Interview #5 - Brian Henderson

Story Brian. Congrats on making the team. You missed out on U23s last time but have prior international experience in a mixed division. Tell us about your EUC experience from 2011.

It was brilliant, great players, great team and great result! To be part of a team that had so much
energy, passion and determination was an amazing experience. Every time we played together we
grew and found ourselves as a team, this was key to our good result in EUC, we all knew each other so well it was easy to be optimistic. I learned a great deal from all the players around me and I’m looking forward to doing the same over the course of 2013.

And that team out-performed all expectations and finished with a number of great results, right? That must have been awesome to be a part of!

Yes I think at the start of the season people had underestimated, not the players, but the division itself. If you look at the team that was playing player by player it was always going to perform well but no one really said much about mixed before that, well as far as I was concerned.

You also have some Juniors experience. How did you get on with that campaign?

A brave new generation? That was my first taste of what would be a huge part of my life, “Competitive Ultimate”. It was awesome, great bunch of lads, a lot of whom I haven’t seen since and some who are by my side on the line once again, we’re just a bit older and a lot better now.

Outside of Ireland teams you have been a big player for your college team, DCU, as well as your club team, OCS. Tell us about your time with both these teams. Are there many similarities in playing setup and playing style?

I’ve always had a fair bit of input in both teams so from that I guess there would be a lot of similarities but these days OCS has its own momentum behind it and new non DCU leadership so I would imagine the changes will start to show a bit more in 2013. I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform in the coming season.

You played at WUCC with Dublin Ultimate in 2010. At this tournament you would have played (with and against) and watched some awesome players. Was there anything in particular that you took away from this tournament?

The main thing I took from WUCC was the aim to get better, I thought I was a decent player before I went, came back a beginner. The standard was just so far ahead of me but DU were a great team and I enjoyed the “Learn fast” attitude that was shown to me. My favourite thing about WUCC looking back is “The Greatest Catch”, Andrew Fleming’s amazing catch; I was there and saw the whole thing. It was brilliant watching Ultimate in a stadium, it’s always a treat to have a crown.

This weekend you have Mixed Tour 1 in Cardiff. Are you excited? From your past experiences at Tour what can you expect to get out of this weekend?

Well training can only do so much. This is our first tournament as a team and it will show us where we
are, I can’t wait to play with these guys, fighting with everything we’ve got to get that win, I honestly can’t describe how excited I am, I have more faith in this team than any other I have ever played with.

Are there any games you would look forward to more than others at MT1?

I want to play the best; I want to see how we compare to the big teams. I really don’t want 17:2 wins or losses, I want games that come down to one D, universe points and really stressful situations, that’s where we are going to learn and I can only imagine how tight some games are going to be over the next few months, we will need every edge.

Have you any grudge matches for later in the season? Any teams at Windmill or in Toronto that you want to have a good battle with more than others?

GB are always a goal, we had a disappointing loss in EUC after an amazing start but there are just a few things that I personally would have liked to change about that game so I’ll just have to settle my memories against their younger team. I’m looking forward to playing Austria, I’ll leave that to my 2011 companions to remember why. Most of all I want to play America, Canada Columbia and Japan, all the big dogs or so I have been told for 5 years now, in all my travels I have never had a crack at any of them, can’t wait to put them to the test!

With a number of training weekends already under your belt, at the more recent one you were
switched from the O to D line and Conor Casey was in turn switched from D to O. Did this transition surprise you? Are you looking forward to playing with anyone in particular on this new line come Tour and after?

It was a surprise until I took a second to think about it, it was defiantly a nice surprise anyway, everyone always thinks I’ll make a good O-line handler but in practice there are much better options. I liked playing on the offence line but it just requires too much intelligence, I’m just a bit risky most
of the time, cocky and idiotic are in there somewhere to. Too much pressure really, maybe in a few years I’ll have the wisdom to make a good O-line handler but for now I’m pretty happy to hoof myself around a pitch after a Frisbee, also D-line opens up pulling AND Callaghan’s. I was going to name a few but then named everyone so I will just say DAVE FERGUSON! Honestly though I just don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out!

Lastly, make us laugh.

