’s very little shade to speak of and we suffered as a result. We also began seeing some injuries creep in, with Richie Eyres the main sufferer (a stomach/rib injury) along with many little niggles, from cramps to turned ankles and back again.

Now for the games…

Ireland A
Game One: Austria
We began well – fired up and with the D ready to go. It was similar intensity to the Germany game and earned us lots of possessions in the first few points. The Austrians struggled with out front up but our O was ominously misfiring. It was partly to the pressure exerted by (yet another) poachy zone and often from trying to force the issue in long, tiring points. We worked the disc close to the endzone but suffered from white line fever and poor shot selection. Soon a tight game turned into a not-so-tight game and Austria began to strut. Their offence (and in a way their zone D) was anchored by Jakob, a player with big throws, a calm head and a strong aerial presence. Most points went through him and a lot of our long shots were stopped by him. Overall, a good performance against a decent side. Marko smells

Score: 6-15
MVP: Tom Matthews

Game Two: Hungary
This game was a dog fight from the start with tight calls, physical D and lots of turns. Crucially we scored the first point (incredibly, the first lead of either team over the week) and looked strong, especially on offence when we were converting relatively easily. However, the length of the points began to take its toll and errors crept in. The Hungarians had a very aggressive front up force (with a fair share of bumps) that disrupted the handlers and got turns near our line. These were duly converted and they took a 6-3 lead at half (a suitably low score in such a dogged half). The second half saw a zone D come on, something we’d struggled on the previous day. We used 4 handlers but their force again pressurised us. We were rattled and began to play with less vigour and belief. Soon a tight game slipped away and we lost by 9 despite the promising start.

Score: 6-15
MVP: Yasin Mammeri (hammers)

Game Three: France
France are an excellent outfit – a true team, clearly playing together often (apparently made 3rd in YBN) and used to tough moments together. Their offence was based on their handlers who used low break throws to generate long looks. The disc moved very quickly, preventing us from fronting properly and their cuts were decisive and fast. On defence it was a poach system against which or offence was stronger – we were learning! The problem was that when we got our turn we tended to choose the wrong option, be it a risky throw, an over throw or a lack of communication. It wasn’t our best performance and the French were firing (they went on to surprise GB 1 in the quarters and then Germany in the semis!), so in the end they ran our strong winners.

Score: 3-15
MVP: Cian Keogh (Torres)

Game Four: Poland
The fourth game of a long day saw Ireland 1 record a historic first win at Junior level. It was a relatively pressurised first half as we knew we could win the game against a younger, less experienced opposition. Poland is newer to the Ultimate scene than Ireland with this being their first ever foray into international competition at any level. They have a small team who play a fast offensive game but weren’t a match for our pace or height. Despite a nervy first half – expected to win, pressure showed with uncharacteristic forcing of the issue. We called a time out and had a chat about our focus, our D and soon took control of the match. The second half was a much improved affair as the D shut down their long game and we used quick pick ups off the turns to score our points.

Score: 15-3
MVP: Toby Morgan

Ireland B
Game One: Latvia
Coming into this game we knew we were facing a team worthy of a quarterfinal place. We’d seen them involved in a thriller against Finland (nor finalists!) on day one, that they narrowly lost 13-15. They are a tall, aggressive and huck happy team who rely on aerial prowess as much as anything else. The game opened with lots of turns as we put in our best defensive performance yet. No throw as unchallenged and the front force was blocking lots of hucking options. Unfortunately the hyped up D spread to our O and we turned too easy, too often. Quick turns were punished with long shots and soon we were chasing the game. We scored a couple before half but not enough. The O struggled under their zone, got through the cup several times but wrong shot selection hurt us. The Latvians favoured a side stack that negated any breakside and we coped well against it. We were outclassed though and the second half saw the opposition score heavily. A tough game.

Score: 3-15
MVP: Eoin Barry (Sticky)

Game Two: GB 1
GB 1 were a class act. They have strength in depth and play an expansive offence using breakside a lot. On defence they came down with a lot of the 50-50s and forced hard. In the first half, whenever we turned GB punished with a score in the first one or two passes. This was partly our fault as we started the game somewhat flat. It was also their offence, naturally enough. The second half saw our work rate upped, we got in their faces, pressured them and got plenty of turns. The team showed fantastic character not to let heads drop and dig in the second half but it was a mismatch and GB ran away with the game. It’s important to note that despite being heavy favourites, obviously stronger and quite dominative GB showed us respect and displayed excellent spirit. There wasn’t any showboating and they punished when they could. We were surprised not to see them make the final later in the week.

