Showcase 2010/2011
Thomas Conway
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Wilson Lumumba
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Ciaran Kelly
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Eoghain Dunne
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Merveil Mavungu
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Eric Donegan
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Stephen O'Brien
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Malik Ogungbo
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John Kearns
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I first became interested in hurling when I was 7 years old. It all started when I
was over with my friend Mark in the field beside his house. He would always be
playing hurling with his dad and I would sit there and watch until, one day, his
dad offered to teach me how to play. Once the hurl touched my hand I knew then
I would be a hurler. After that day I began training non stop because I had
developed a new passion for the game and I wanted to play it for years and years
to come. I soon joined the local GAA club which was Round Towers. It was one
of the best things I ever did because I have made so many friends for life. The
first major thing I won in hurling was at under 12's level and we played our league
and championship beating everyone heavily as we cruised through to the final in
both the league and championship. In the championship final we played Whitehall
Colmcille's on Moyle Park College grounds. The atmosphere was amazing as
we battled for every ball and by the end we soon came out on top, winning the
12's championship. This is a memory I will never forget.I was in second year when I heard Moyle Park College were going to have an
under14's hurling team and I wanted to be a part of it. The teacher/coach of the
team was Ms Jordan. I will never forget the smile on her face when she saw us
running up and down the pitch. Whether it was training or a match, she always
believed in us. The most special memory I have of playing for the school's
under14's hurling team was against Old Bawn. We were evenly matched in terms
of strength as whenever they managed to score a point or goal, we would bounce
back and score for ourselves. It was the special feeling of being able to go in at
half time as captain and give all the lads a boost because we knew we could
win that game .We went out for the second half and it was just like the first with
me and Alex Darby driving the ball out of our own half whenever it came our way.
When the final whistle blew we all let out a sigh of relief because they were fighting
back strongly. This feeling of being a winning captain of your school team is
just an amazing feeling and is one that you want to feel again.At this time I am still playing for the Round Towers club. I am 17 and play Minor
hurling and also under-21's.This is a very exciting part of life in sport for me
because I am playing for two teams. I get to train more and get to reap the
benefits. Playing under-21's hurling gives me a feel for what adult hurling is like
and just the feeling of being able to knock over people twice my size is something
I love because it gives me a greater test for my endurance and this helps your
overall level of fitness and the level of the game you can play at. On my team there
are a few lads either on development squads or on the Dublin minor panel.
Compared to the level they are at, I am just like any other player on the team who
just plays hurling because they love it but are not good enough to make
development squads or other panels. This serves as a challenge for me to try to
improve my game further and maybe one day be at the same level as they are.
That is my main thing driving force, my determination, as I want to get better
and improve my game to the next level.My hopes for the future are simply just to improve my game so that I can play
better for my team and win some silverware. I would like to become a coach if a
position opened for a younger age group when the time comes for me to retire
from hurling. I will never leave the game until age prevents me because I have
made so many friends from playing for the club and that is something no one
would like to lose. I hope to at least win a Minor championship medal before
my time as a Minor is over because so much effort has gone into training and
it would be amazing to win something to show our hard work and determination
has paid off. It would be an amazing way to end my minor career on a high and
move on to just adult hurling from the on.