What cheese do you use to get a bear up a tree, camembert, camembert

Cheers Brian. Best of luck at the weekend and with the rest of the season.

Interview #4 - Caitlin Looney

Hey Caitlin, how're things? Studying hard no doubt...
Hello Hogi, thing's are good. Well I'm trying to anyway.

Congrats on making your first Irish team outside of the Juniors setup! I'd say you're excited to say the least. Tell us about your last two years of playing experience.
Thanks a million. You're right, I'm very excited! Toronto's not too far away now. The last two years have flown being honest. My first competitive tournament was EYUC 2011, it was a thoroughly enjoyable week. You learn a huge amount being immersed in the sport for that amount of time. After EYUC I was lucky enough to become involved on a club level with Rebel Ultimate. 2012 brought with it the opportunity to compete at Junior Level again; I was thrilled to be selected again to represent Ireland at the World Championships and given the honour to captain the Junior Women on home turf. Now heading into the Summer of 2013 I'm lucky enough to be heading to Toronto and Cologne with U23 and Junior's respectively. It's mad!

Your partnership with Leanne O'Neill is something of a local legend at Irish Junior level, however she couldn't commit fully to the U23s season and very unfortunately had to drop out. How are you finding playing without her for the first time?
Playing without Leanne is different to say the least. In the past two years I don't think we've ever strayed too far from each other on the pitch. Some might call it a touch of 'tunnel vision'. Fortunately this U23 team couldn't have provided a better base of players to adjust with. I'm really enjoying getting to know all the players as individuals and seeing us beginning to gel as a unit.

And how have you found the transition to an U23 setup so far? How does it differ from what you're used to?
Challenging. With Juniors there's always a majority of new recruits here everyone is an established player. Things are more specific so we always learn something new that will improve us in certain roles. So that's different to Juniors where you can find yourself in lots of different positions. It's a more generalised training.

You play your club ultimate with Rebel and have traveled to Windmill Windup with them in the past. What was your impression of this unique tournament and the atmosphere around it?
Windmill was all that it was made out to be; lot's of craic and a high level of ultimate.

Have you been to UK Tour events as well? Or will Mixed Tour be your first exposure to the UK ultimate scene?
I have indeed; played Mixed Tour with Rebel Ultimate last year. So I'm looking forward to getting to play the likes of Thundering Herd and Bear Cavalry again.

Outside of ultimate you're fairly active with Gaelic sports and you have competed at an inter-county level for Cork. How have your teams performed in past championships/leagues?
With Cork Camogie we didn't having a great run of things in the two years I was there. Losing to Galway and Tipperary in the Munster and All Ireland series. In regards Club and school we were more successful at an All-Ireland, Munster and county level. 2010 turned out to be quite the year! Inniscarra Camogie Club won both the Junior and Senior County Championships. The Seniors then went on to win the Munster title soon after but lost to a better side in the big final. Colaiste Choilm managed to pip them to the post taking all three honours that year. It was an amazing journey and I was so fortunate to be a part of such a talented group of players! Since then it's been hard to keep the momentum going. My last year in Colaiste Choilm has been full of mixed emotion; losing both Camogie and Football Munster Finals was heartbreaking but it's been such an amazing five years I can't complain.

Will we be seeing you on any senior Football/Camogie teams in the future playing in Croke Park and the likes?
Oh dear, I don't know! I'll just have to see what the next few years bring.

Returning to Ultimate for a moment; You're part of the Junior Women's team going to Cologne and you've just had your first training weekend. How did it go? How is the team looking, or is it too early to say?
I'll admit I was nervous heading to our first training with so many players leaving, I just didn't know what to expect. My fears were quickly alayed though. The team seems to be really athletic and took everything on board. I'm really looking forward to the season ahead.

Who do you want to play against most in Toronto and Cologne? Any personal grudge matches from the last 2 years?
For Cologne it's simple really. Czech Republic and GB. In the last two years we've come tantalisingly close to them both, I'd love to be in with another chance! At U23s I'd love to play Canada at home. Also Colombia are a team of such spirit and skill that I think it would be impossible not to enjoy a game against them.