Score: 1-15
MVP: David Ferris

Game Three: Italy
Another game that began close but fast breakside offence and a big front up force caused us problems throughout. The Italians became more relaxed as the game wore on and began treating it as a fun game. They are a good side and with their tails up we couldn’t keep with them. Added to that, the conditions were tough – high 20s/low 30s and no shade in sight. A frustrating game that we would’ve loved to replay.

Score: 3-15
MVP: Cathal Tuffy

After the games we had time to relax a little with a nice big feed (the dinners have been superb – pastas, meat, vegetables – everything you need after a tough day) before heading home to get ready for the Amusement Park! Yes, you read that correctly  We all showered, changed and of to Prater Amusement Park – a huge fun fair not far from the tournament HQ. We went on bumper cars, we got scared on rollercoasters (well, I didn’t, they scare me too much to go on them) and then found the go kart track. €4 for 3 minutes of racing each other in petrol-fuelled karts – genius! For the record, Orgy (Brian) is the fastest, Shimbo is the most dangerous (broke a wheel on his kart on lap one!) and Hogie (captain!) is the slowest. Well, him of Podge, hard to tell. I cant drive and apparently looked like a kid in sweet factory – full of smiles and excited. It was amazing. A fun night and good wind down after another day of heat, fights and lots of losses.

Pictures from Day Two...

2009-08-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

Results Summary

2009-08-07T13:25:00.001-07:00

A quick update from late in Vienna...Its been a long hard few days over here. Little did us coaches know exactly how tiring it would be. Anyways, sob story over, just wanted to say that I'm too shattered to turn the notes from each game into full paragraphs so it's results only for now. I'll do my best tomorrow morning once I've a little more time and energy!

IRELAND A, Day Two:

Austria 7-14
Hungary 6-15
France 2-15
Poland 15-3

IRELAND B, Day Two:

Latvia 1-15
GB 1 1-15
Italy 3-15

IRELAND A, Day Three:

Italy 10-17
Ireland 2 17-13

IRELAND B, Day Three:

Hungary 3-17
Ireland 1 13-17

Full reports to follow. Tomorrows games see a GB 2 Revenge match for IRL 1 and a fight against the Polish for IRL 2.

Until the morning!

Some pictures from day one...

2009-08-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

A tough start

2009-08-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Day one proper began with an early start for the B team as we were playing at 8.30am. Alarms rang from as early as 6.10 and we were on the road by a quarter to 7 to get breakfast at the fields before our warm up. Breakfast was underwhelming – a white bread roll, a slice of malt bread, some jam & butter and an apple. Hardly the stuff of champions but enough to get us started on for now.

We arrived to the fields to find them being lined (slowly). We ran our warm up (throwing, jogging, stretching and a skill specific drill) and were ready to go…the fields weren’t though! When we began there was no brick mark, there was a gap on the length of one of the sidelines, we had no scorer/timer and we had no pitch water. An inauspicious start but it was all soon rectified and we were under way in the first game of any Irish Junior team at EYUC 2009.

From here I’ll descirbe the seven games of day one, team by team.

Ireland B – Day One

Game One: Finland
A tough opening game against the previous U-17s champions started very well. We turned them repeatedly on defence (D) but their D shut down our long game and reset. When we did get close to their endzone we were guilty of forcing the issue a little. As the game wore on their offence (O) ran more smoothly by the point with a lot of breaks (both inside and around) and a strong long game. They stacked deep and cut under with pace to strong throwers. It was a frustrating game, given the good start, but a good lesson from a team that will challenge come semi-finals.

Score: 1-15
MVP – Killian Blake (Spewy)

Game Two: Russia
We targeted the second game of the day, versus Russia, as winnable given they only had 8 players but a combination of unfamiliar tactics and their ability made it a much tougher game than expected. They played with a zone (probably designed to save them energy) made up of a very loose cup that tried to put pressure on or handlers and stop any flow. We had trouble exploiting the resulting holes in this cup and grew frustrated with one another. Strong throwers and tall deep options proved difficult to shut down and there still seemed to be some confusion on the force. As the game wore on we adapted slightly but not enough to trouble a surprisingly strong team.

