As I mentioned in my previous blog, May has been a difficult month in terms of our training. We have been running hard, hockey and weights have decreased and we now all feel like we’re not hockey players any more, but training instead for a heptathlon!! Thursdays are hard as we training in the gym early and then have another session in the evening. This is especially difficult for the girls with full time jobs who work all day and have to find the energy to pump into training; I really don’t know how they do it!! The commitment everyone has shown is scary, and I only hope its pays off!

Selection for the forthcoming Celtic Cup is being made this week, and I can honestly say I have no idea what’s in store! The squad is so talented in equal measures, we have strength and depth like I have never experienced before which is only a good thing for Irish hockey. It is a hard situation for Gene, but I am sure he would rather it this way. For many of the girls selection or deselection is a new experience for them but it is a situation that was always inevitable from the moment we committed to the CPP.

Aside from that I have finally finished my last college assignment so am a lady of leisure! If anyone would like to employ me please let me know! On a serious note, the break from college has come at a good time for me, I look forward to being able to train and play hard and being able to fully recover in between! More like my idea of a semi-pro!!

Since my last blog things have been pretty hectic for me, both in college and hockey terms!! We were given a few days rest in order to prepare for a busy May, so I managed to find some time to get college work done and deadlines met. Tomorrow is in fact my last official day of college, it has really flown in since last September when I started. I will still be busy in the summer as I have until August to hand in my dissertation.  

Two weekends ago we played France in Dublin in a three match test series. We played some really good hockey despite missing some key players. Each game ended 2-0, we scored some cracking goals and to keep 3 clean sheets is great for the keepers too! On the third game I was so proud so have the privilege of captaining the team for my 100^th cap. It was a momentous day for me, in front of my friends and family and to top it off with a win made it all the more special.

 Last weekend I travelled to Cork with my Old Alex team mates to play in the play-offs for the wild card places in next season’s Irish Hockey League. We played a round robin tournament against Greenfields from Connaught, Ards from Ulster and UCC from Munster. We won all 3 games, scoring 12 goals without reply, therefore qualifying for next year’s competition. I really enjoyed the weekend, we played some good hockey and it made a change from the often intense atmosphere found on international trips!

 May is an important month for the Irish team. We have the Celtic Cup and the Champions challenge in June, so we are pushing hard with conditioning in the next few weeks so ensure we are in good shape going into those games. Our weights programme has been reduced and physical conditioning increased, resulting in a lot of moaning and some very sore bodies! Hopefully the impending month won’t drag too much!

This week has been busy for those involved in Irish Senior Cup games. Hermes played Pegasus in the final on Sunday, it was a great game of hockey played by two very talented and creative teams. Pegasus showed their experience of handling the pressure of big ties, prevailing 3-1. Railway Union also have been training hard for their impending Club European Championships this weekend.

On Saturday evening we had a bit of a party with the whole squad as well as some oldies to officially celebrate Bridget Cleland's and Eimear Cregan's retirement. Both girls provided many years of loyal service to Ireland, were so committed and determined so it was nice to be able to show our appreciation. We gave them some jewellery and a scrapbook with some memorable photos and messages to reminisce over!

On Tuesday morning we held an event in our gym at UCD which saw some of our employers and college lecturers invited to see what some of our training involves. The event allowed them to see our weights training and also to remind them of the work we are doing and to thank them for allowing us to take time off work and miss lectures because of training and competition. It was a great success; those who came seemed to enjoy it and commented on how hard we are working! 

This weekend we will entertain France for a three match series at UCD. It is exciting times for us as this is the first capped matches we will have played since the CPP began in October. Saturdays match is at 3 in Pembroke, and Sunday and Monday’s matches are in UCD at 5 and 12 respectively. Monday, fingers crossed, will be a proud day for me as I am hoping to get my 100^th International cap for Ireland. The time seems to have flown since my first cap in 2007, and I am incredibly privileged to have been given the opportunity to represent my country. This squad is so talented and I am undoubtedly excited about the future!  Best of luck to Railway and Ireland this weekend, come and watch some great hockey in Dublin this weekend!   