Here is the real question everyone wants answered: Where will you be in college next year?! All this changing of your college application is awful confusing for would-be teammates!
I wish I knew myself! I'm quite an indecisive person so having such a broad choice doesn't really suite. At the moment I'm thinking a general Science degree in UCC to keep my options open in the future. But then again I could change my mind tomorrow. September should be fun!

Lastly, make us laugh
Two atoms were walking across a road when one of them said: "I think I
lost an electron!"
"Really" the other said. "Are you sure?"
"I'm absolutely positive!"

Apparently everyone has heard it?


Thanks for your time Caitlin. Best of luck with the Leaving Cert andyour multiple summer campaigns

Interview #3 - Jennifer Cooper

Hey Jen, all well?
Everything good with me, thanks. . I’m very excited about Tour this weekend!


Congrats on making the team. You must be chuffed!
Thank you. Yup, I’m absolutely delighted. My plans for the year were dependant on whether I made the team or not so I’m very happy that I made it and get to represent Ireland this summer!


You played on the Women's team in Italy 3 years ago, how did that week go for you?
I did. I really enjoyed the experience of playing an international tournament. I was a lot less experienced at the time, as was a lot of the team so I’m realising now how much was going over my head, but it was great to get a chance to play with all the girls and to learn from their experience. The week itself is a bit of a blur but it was great fun, with lots of hard fought ultimate and lovely weather ;) Unfortunately I ended up playing that week on a fractured foot so I’m really hoping that this time round I’ll be at full fitness. (That’s what all the core is for, right Frenchi ?)


And since then you've been playing your club ultimate with Jabba the Huck. It must give confidence to the good chunk of the squad who have played together with Jabba before as well as having familiar faces as your coaches. How have you found the process of getting used to playing with new teammates?
The Jabba aspect of the U23 team is proving very beneficial as I’ve way less tactics to remember. Its also nice to know that everything we’re doing at training each week is to the benefit of both teams, so it really feels like its all connected and not just a training weekend once a month. The O line has a lot of DCU and Jabba players on it so I’ve played with a lot of them before. Learning to work with handlers is always an interesting process especially for those of us who like to run deep a lot. We came back after lunch at a recent training day and Casey says “Jen, I’ve been practicing my hucks for you”. It was music to my ears! So I’m definitely looking forward to working with him. Everyone on the O line is versatile while all having something specific they’re very good at ... we’ve been working hard on identifying and using these things, so hopefully we’ll see it all come together this weekend.


When this team was announced were there any players that straight away you were excited to be on the same team as?
I must say I was very excited to get to play with all these incredible junior girls I had heard so much about. They’ve definitely lived up to their reputation!


You've been quite successful with Jabba in recent years with the club gaining depth in numbers and really excelling in its Mixed division. Tell us about the Mixed season for Jabba last year.
Best season yet! It was a great year for the club as we grew so much in numbers and across all divisions. Everybody in the club put in a huge effort throughout the season and we were getting up to 40 people out at training on quite a regular basis. We attended all three mixed tours and worked really hard at being a team unit ,which stood to all 3 teams at mixed nationals. Mixed Nationals was the perfect end to the season and is definitely a highlight of my ultimate career so far!



Your Women's and Men's teams weren't too shabby either collecting a number of trophies along the way. Can the same be expected from the club this year?
A lot more can be expected I hope. We’re building on everything we achieved last year in all divisions. Both the Open and women’s teams are hoping to travel to tournaments abroad and to put up a serious challenge at All-Ireland’s come September. My focus will be much more on mixed this season as I’ll miss most of the lead up to Women’s All-Irelands again this year, unfortunately.



You might say that you are rather "artsy" and you're known to have your camera out at tournaments getting some quality snaps. What sparked this interest?
I guess you could say that! I’m known to have a camera whenever I can beg, borrow or steal one. Unfortunately I do not yet own a DSLR although hopefully that will change before the summer. I guess I’ve always been creative and in to art and making things, as anyone who has ever won anything at a tournament I’ve hosted will attest to! I studied photography as a part of my degree so last minute Ultimate shots from whatever tourney was on the weekend before featured a lot in my assignments. Luckily Ultimate is a good sport for the dramatic shots!