Score: 1-15
MVP – Pat Hayden (Junior)

Game Three: Sweden
Sweden, as expected, were pretty damn good. Their team was made up of lots of tall, fast lads and they favoured a fast long game. Unfortunately for us we couldn’t cope with their tight cup on D and as a result coughed up plenty of cheap disc by our own endzone which cost us a lot of points. In the second half we started trying a few overheads over the cup and then we were able to get it moving around. We went on a brief run and the zone was abandoned. On man D we were able to score a few long goals of our own but it was a case of consolation opposed to a fight back. Heads were high though and the team left the match heartened by our late rally.

Score: 4-15
MVP – Ross Andrucetti (Sandwich)

Game Four: Belgium
Of the four games on day one this was one we had targeted (along with the Russian game), at least on paper. The Belgians have been running a large Junior programme for a few years but wouldn’t be quite on par with the Scandinavian/German/British set ups yet. The game started well enough with turns available but again we failed to convert them. The Belgians on the other hand were ruthless in comparison and took a 4 point lead. We were increasingly tired (understandable given the 4 hours+ of Ultimate played so far today!) and turned a little more than we might have earlier in the day. Heads began to drop, the Belgians had the game between their teeth and soon it was all over.

Score: 5-15
MVP – Ben Murray

Ireland A – Day One
All three of the Ireland A teams took place at the satellite fields, a 25min walk from the tournament HQ. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal but given I was going to both the A & B games it quickly became an endurance test  The pitches, despite being a little on the thin side, we high quality grass pitches and held together well despite heavy game traffic.

Game One: Germany
Seldom have I seen an Ireland team start a tournament with such blatant disregard for the stature of the team they were facing. Germany came into this tournament as favourites, number 1 seeds and holders of the U-20s Open European Championship gold medals. Ireland A were playing there first ever international game. Everything pointed to a pasting but instead we got a dogfight. Despite possessing weapons that any offence would crave, the Germans had great difficulty beating a fired up and aggressive Irish D. There were turns coming from big marks, from aerial battles and even from unforced errors. The problem was our offence, which unfortunately seems to be a recurring theme. Our long game was working, our handlers were throwing well and at times the patience was evident but somewhere in there the pressure was too much. The German teams experience shone through and regardless of our memorable performance (one that took our opponents by surprise) they won comfortably in the end. From the game we might have taken few points but self belief, intensity and a sense of possibility in term of what we can achieve. You could argue that we had gained more than we could’ve hoped!

Score: 6-15
MVP – Tom Matthews

Game Two: GB 2
The proud intensity seen in the first game was strangely AWOL in game two. We were decidedly flat, despite the strong start and were made pay for it by a GB 2 team with a couple of excellent throwers and speed across the board. We traded with them early on but soon all 50/50 discs were being won by the white shirts of the GB 2 team. We didn’t trust our reset and gave up possession cheaply, something the British capitalised on repeatedly. The poor first half (2-8) was turned around by a stronger second half when our D came back and we turned the game into a scrap. GB 2 were made work for all their scores. We fought to the finish but were off the pace needed and lost relatively heavily to a team we would be looking at as targets.

Score: 6-15
MVP – Conor Hogan

Czech Republic
The third and final game of the day was against the Czech team, about whom we knew quite little. There’s been a Junior scene there for a while but that’s the depth of our knowledge. The game itself started tight, as they always seem to, but slipped further away as the game went on. They used a 1-6 offensive formation that relied on the strength of their throwers and allowed them to use both a fast long game and breakside looks. Again, our intensity was lacking in first half (2-8), but again we had another second half recovery. There is no doubting the character of this team - it is fantastic. Unfortunately a case of white line fever struck often and at vital moments. These front of zone turns cost us and the Czechs closed the game out.

Score: 6-15
MVP – Finnian Flood

The night after the first day was a calm affair. Most of us had a quick dinner (tasty and huge lasagne with lettuce) before heading home to shower in sub zero water. Trading night was a brief occasion with very little on offer, players preferring to swap with specific players at the end of the week. There was a little dancing (on tables would you believe) then off home.

A long tough day ended late for us coaches after a wrap up of the day, a tactics discussion and a chat that went on past midnight. Up at 6.15am.

Come on the boys in green!!

Juniors arrive in Vienna!