The past few weeks have been relatively quiet, with everyone getting on with training and trying to get as much rest as possible! The club season has reached the final stages and with the fixture congestion from the inclement weather, along with rescheduled IHL fixtures and Irish Senior Cup games, has meant that most of the girls will play a lot of games in a short period of time. Because of this our schedule is a bit haphazard, but it allows players to train with their clubs but also give them time to rest.  

Old Alex finished 5^th this season, pipped for the final IHL place by UCD. This means we have to make the lovely trip to Cork next month to compete in the play-offs, where we’ll compete against teams from other provinces for a place in next year’s Irish Hockey League. The top two teams go through so hopefully we will pull together and get the results we deserve. And hopefully it doesn’t rain in Cork!! 

This weekend Alexandra College hosts an Art Exhibition in aid of Old Alex Hockey Club and the Irish under 18 girls team, who are fundraising for their European Championships in Holland in July. The exhibition runs from Friday evening to Sunday evening and it would be great if you could show your support by coming along and maybe making a purchase!

Last week, following on from our games against GB, a group of the squad including myself played two fixtures against the USA under 21 side. They are currently touring Europe and asked Gene if it was possible to play an Irish select when they travelled to Dublin. Games such as these are a unique opportunity to gain experience against different teams with a different style of play, so the offer was duly accepted. 8 of the squad picked are in the current CPP, and the remainder consisted of other young up-and-coming talent in Irish hockey. The squad was strong but we had never played together before which threw up a few challenges, first and foremost getting to know everyone’s name!!

 I was lucky enough to be asked to captain the side for the games, and despite being a new team, we played some really good passing hockey, showed a lot of creativity and defended well at the back. There were some strong individual performances which is always good to see. We drew both games 2-2, they were lively and entertaining and ultimately games which we should have won. We ended the first game with a ‘shoot-out’, a relatively new version of ‘strokes’, which basically sees one player allowed 8 seconds (starting from the 23 yard line) to run in and beat the keeper. 5 of us stepped up and 4 slotted home (I’ll not mention the offender!!).  

My legs felt heavy after the two games, and added stress of a college exam didn’t help matters! But the remainder of the week we were on our ‘rest’ period, so it was an ideal chance to get the legs up and enjoy some time off. Needless to say, however, I was never far from a hockey pitch, watching my club team Old Alex beat Glenanne on Saturday and narrowly lose out to Loreto 2-1 on Monday. We need to get at least 4 points from our remaining two fixtures to have any chance of a top 4 finish and a shot at the Irish Hockey League next season. Fingers, toes, thumbs and everything else crossed!!

Blog 11

The past couple of weeks have been really busy as we played our first competitive internationals since the CPP began in October. Back then March seemed so far away but time has flown and continues to do so. The Champions Challenge 1 is in June, followed by the Europeans in August, which is really quite close! Scary!

So last Sunday we adorned our leprechaun outfits and headed to Bisham Abbey via Heathrow airport, for 2 uncapped matches against Great Britain. The British panel is large in number, and they are involved in a centralised programme that began in early 2010. They have received a lot of funding and support with the 2012 games in mind, so we were eager to pit ourselves against one of the best teams in the world right now.

Our first match finished 2-1 to GB, a game in which the scored a controversial penalty corner winning goal with 3 minutes to go. Whilst they had the majority of possession we had numerous opportunities but they were more clinical than us in their finishing. Despite a much improved performance in the second game, we went down 2-0 to a very strong outfit. We played well but not as well as we know we can, which is encouraging considering the quality of the opposition.

So we returned to Dublin weary and sore, but safe in the knowledge we are a much improved side from previous encounters against GB. We are now more aware of specific aspects of our game we need to work on, but the gap between us and the so-called ‘big’ teams has begun to steadily narrow. We are on the up!!

Our rest has come and gone and we are well and truly back in the swing of things! Everyone really enjoyed the few days off; I went home to see my family, watched some quality rugby in Ravenhill on Friday night and caught up with my good friends from college. Once again, time flew and before I new it I was driving back down to Dublin! Considering the current price of fuel it could be a while before I am back! People will just have to come and visit me from now on!

Training is tough at the minute, we are being pushed hard and the squad are lifting heavier than ever in the gym. We have been in the CPP for 5 months now and at last we look forward to some international competition! Selection has been made and the response has been phenomenal. Everyone’s attitude has remained exactly the same, working harder than ever. For me, it is a real testament of how far we have come as a squad and how much we have matured.

