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 started playing basketball in 2002 when I was nine. I joined Clondalkin Lakers and
I immediately fell in love with the sport. I played with Lakers until 2007 but
unfortunately they are no longer a club. I remember my first training as if it were
yesterday, I was terrible, but so was everyone else. After a few weeks of training
I got a grasp of it and I've continued playing up to this day. We finished mid-table
that season and I thought that was a great achievement as we were a team of
kids who only started playing basketball that year. Before that I had an interest in
football and swimming, but these two activities collided with basketball. I was much
better at basketball so I decided to stick with it and I put the other two on the back
burner.When it was time to enter secondary school the thing that excited me the most
was joining the 1st Year basketball team. At the time Ms Cahalane was the 1st
Year coach; she took us during games and that's where I tried to impress Miss
and the other players. Thankfully I got picked for the A team and we started
training fully after Christmas. We had a great season, we ended up in the
Dublin Final but, unfortunately, we lost the match. Even though we lost we were
still entered into the All-Ireland finals. We had to make a long trip to Limerick in
the cramped bus that we normally get to away games. We finished seventh
overall. The trip to Limerick is one of the highlights of my life at Moyle Park.The next two years weren't as successful under Ms Kilcoyne but I had a brief stint in
the U-16s that won the Dublin final and did very well in the All-Ireland. In 4th year
I had two new coaches, Ms Corscadden and Ms Roche, who are currently still my
coaches. I played for both the U-16s and U-19s in fourth year. The U-16s didn't
make it to the Dublin final but the U-19s did. Again I lost another Dublin final
but, thankfully, we were still entered into the All-Ireland. This time it was in Belfast
and, again, we were stuffed into the small bus. We won two out of our three group
stage matches but that was not enough to progress. This was, however, a high
point for other players as they finished their last year in Moyle Park in the
All-Ireland Finals.These included Dan Brown, Sean Mooney and others who
were a great service to the school. They won the All-Ireland in the process. 5th
Year was like 2nd and 3rd year. We failed to reach the Dublin final and our
season ended early. This year my aim is to win the Dublin final as it is
something I've never done in Moyle Park colours.Outside of school I've played with Clondalkin Lakers from 2002 to 2007. I've
enjoyed some success playing with Lakers. We won a few tournaments in places
such as Athy and Portlaoise, but we never won the League or Cup. When Lakers
ceased to exist, the majority of their members joined Dublin Lions. I've been
playing with Lions since 2007. I'm currently playing for the Men's Division 5
team as there is no U-18 or U-19 team.My aim is to play in the National League but if that doesn't work out I would like
to make my way up through Lions and eventually play in the Division 1 or 2 team.
I hope to be playing basketball for as long as I can.