2009-08-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

The first day of our trip started early, as in get up at 4.30am early. We met at the airport and flew en masse to Gatwick where we had and hour and a half to collect luggage, check in, go through security and faf. As soon as we arrived it was clear it wouldn’t be that straightforward – a security queue wrapped all the way around the check in area and out to the train station! Luckily our flight was due to depart so soon that once we’d checked in we were lead to the top of the queue – lesson learnt: if you arrive in a large group late enough to an airport everyone’s very helpful!

From Gatwick it was on to pretty Vienna where the scene upon landing was similar to that of take off – rain and grey clouds. We collected our gear and got a train to Wien Mitte and got some lunch. I should be clear; it wasn’t any old lunch for us athletes in our prime, only the best kebab on offer! If Usain Bolt can eat chicken nuggets and run that fast surely a kebab won’t do any harm right? As we went to get our tram we realised we were a bag down. One of the team had been so excited he’d left it on the previous train – odds were against 37 people travelling with 2 budget airlines to make it to Vienna with every piece of luggage intact, but to lose it on a train!! Anyway, we’re on the hunt for it and no doubt it’ll turn up by the end of the week.

Once we overcame the bag issue it was on to the school – our home for the week. We have 2 classrooms on the ground floor (next to the Latvians women’s team) which have been decorated with flags (and more recently smelly socks).

It was here we had our first team meeting to address the week as a whole. We’d prepared well, we were a team and ready for whatever lay ahead. Morale was high, we knew our systems and we quietly confident of challenging teams throughout. We identified the battles we expect to have later in the week and made sure that despite the inevitable heavy losses we keep together as a unit and garner valuable knowledge/experience from even the harshest of losses. We also handed out the shorts, completing the full kit for everyone. A quick change into said kit and off to the pitches for the Opening Ceremony.

Over the years I’ve been to many opening ceremonies – some are like street parades, involving locals, swashes of colour and music. Others are quiet and brief affairs. This one was more of the latter than the former. We were all lead onto a field, lined up by country in front of each country’s flag and called one by one to the centre of the field. Conor Hogan (captain of the A team) was our representative and he was given balloons to release on the team’s behalf. There were a large range of teams, from the 7-team strong British legion to the 9 player Russian squad. Making their debut, along with us, were the Polish – a young mixed team playing in the U-20 Open Division. No doubt we’ll see them later in the week. Following th ceremony we all relaxed and had a throw – the showcase game had been cancelled to protect the fields after heavy rain. A strange decision in our eyes – the pitches seemed in good nick – and a disappointment – it’s quite nice to watch the opening game of a tournament the night before you start playing.

The captain’s meeting took place and it was clear there would be some patience needed as the tournament got up and running. The schedule was still not finalised, there was a chance some games would be moved to astro (think sand hockey pitches) upon which, we were informed, no boots should be worn!, there appeared to be no time for lunch in the schedule (a lunch that was not provided for despite our original texpectations) and breakfast was re-scheduled from 7.30am (an hour before game one) to 7am to allow teams digest and warm up. The schedule was briefly debated – apparently the EFDF had demanded 2 pools of 8 (instead of the organisers preferred 4 groups of 4) in order to create more realistic seedings. There are no crossovers so it’s a very strange system – I’m no scheduling expert but it appears that after the group stage we’ll end up with two excellently seeded groups of 8 with the possibility of one group being infinitely stronger than the other. Either way, that’s the schedule and probably the least of our worries.

From a personal point of view, it’s an exciting but strange feeling I’ve got as we enter the start of the tournament. The usual sense of anticipation at the beginning of an international event is present, the adrenaline is pumping but it’s odd not to be playing. All the lads are nervy/buzzing but can’t wait to get started. The tasks ahead are tough – Germany for the As (winners of this event in 2007) and Finland for the Bs (winners of the U-17s in 2007). It’s a daunting start but one that promises much. Realistically, a win in either of the first two games would be a huge shock…here’s hoping it goes that way

Come on you boys in green!

Our time is now!

2009-08-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

So, all the hard running is done, the last training session has taken place, the kit has arrived (well most of it!) and we've all checked in online...well I hope we have. Point is, we're all fired up up and ready to go! We fly out first thing tomorrow via London then its on to the opening ceremony tomorrow afternoon...

The Schedule is out on the website and sees both teams face 7 games in the first 2 days. The opening games are tough too with Ireland A facing the Germans and Ireland B facing Finland, both countries with pedigree and experience at this level.

Also on the site is a full programme for the week - Showcase games (Germany vs. Austria is the opening gmae - spicy!), trading nights, a visit to an amusement park and even a party at the Moulin Rouge :) It's going to be some week!

