The infamous Monday Night training sessions in Clontarf are back! Wahey!
Dominick has kindly organised the use and rental of a high quality astro pitch in Clontarf for all players willing to play Open Ultimate at a high level. The coast is minimal - €5 per session or a bargain of €35 for all 9 weeks. All players from all clubs are welcome. It is NOT DU training but an Open session.
See you all out on the pitch!
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
DU are back!
Hello everyone.
We trained before Christmas, we've trained since Christmas (when we've been able!) and now we're starting back into a new season with new goals and lots of hard work ahead. The Ireland trials have come and gone, the three teams are (almost) finalised and now club training will be the focus for most players. Clontarf is our venue and the current 8 week block is sorted to take us through until March (see emails for detail). Let's get a decent turnout!
The DU leadership had it's first meeting of the year two weeks ago and the season's tournaments and goals were laid out. We have retained our excellent coach, Peter Sandin, and the captaincy set up of Niall Harbourne (capt.) and Mark Earley (vice capt.). We have targeted UK Tour 2 and the end of season EUCRs as our two tournaments. Once the light gets better (March) the training will adjust to suit this.
Looking forward to a great season ahead!
DU
We trained before Christmas, we've trained since Christmas (when we've been able!) and now we're starting back into a new season with new goals and lots of hard work ahead. The Ireland trials have come and gone, the three teams are (almost) finalised and now club training will be the focus for most players. Clontarf is our venue and the current 8 week block is sorted to take us through until March (see emails for detail). Let's get a decent turnout!
The DU leadership had it's first meeting of the year two weeks ago and the season's tournaments and goals were laid out. We have retained our excellent coach, Peter Sandin, and the captaincy set up of Niall Harbourne (capt.) and Mark Earley (vice capt.). We have targeted UK Tour 2 and the end of season EUCRs as our two tournaments. Once the light gets better (March) the training will adjust to suit this.
Looking forward to a great season ahead!
DU
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Last DU practice of the 'summer season'
Hey folks,
all Open players are welcome to join us in Gonzaga tomorrow night for DU's last 'summer season' training session. It will be a long game against Broc starting at 6:15pm and going until light dies - likely to be as early as 8pm.
Anyone who's keen for a run around and a decent game, please do come along. Bring water, a disc and a dark jersey.
Cheers,
Marko
all Open players are welcome to join us in Gonzaga tomorrow night for DU's last 'summer season' training session. It will be a long game against Broc starting at 6:15pm and going until light dies - likely to be as early as 8pm.
Anyone who's keen for a run around and a decent game, please do come along. Bring water, a disc and a dark jersey.
Cheers,
Marko
Saturday, September 11, 2010
DU Blog update!
So we've been a little quiet of late and for lots of reasons - back to work, people have been away, there was the U-23s World Championships, then home and the All-Irelands and now Cork Open in a couple of weeks. So where does that leave DU?
Well, we've been training every Thursday and reckon we'll get another week out of it yet, maybe 2 weeks. There's talk of floodlit training and maybe Winter League - we'll keep everyone posted over the next few months. For now, keep up the fitness (like Podger would), hit the gym and see you at pickup or in Cork!
See ya soon!
Marko
Well, we've been training every Thursday and reckon we'll get another week out of it yet, maybe 2 weeks. There's talk of floodlit training and maybe Winter League - we'll keep everyone posted over the next few months. For now, keep up the fitness (like Podger would), hit the gym and see you at pickup or in Cork!
See ya soon!
Marko
Friday, July 16, 2010
WUCC DU Awards
In a true captain's performance Niall was the big winner when the voting took place in the run down stand on the side of a pitch with 2 crates of beer (courtesy of our raucous supporters!). He lead by example all week and was more than deserving of the two awards.
As for Sam, well it was testament to a player who's worked hard, made huge sacrifices and has shown that with enough determination you can make the step up if you really want. A great season's work - well done Sam.