Are you excited to get some good photos from the various tournaments that the team will attend this year? Or will you leave that to someone else and just concentrate on playing?
It’ll all depend on whether I’ve a camera by then I guess, but I think for the most part I’ll concentrate on playing!




Back to Ultimate; UK Mixed Tour 1 is the first stop on the team's travels this year. Have you attended this tournament before? How do you think the team will fair?
You have no idea how excited I am about this tournament!! I can’t wait to play
together as a team. I was at this tournament last year with Jabba and it was a great weekend, full of really good intense ultimate and surprisingly good weather. You go to Tour to play intense, high level ultimate and that’s exactly what we’ll get. I don’t know much about the other teams that will be there or where we’ll be seeded or anything like that so I’m not too worried about how we finish, but it’ll be a very important weekend for us as a team. It’ll show us what we’re capable of as a unit and what we still need to work on before the summer. It’s our first tournament together so there are bound to be some hiccups, but once we play intense ultimate and try play the way we’ve set out to play I’ll be happy. It’d also be nice if it didn’t rain/snow and we win some games, that’d be ideal!


As I'm asking everyone else, I'll ask you too: Who do you want to play most in Toronto?
The Canadian game is one of the games that stands out the most from Florence so it’d be great to see where they’re at now! Apart from that I guess USA and GB are the obvious ones. But I want to play everyone . . .everyone will bring a new challenge. So excited, can’t wait !!


Lastly, you love a good laugh. Tell us a joke!

I do love a good laugh! I’m absolutely rubbish at jokes though, but since its Easter . . .
What happens when you tell an egg a joke?

. . . . .

It cracks up!


Classic! Nice one Jen, best of luck with the campaign
Thanks Hogi

Interview #2 - Oisín Murphy

Well Oisín! How're things? All well in Cork?

Hey! I'm doing great, thanks. All's amazing in Cork, but unfortunately I'm preparing to leave the real capital for the big schmoke this weekend for Mixed IV's.

First off, congratulations! This is your 4th year of Ultimate, but your first time on an Irish team. I'd say you're pretty excited for the upcoming season?

Of course I'm thrilled to be on this amazing squad heading to Toronto. I must admit I was a bit nervous at the start, it being my first international tournament and all, but the players and coaches have been amazing and it's completely relaxed me. I know that everyone is putting themselves in the best position possible to do well in July.

In your player profile you state that you're looking forward to playing with those who you've played against all this time. Who have you gelled best with so far?

Another great aspect of this squad is that every player is clear with what he/she wants and what they're most comfortable with; I think it's certainly helped me with gelling with everybody's unique abilities. Although I must say I think I've developed a very strong rapport with Keith on and off the pitch; it's definitely a "special" connection!

Other than the above, what are you most excited about for the upcoming season?

Playing against high quality opposition; something I know there will be an abundance of at these upcoming tournaments. I'm very excited to see how different nationalities approach the game, what kind of strategies they use and whatnot.

And how has training been going so far with the team?

It's been fantastic! I feel like I come away from every session having learned something new. There's a great balance there between taking certain things seriously but also having a laugh now and then; I think it's very important to have that with a team that will be spending so much time in close proximity to each other. On a personal note, I've really taken a lot out of these sessions that benefit me; whether it's been improving my flick technique or learning new methods of play.

You're Cork based yet you don't play with the biggest team in the region, Rebel Ultimate. Tell us about your club Ultimate experience to date: Who do you play with now? Any big results at recent tournaments?

Yea I've been playing with Juice since my first year. When I started playing with them it was a pretty random gathering of players but it has slowly morphed into a squad based around the guys that started playing with UCC at the same time as myself. We like to think we don't take ourselves too seriously! We don't train very often which probably prevents us from having much consistency, but the fact that we know each other's playing styles so well means that we've had some success in the past; most notably coming 3rd at Indoor All-Irelands last year and going unbeaten at Siege this year, winning the plate in the process.

Good stuff! Outside of Ultimate you enjoy Gaelic Football. Are you still playing at all?