At most interntaional tournaments there is access rto WiFi and presuming that is the case in Vienna, we will be able to keep you updated with exactly how gamesd went (opposed to just results), with some pictures and with the views of a few of the players too.

The IFDA also has Twitter account called IFDA News which will be updated via text wherever and whenever possible.

Okay, that it for now, next post will be from Austria!

Come on Ireland!!

Player Profile: Tom Matthews

2009-08-01T01:04:00.001-07:00

Name: Tom Mathews

Nickname: Sometimes i like to think of myself as Batman

Age: 19

Club: UL Ninjas

Years Playing: Less than a year

Playing Position: I like to mix it up but mainly cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: The Siege of Limerick was pretty amazing, really opened my eyes to Ultimate and got me hooked

Favourite Ultimate Player: Can't say really, there's a lot of awesomeness out there

How have you found the summer so far? It's been great learning new things and improving my game

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Possibly a caffeine addiction

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Umbrellas. And hopefully some great games of ultimate

2009-08-01T00:54:00.000-07:00

Name: David Ferguson

Nickname: Jaws

Age: 18

Club: Inbetween facilties so Don't know. Previuosly Gonzaga.

Years Playing: Almost 3

Playing Position: Cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: Getting my front left tooth knocked out
during summer league last year, don't worry insurance had it covered!

Favourite Ultimate Player: Without sounding too gay, Doyler and Marko,
got me into the sport and taught me just about everything I know..

How have you found the summer so far? Great fun, training helped get
me through those long leaving cert weeks.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Leaving
the routine to go inter-railing(:p I know, not that bad)

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Swedish women's
team! and wearing green shorts.

Player Profile: David O'Donohoe

2009-07-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Name: Donal O'Donohoe

Nickname: SchoolGirl/ DOD

Age: 19

Club: Skulltimate, UCC

Years Playing: 1 in September

Playing Position: Handler

Standout Ultimate Memory: UCC2-VS-Trinity 1 in Inter-Varsities incredible game that was meant to be a bagle but turn out to be our best match of varsities. You gotta love under dogs doing well.

Favourite Ultimate Player: Kieran Giller

How have you found the summer so far? Great ultimate 3 if not 4 days a week great summer now if only i could learn how to hit the ground with out doing my ankle over and over again.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? the first couple of weeks of fitness .

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Wearing an Ireland jersey for the first time.

Player Profile: Brian Henderson

2009-07-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Name: Brian David Henderson

Name: ORGY

Age: 18

Club: DCU

Years Playing: One (since october 2008)

Playing Position: Handler

Standout Ultimate Memory: the first time i hucked the lenth of the pitch
at mixed club nationals, the look of shock on DCU's faces was great FOXY-
'' why didn't you tell me you could do that, i'm going long''

Favourite Ultimate Player: Cian Quinn

How have you found the summer so far? awesome, lots of ultimate

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? affording
everything and trying to keep up with training, work, studying and fitness.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Some high quality Ultimate...and
the Swedish U19 Womens team

Player Profile: Robbie Brennan

2009-07-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

Name: Robbie Brennan

Nickname: Nothing strange, Robbie, Bobby, Knobby, you get the idea

Age: 18

Club: Formerly St. Kilians

Years Playing: About 1 and a half

Playing Position: Wherever, most recently cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: Being voted player of the tournament in both irish national schools ultimate champs:)

Favourite Ultimate Player: Gotta be chris stokes, got me into the game and taught me everything

How have you found the summer so far? Frustrating not being able to play with the hamstring, but glad im finally back

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? standing on the sideline, being in the group of "guys who cant run cos they're injured"

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? the badge, the occassion and the swedish womens team

Player Profile: Mike Ryan

2009-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Name: Mike Ryan

Nickname: Mossy

Age: 19

Club: UCC

Years Playing: One (almost)

Playing Position: Handler

Standout Ultimate Memory: UCC 2 Vs. Trinity 1 at Inter-Varsities this year. We lost, but we did so much better than anybody,(even ourselves) expected. My favourite match to date.

Favourite Ultimate Player: There are so many UCC players I look up to, but I'd have to say Donal Murray, for showing again,
and again just how much fun Ultimate is.

How have you found the summer so far? Really tough, especially all the travelling up to Dublin I have to do. Us Tipp folk just don't belong in the big smoke!