Great Britain awaits us next Monday and Tuesday and I have to say I can’t wait! The GB squad have been centralised for quite a while longer than us and they have been reaping the benefits, finishing third in the recent World Cup in Argentina and playing some of their best hockey to date. The matches will be a real test of how we are progressing; we are somewhat of an unknown entity right now so competition will be good for us!

This evening Chef Jacob provided the culinary delights as she cooked up a storm in the kitchen! ‘Pancake party/foam rolling and recovery party’ was held in our house, after numerous fillings and a cuppa or two we watched Barcelona show Arsenal how to play! Pancake Tuesday has come and gone I can safely say I won’t be eating any more any time soon!

As I write this piece we are approximately 24 hours away from what might possibly be described as the most eagerly anticipated break of the CPP so far! We have been pushed hard over the past 3 weeks and everyone is well and truly ready for a rest. Not only physically, but mentally. Training and living with the same group and surroundings is tough and just having the opportunity to head home, socialise with friends and family and enjoy a ‘normal’ weekend comes as welcome relief.

I am heading to a fancy dress party with my class mates on Wednesday night, as a whoopee cushion (classy, I know), which will be great fun. On Thursday I am heading home for the first time since Christmas which I can’t wait for. It will be really nice to catch up with family and friends. I have a thesis presentation in college on Monday so will be back in Dublin Sunday evening, ready to start the graft again!

This week will also see selection for the GB series next month. This is one of the toughest parts of the process, as everyone has put in the same graft and hours. For me, there has never been so much talent in the squad, so selection for Gene is quite possibly harder than ever. Everyone will get their chance to show what they can do, and ultimately it is up to us to show why we deserve a place on the squad.

For now, I am counting down the hours to 5 days off!!

We are now into our 14^th week of the CPP, hard to believe really!! Whilst often some days can seem long and arduous, the time has flown since October and it is not long now to our first international matches! We play GB in Bisham Abbey next month, and from previous experience, the main attraction is the mouth-watering spread of food they lay on for us. It’s all fuel as they say!! I am really excited about the games as we will have the perfect opportunity to pit ourselves against one the top teams in the world and show how far we have come. The Great Britain squad have a similar centralisation set-up to us so we really need and want to play well.

Training this week has been tough and as a result minor muscle injuries have crept in. Warm-ups, cool-downs and recovery sessions reduce the chances of injury but when we train at this intensity and volume niggles are almost inevitable. Next week is our next rest period so we will battle on to then!

This weekend is Irish Senior Cup and we are playing Ballymoney for a place in the semi-finals. The cup is a great tournament to be involved in and always causes upsets. Ballymoney are a strong outfit and will be difficult to break down, but we are really looking forward to the game and I will get to catch up with my old team-mate and good friend Bridget Cleland. She is coming to visit Friday so I might try and poison her dinner!! Joking!!

Here is my picture for the week, the gorgeous weightlifting shoes we might all be getting....also double up as dancing shoes for a Saturday night!!! Beauties aren't they!? :)

This week has been busy for me, a full week of coaching and a few hours spent in college too (believe it or not)! The new timetable is busy, as this semester we not only have to complete a dissertation, we also have to design and produce a magazine. Shorthand class continues to pose many a problem, but I rest assured it will all come good!

Last Thursday we had strength testing in the gym, where we were tested on our hang cleans, front squats, bench press and finally pull ups. The whole squad improved their max scores in each test so our Strength and Conditioning coach seemed pretty pleased with the progress made since our last testing in late November. We are steadily becoming stronger which can only be a good thing!

On Sunday evening we played Wesley College boys team, and won 3-0. Since there were IHL games on a few of our squad were missing, but we were undeterred and produced some great hockey and worked hard on getting something out of our circle entries, an area of our game we have been concentrating on in recent weeks.

As you may have already heard, this week our Captain Eimear Cregan retired from international hockey due to injury. We are all sad to see her go and her craic will be missed both on and off the field. She brought so much experience to the team but for her it was a decision that was out of her hands. Her health is more important than anything else. It is up to us as a squad to stick together, get on with our task and ultimately dedicate Olympic Qualification to her!