No, it's been a while now since I've togged out for the Junior B's, I must admit! I did start playing soccer (my first love) again in the summer with a team back in Youghal; I try and play games any weekend that I don't have a tournament. It's been very interesting playing again since taking up Ultimate; I find myself forcing players to a certain sideline and occasionally shouting "UP" any time the ball is hoofed up the field!

What do you think about the statement "Any player with a GAA background makes a good Ultimate player"?

I wouldn't say it necessarily "makes" an Ultimate player. It certainly aided me in my first year of playing; having that athletic advantage over guys who never really played much organised sport in the past. If anything it proved to be a hindrance; I relied on my GAA background so much that I didn't focus on simple mechanics like throwing or cutting properly, so when it got to Year 2 and 3, guys who I was beating in the air before were boxing me out now and just throwing better than I was. I felt I had to really knuckle down in order to become a "proper" Ultimate player.

Getting back to the Ultimate, are there any teams you're looking forward to playing more than others at Tour, Windmill and Worlds?

To be completely honest with you, I would be a bit disappointed if I came away from Worlds without having played one of the big guys; most notably the US or Canada. The whole reason for going to an international tournament is to play against the best players in the world, to see how you suit up against them and if you can learn anything from competing against them. Obviously I'll want to play and beat GB at every given opportunity too; but these are tournaments where the quality is so immense that it won't really matter who we come up against. I just want to play the best Ultimate that I can play (cheesy, I know!), and if I can do that at these three tournaments, I'll walk away a happy man.

Describe an ideal week in Toronto.

Well, like I stated before, this will be my first international tournament so I can see any situation where we play every game to the best of our abilities an ideal week; and then just take the results as they come. Although if you were to offer me a few scrappy wins over well-played losses, I'd take them too!

You can be a bit of a messer, but you're generally quiet/sly about it. Should your teammates be cautious about pranks and the like? Or will you be more about the "paaartaaaay" this summer?

I like to think my messing is more of a stress-reliever; I never mean to rub people the wrong way! So yea, if I think it's for the "good of the team", I may have a few tricks up my sleeve...

Lastly, tell us a joke Ois!

Q. Why can't you trust atoms?

A. Because they make up everything.

Thanks for your time. Best of luck with the upcoming campaign.

Cheers, man.

Interview #1 - Dave Ferguson

Hey Dave, thanks for taking the time to have the chats. How's the leg? All healed up?

Hey, Hogi. Not bad at all trying to get into the gym as much as possible, it's tough getting the conditioning right and I have to avoid relapsing but I should be 100% come Tour and IVs.

  

You're one of two remaining players from the Mixed team that went to Italy for U23s in 2010, tell us about that week.

It was an especially tough week, the squad wasn't complete structurally; a lack of girls and handlers really inhibited us from playing like the players we were. We were all pretty much out of position from day 1. Add the 35 degree heat, injuries and inexperience and it was an uphill battle. But I learned a lot that Summer about being flexible as a player and always having pride in the green (forest) no matter what so no regrets at the end of the day.

What was your highlight of that mixed season?

Ehhh, I suppose playing Open tour for the first time... 

Since then you've dabbled in the senior divisions a bit. You had a big year internationally in 2011 with the Open team that went to EUC. You gained a huge amount of experience that year I'd say?

Yea, that was cool. I haven't been on a team with such depth and talent before, or since. That ended with another tough week in Maribor and we were all tested by tough results... I think I learned more about the game and some of the dynamics of week long tournaments and international standard games.

And last year saw the emergence of your current club team, Ranelagh. Tell us about Year 1.

There is a great atmosphere at Ranelagh training, it's the place to be for Open ultimate in Dublin right now in my opinion. Brian has put a lot of thought what is the best way to get the most out of players and creating a sustainable club. I'm out of my comfort zone half the time, getting pissed off the rest but always finish the session with a smile on my face. We did okay at tour but we've always got the long term in mind so the other achievements like mentality and atmosphere at training are more important right now.

What are your aspirations for Year 2?

Breaking top 4 at Tour is a big ambition for myself but really the team and I just want to replicate last years results at training in terms of mentality and see where that brings us. Specifically we also want to attend EUCR...