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? I'd have to say the gruelling fitness regime Shimbo put us on.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Some high quality Ultimate...and the Swedish U19 Womens team :P

Player Profile: Toby Morgan

2009-07-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Name: Toby Morgan

Nickname: T-Bag

Age: 18

Club: UL ninjas

Years Playing: Less than a year

Playing Position: All over the shop really, cutter mainly

Standout Ultimate Memory: Scoring the first point for the ninjas at windmill, cheers junior!

Favourite Ultimate Player: It could only be one guy really, TERANCE O'SHEA, TERANCE O'SHEA, TERANCE O'SHEA!!! Legend of a man, played hard and always with a smile!!! Also, without doubt the funniest guy in Ultimate!!!

How have you found the summer so far? Thoroughly enjoyed it, love the fact that im learning loads and developing as a player joined with having great craic!

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? The journey up from Tipp!!!!

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? The feeling of pride when i pull on that green shirt for the first time!! And also getting Shimbo as many times as possible with circles!!!

Player Profile: Roy Briggs

2009-07-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Name: Roy Briggs

Nickname: Briggsey

Age: 18

Club: St.Kilians

Years Playing: 3

Playing Position: Handler/cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: Winning all-ireland schools tourny

Favourite Ultimate Player: Chris stokes

How have you found the summer so far? Very informative and great experience of the game overall

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Handling outdoors for the first time in a competitive match

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Getting to know good ultimate players from other countries....maybe even england :D

Player Profile: Louise Pollard

2009-07-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

Name: Louise Pollard

Nickname: Mandy

Age:19

Club: Captain Huck, OCS, Throwing Shapes

Years Playing: One (almost)

Playing Position: I prefer to cut mainly

Standout Ultimate Memory: Catching the final point in the final of Women's Varsities and the point I scored in the final of Development Varsities (On the same day)

Favourite Ultimate Player: This guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DHcCuG86Ko I'd also love to be able to cut like Shoulders.

How have you found the summer so far? Chaotic!

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Bellmullet to Dublin on a bus. Well that and all the jokes.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Wining! Also going on the U-Bahn, meeting people from all over Europe, and being over twice as far away from Ireland as I've ever been before.

Player Profile: David Moriarty

2009-07-31T03:31:00.000-07:00

Name: David Moriarty

Nickname: Dave

Age: 16

Club: Gonzaga Ultimate

Years Playing: Nearly 1

Playing Position: Cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: The Indoor Schools Championship, when 3 of the 4 semi finalists were Gonzaga teams!

Favourite Ultimate Player: Have to say Marko, having coached me and taught me how to play for the last 8 months!

How have you found the summer so far?

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Having to miss a lot of training because I've been away has been frustrating, but the sessions I've been to have been really great.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Just playing at international level will be really exciting.

Player Profile: Pat Hayden

2009-07-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

Name: Pat Hayden

Nickname: Junior

Age: 18

Club: UL Ninjas & OCS

Years Playing: 1 in september

Playing Position: cutter/handler (depends how lazy i'm feeling!)

Standout Ultimate Memory: My first layout - to pull down Einstein's shorts at the end of a game of spank

Favourite Ultimate Player: Padraig Mc Morrow - for a Dub he's alright (should i have said my girlfriend??)

How have you found the summer so far? Good... loads of ultimate and getting to know new people.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? All the commuting

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Playing the first game

Final Team Selection...

2009-07-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.

Below are the two Irish teams for Austria.

Ireland A
Robbie Brennan
Conor Casey (Vice Captain)
Niall Connaughton
Richie Eyres
David Ferguson (Vice Captain)
Finnian Flood
Louis Free
Brian Henderson
Conor Hogan (Captain)
Cian Keogh
Yasin Mammeri
Tom Matthews
Toby Morgan
David Moriarty
Donal O'Donohue
Myles Rooney

Ireland B
Ross Andrucetti
Ivan Baburin
Eoghan Barry
Killian Blake
Roy Briggs
David Ferris
Hugo Fitzpatrick
Pat Hayden (Captain)
Will Hurley
Fergus McKeown
Ben Murray
Louise Pollard
Nick Prendegast
Mike Ryan (Vice Captain)
Cathal Tuffy
John Walshe (Vice Captain)

Well done to everyone for getting this far and showing incredible commitment along the way. We're in the final stretch now so it's time to focus and get excited.