MVP: Niall Harbourne
MIP:Sam Mehigan
SHRP: Niall Harbourne
In other news, here's some stats from the WUCC Website. A quick summary:
- We came 38th overall, of 48 teams
- We came joint 8th in the Spirit standings
- Derryk Boyd was involved in an impressive 37 scores
- Derryk Boyd & Mark Earley threw 24 scores
- Enda Naughton pipped Dave McAlester by one goal, scoring 20 goals
- Our biggest win was by 7 points
- Our heaviest defeat was by 10 points
As for Sam, well it was testament to a player who's worked hard, made huge sacrifices and has shown that with enough determination you can make the step up if you really want. A great season's work - well done Sam.
MVP: Niall Harbourne
MIP:Sam Mehigan
SHRP: Niall Harbourne
In other news, here's some stats from the WUCC Website. A quick summary:
- We came 38th overall, of 48 teams
- We came joint 8th in the Spirit standings
- Derryk Boyd was involved in an impressive 37 scores
- Derryk Boyd & Mark Earley threw 24 scores
- Enda Naughton pipped Dave McAlester by one goal, scoring 20 goals
- Our biggest win was by 7 points
- Our heaviest defeat was by 10 points
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Full report coming soon...
Hey everyone.
A full run down on the last few games, some photos and a party report will follow soon. Some of us lucky ones are still holidaying around Europe so the blogs been on the back burner. We beat Redbacks, Fire and Mooncatchers (revenge!) but lost heavily to Cambo. The fact that they had over twice as many players might've played a part! :)
In other news:
- New website ready to go soon
- Training details to be finalised shortly
- DU accessories in the pipeline!
For now, ciao!
Marko
A full run down on the last few games, some photos and a party report will follow soon. Some of us lucky ones are still holidaying around Europe so the blogs been on the back burner. We beat Redbacks, Fire and Mooncatchers (revenge!) but lost heavily to Cambo. The fact that they had over twice as many players might've played a part! :)
In other news:
- New website ready to go soon
- Training details to be finalised shortly
- DU accessories in the pipeline!
For now, ciao!
Marko
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Four wins and two losses!
The last three days of our week in Vienna were like a synopsis of the story of our week - a mix of the excellent and the frustrating. At some points were gelled and were unstoppable and at other times we lacked intensity, looked tired and succumbed to teams no stronger than us.
Day Four
the Big EZ
The Big EZ hail from Vienna and are a team based around physicality, both on the mark and around the field, and aerial aggression. They were relatively unpredictable and had a decent, but not spectacular zone. We started slowly - an Achilles heel we were more than aware of - conceding a few points in a row with the offence not on form. There a few calls, a few cynical fouls and the atmosphere wasn't a particularly pleasant one. We clawed back into the game, losing a turnover-ridden point to concede half but then faded away. Again, a very disappointing result that hurt us. We'd worked hard and come away with nothing. Heads were down.
MVPs - Kev Timoney who got some big Ds and played assuredly when the rest of us lost it.
- David McAlester scored a load of points and didn't run over - an asset to a misfiring offence!
Emo/Fusion
The first of our two UK battles and one that meant a lot to us given the 2 defeats we'd been handed by the EMO boys on Tour. The difference in this game was that all 14 of us played the best defence we'd produced to date. We fronted the handlers and shut down long threats and whent he pressure came on perhaps their lack of team-ness caused them to crack. That said, they were brimming with talent and experience but we beaten by a team who wanted it more, worked harder and most importantly, shut the game out in style winning 4 D points on a row.
MVP - Mark Earley - lots of assists, few turns and some big forces causing turns allowed me sneak an MVP vote by a single vote.
Day Five
Redbacks
An Aussie outfit who had played little together, picked up a few players and were enjoying the trip Europe in every sense, the Redbacks had lost every game before meeting us and we weren't going to let them scalp us. We spoke about a strong opening half and we got it after the usual gentle start. The O line had ample space to put away all their goals and once the D line got going we won well. We leaked a few at the end of the game to put a slight gloss on the score from their point of view but a 7 point win was enjoyable all the same.