Bringing it back to Mixed, you played your club Ultimate last year with Dublin based Mixed Veg. You came second at Nationals in Ireland and performed quite well abroad at UK Tour. Was the season deemed a success?

Yea, Tour was fun, just a bunch of competitive, talented players got together for some craic. The seeding made us finish 13th and 6-0 which is rare enough. The weather was great that weekend too. Mixed Nats wasn't all too high on my priorities last year and the field was split handily in our favor so we ended up in the final and lost narrowly after a decent comeback, I was beat coming into the final but, all credit to them, Jabba insisted on having a game and I wasn't one to refuse. Hence the iconic lay-out I made during that game...

Focusing now on this season. What is in store for the Irish Mixed team? What warm up tournaments are you attending?

Mixed Tour 1 and Windmill Wind-up are on the cards, looking forward to both. They promise some high standard play and a good atmosphere and I badly need some vitamin D.

How do you feel the team will do in Toronto? Is it too early to say if the team will perform better than the Mixed team of 2010?

No it's not too early to say that, we have a team which is structurally sound not to mention talented and an excellent set of captains and management. But it depends who shows up in what division, really. I'd say we're going to have a blast and some close games, which is all I want in the end of the day. In terms of a final placing - I couldn't care less about that.

You said in your profile that you're most looking forward to playing alongside co-captain Liam Fletcher. But who are you most looking to playing against?

I have never played against a North American team so that will be an interesting experience, otherwise I'm secretly backing us to have a good craic at GB, I reckon they'll be split 3 ways (O/W/M) and Irish teams have been placing well in Open/Womens IV over there so I figure we could match them huck for huck. Also in 2010 we got bageled by them so a little bit of revenge would go a long way.

Tell us a joke.

How does Moses make tea?

Hebrews it.

Thanks for your time Dave and best of luck with the rest of the season

Player Profile - Brian Henderson

Name: Brian David Henderson
Age: 22
Years Playing: 4
College Team: DCU Ultimate
Club Team: OCS Ultimate
What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming campaign: I really want to know just what this team is capable of, every time we train we get so much more used to each other and the atmosphere is better then any team I have every played for. The first tournament is what I am waiting for, that is where we will find ourselves. All those firsts, our first game, first win, first loss, first Universe point, first Callahan, first turnover and first D, these are what I look forward to most.   This team will be one for the record books in Irish Ultimate, I'm sure of it and I'm delighted to be part of the journey.
Anyone you're particularly looking to play alongside: All the boyz and girls new and old. I'm delighted to be playing with Emer again, she has an amazing Kind competitive attitude which I don't understand but find infectious, impossible not to smile around her.  The Mer man is another is another who I will be having a ball with on the pitch, his combination of unbelievable sky's and terrible jokes make him the best addition to any team. All my DCU team mates just add to my excitement, we know each other so well and have been playing at college and club level for so long it's about time we hit the national level together.  I'm interested to see just how much physical punishment Dave Ferguson can put himself through to catch a Frisbee, the many Conor Hogan freak outs, the Rob and Niall mirror image in action and the excited child that is Ian French run up and down the sidelines as if he was playing. Still the best thing about this team over the next few months will be discovering who people are and what they can do, there is so much about others I just don't know yet and I just can't wait to see what surprises are in store.
Personal Paragraph: Apparently I can't summit this with out filling in something personal about myself. I enjoy making up new words in my speeches, I'm a fan of hilarity in Ultimate. I personally believe that a throw is not a good throw unless a defenders feelings are hurt, some people think its about throwing in to space...... nah, thread the needle :D. Ok lets try this submit button again.

Player Profile - Declan Grogan

Name: Declan Grogan
Age: 21
Years Playing: 3 - I think.
College Team: DCU
Club Team: OCS
What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming campaign: Becoming a more cultured person as the team travels around Europe and North America, meeting new people and seeing new sights. Winning frisbee also.
Anyone you're particularly looking to play alongside: Ross of course, as the blog form suggests. Everyone on the team! Especially Keith Mernagh, he's tall and I look up to him.
Personal Paragraph: http://i.imgur.com/Nnxkp.jpg