Player Profile: Cian Keogh

2009-07-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Name: Cian Keogh

Nickname: Torres

Age: 19

Club: Chilli-O

Years Playing: About a year in September

Playing Position: Cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: Eh no idea... Ill get back to it

Favourite Ultimate Player: Super Gay Dave I suppose.. Ha don't really know anyone else like.

How have you found the summer so far? Grand... Cheers

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Ahh the Hiit!

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Ha the spirit ha!

Player Profile: David Ferris

2009-07-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

Name: David Ferris

Nickname: ....Ferris?

Age: 17

Club: St. Mary's

Years Playing: <1

Playing Position: Cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: Sunday Pick-up

Favourite Ultimate Player:

How have you found the summer so far?
Trying, but enjoyable.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months?
HIIT training.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria?
Swedish U19's Girls Team.

Player Profile: Eoin Barry

2009-07-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Name: eoin barry

Nickname: Sticky

Age: 19

Club: OCS/DIT

Years Playing: 1

Playing Position: Cutter at the moment

Standout Ultimate Memory: beating ucd at varsities

Favourite Ultimate Player: can't think of just one

How have you found the summer so far? good crack meeting more ultimate players around my age and level and improving alot

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? finding the places over the southside

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? good intense ultimate...oh and swedish women :-D

Thank You!!

2009-07-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick word to say a massive thank you to all the friends, parents and players that came to the Quiz last Friday. We made over €1300, all of which will go towards the teams kit. The night as awhole was very enjoyable and run smoothly. Congrats to '3?' aka Rickard's Team who took top prize, to 'Apollo 11' who came in second and to Dom/Yiv/Fiona/Cians team who took third.

A big thank you to the ever-obliging Luan McKenna (his third year in a row as IFDA quizmaster), to Shimbo's brother for his help with the questions and to Naomh Olaf's for being so accommodating. Of course, the quiz wouldn't have happened without the help of the 4 coaches - Sam, Seamus, Shimbo & Podge, well done!

Player Profile: Killian Blake

2009-07-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

Nickname: Spewy

Age: 19

Club: DIT/Open Club Sandwich

Years Playing: one this october

Playing Position: cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: DIT beating UCD 1 in intervarsities in maynooth this year. that was a very proud moment considering we were severe underdogs.

Favourite Ultimate Player: Fag aka Fintan Darcy!

How have you found the summer so far? between ultimate and work, I haven't had much time to do my usual summer things, but having so much fun in the frisbee world that I amn't really missing it.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? The HIITs that shimbo, one of our coachs, has demanded that we do each week.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Seeing how other countries play ultimate will be very interesting. I'm very curious as to whether there are varied ultimate tactics that different nations prefer, like soccer, or if its all quite similar.

Player Profile: Richard Eyres

2009-07-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

Name: Richard Eyres

Nickname: Sterile Steve

Age: 18

Club: O.C.S., Captain Huck

Years Playing: Less than 1

Playing Position: Mostly cutter

Standout Ultimate Memory: Callahan vs Trinity

Favourite Ultimate Player: Dangerous Dave

How have you found the summer so far? Great fun. I thought ultimate went away for the summer but I was very wrong.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? HIIT!!! Damn Shimbo.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? Playing good ultimate in great weather.

Player Profile: Conor Casey

2009-07-21T04:18:00.000-07:00

Name: Conor Casey

Nickname: ...The Gazelle? Just call me Casey.

Age:19

Club: Chilli-o

Years Playing: 2 years of intense ultimate mixed with 2 years of no tourneys

Playing Position: Handler

Standout Ultimate Memory: Indoor intervarsities, UCDD2 vs UCC2 5-3 down going into the last 5 minutes, we managed to pull it out of the bag winning 8-5 at the end. Only to watch UCC1 nearly do the same to UCDD1 20 minutes later.

N.B. UCC2 pulled the same trick on us at The siege of Limerick. It's ON next year.

Favourite Ultimate Player: Just for the knowledge imparted it has to be a tie between D-man and Marko. These guys has taught me pretty much everything I know.

How have you found the summer so far? Easily the best Ultimate summer i've had. It's been great to meet some of the lads from the other colleges and guys just behind us in secondary. If I convince most of these lads to go to UCD, we'll be flying!

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Definitely coming back to training after a few weeks of injury. I had no idea how unfit a person could become.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? I really can't wait to get that kit on.

Player Profile: Fergus McKeown

2009-07-21T04:03:00.000-07:00

Name: Fergus McKeown

Nickname: Goose

Age: 18

Club: None

Years Playing: 2 years, on and off.

Playing Position:

Standout Ultimate Memory: It was at the School's Indoor Championship. We (Gonzaga) had played and lost to St.Killian's in the group stages. We had expected to win all our games, so it came as a bit of a wake up call. We fought our way into the finals where we found St.Killian's waiting for us. It was a back and forth game, our goal line defence keeping us in it. Time ran out, and we were even, and so we entered Sudden Death. Watching from the sidelines, having taken a sub, it was nerve racking stuff. Finally a pass from Hugo to Dave just about won us the match. The Gonzaga lads swamped the pitch. It was the best game I had seen played at our level indoors. It was a great performance, for both teams, and it was really a time when you could have said 'Ultimate was the real winner'. I am happy to be playing with two of the Killian's team, Robbie and Roy, with Ireland, and since that game, I am really excited about playing with them in Vienna.

Favourite Ultimate Player: I can't really single out one player who I think is my favorite. When you see really excellent 'champagne' flowing Ultimate, it isn't one player who makes it. Playing against Broccoli in the Summer League I really got a chance to see how a team plays well together, and I hope to see the Juniors emulate that in Vienna.

How have you found the summer so far? The Summer has been great. I finished my Leaving Cert., and all during the preparation and execution of it, I was really looking forward to getting out and enjoying the Summer, playing Ultimate. It hasn't disappointed. Playing with a new squad, getting to know everyone on it, and just having fun together, when Shimbo isn't apoplectic, has been a great experience.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? The fitness training has been the hardest part of the whole summer. When you are on the pitch playing, getting tired, it's fine, because at least you are having fun. However, purposely exhausting yourself by just running, as you have to do with the HIIT, is not my idea of fun.

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? I know it sounds corny, as does the rest of this profile, but I am really looking forward to playing and watching some great intense Ultimate.

Player Profile: Conor Hogan

2009-07-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Name: Conor Hogan

Nickname: Chief

Age: 17

Club: St. Mary's College

Years Playing: One year in October

Playing Position: Handler

Standout Ultimate Memory: Cage Rage last december. My first Ultimate tournament.

Favourite Ultimate Player: Dave Misstear. Some the things i've seen him do have been pretty sick.

How have you found the summer so far? Tough, but its beginning to show in both my play and fitness.

Whats been the hardest thing for you over the last few months? Keeping down the amount of times Shimbo has had to shout, eh, "encouragement" to me at training!

What are you looking forward to most in Austria? the intense level of play that i've never seen or experienced before. Also the general banter that surrounds an Ultimate tournament

Juniors Table Quiz: Friday 17th @ 8pm

2009-07-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

So, as part of our fundraising we're having a table quiz! There'll be a raffle on the night as well as plenty of spot prizes to be won!

Where: Naomh Olaf GAA Club, Stillorgan Industrial Park.
When: Friday 17th July, starting at 8.
Cost: €30 per table of 4.

Naomh Olaf is easily accesible by car and public transport. It is a 2 minute walk from Kilmacud Luas Stop. It is also 3 minutes from the M50 as well as from Dundrum Town Centre. There are directions on the map, just click on the various markers. More directions available on www.naomholaf.com.

Map

All money raised for this will be going towards tournament expenses.

This is Ireland's first foray into the Junior division and your support would be greatly appreciated!!

Shimbo

Kit Design by Lookfly

2009-07-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

The hard work of Sam Mehigan and the wonderful folk over at Lookfly produced the following kit:

A special thanks to Steve and Allison and their team at Lookfly who sponsored us, allowing the kit be top quality AND very affordable for the players. Without such help the trip to Vienna would have been much more difficult.

Marko

Irish Juniors EYUC Logo

2009-07-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Steve MacDevitt, graphic designer and media mogul extraordinaire, designed the below logo for the teams kit. We think it looks fantastic.

Juniors Blog is up and running!

2009-07-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Irish Juniors blog. On this blog you will find posts from the coaches and the players of the two teams going to Austia on August 4th to represent Ireland in the European Youth Ultimate Championships in Vienna. For more information on the event itself visit the EYUC Homepage. If you're looking for more information on the Irish team visit the Juniors Section of the Irish Ultimate Homepage.

Saty tuned for more as it happens!
Marko
Team Manager