MVP - Kev Timoney - another display of good hands and simple throws. Brilliant on offence especially.
Fire Of London
We knew going on to the pitch that we were facing a team who had set their sights on much higher a finish than they achieved. They'd lost a couple of tight games against higher seeded teams and weren't happy about it. We'd played FoL 2 at Tour and won with ease but this was a different kettle of fish altogether. We started well and some smooth offence and feisty D got us fired up. Then came a 3 point swing which we worried might let them take the game from us but we replied and went in at half a point to the good. Nialler stirred the troops with some great battling words at half and we came out refreshed and determined. The heat was tough but we kept calm and won out by 3 points (I think) to record a great victory that we'll remember for some time.
MVP - Derryk Boyd - fired up, concentrated and all over the pitch (well, his face was anyway), Gags had a huge game when we needed big players to stand up and be counted.
Day Six
Mooncatchers
Revenge was the word on everyone's minds. We were fired up and they looked tired. From the opening 5 or 6 points it seemed to me like there was only going to be one winner and there was. The 1 point loss earlier in the week had really hurt us and despite losing a couple of players to injury (including Super who turned his ankle walking down some steps) we played well, getting turns with a strong front up and converting our offence despite having to mix the lines. A 6 or 7 point victory was just reward for a strong display. The tanks were close to empty though and the heat was relentless...
MVP - Enda Naughton - Reliable all week long, Enda was full of energy when we were all wilting. Got some huge grabs and threw a load of point winning passes.
Cambo Cakes
Everything went wrong in our last game of the week - we lost players before the warm up, we warmed up late and without intensity, we lost Perfect to a nasty clash of heads in the first few points and we suffered in the heat. Not to take away from a purposeful, hard-working and hard-running Cambo Cakes performance but I dont think we turned up at all. We fought, we huffed and we puffed, but we never really got any sort of a foothold in the game. Throws were overthrown, catches were dropped at chest height and we chased instead of anticipated.On a personal level, I found it really hard to finish the week like this. It wasn't anyone's fault - we were 14 players reduced to 10 by the end of the game! - and were playing a well drilled team with more than 20 players. It just hurt. We'll play them again next year no doubt, and if I'm there, this loss will be in the front of my mind stepping on to the pitch.
MVP - Podge who played brilliantly when we all crumbled around him. A rock on D and calm on O.
Day Four
the Big EZ
The Big EZ hail from Vienna and are a team based around physicality, both on the mark and around the field, and aerial aggression. They were relatively unpredictable and had a decent, but not spectacular zone. We started slowly - an Achilles heel we were more than aware of - conceding a few points in a row with the offence not on form. There a few calls, a few cynical fouls and the atmosphere wasn't a particularly pleasant one. We clawed back into the game, losing a turnover-ridden point to concede half but then faded away. Again, a very disappointing result that hurt us. We'd worked hard and come away with nothing. Heads were down.
MVPs - Kev Timoney who got some big Ds and played assuredly when the rest of us lost it.
- David McAlester scored a load of points and didn't run over - an asset to a misfiring offence!
Emo/Fusion
The first of our two UK battles and one that meant a lot to us given the 2 defeats we'd been handed by the EMO boys on Tour. The difference in this game was that all 14 of us played the best defence we'd produced to date. We fronted the handlers and shut down long threats and whent he pressure came on perhaps their lack of team-ness caused them to crack. That said, they were brimming with talent and experience but we beaten by a team who wanted it more, worked harder and most importantly, shut the game out in style winning 4 D points on a row.
MVP - Mark Earley - lots of assists, few turns and some big forces causing turns allowed me sneak an MVP vote by a single vote.
Day Five
Redbacks
An Aussie outfit who had played little together, picked up a few players and were enjoying the trip Europe in every sense, the Redbacks had lost every game before meeting us and we weren't going to let them scalp us. We spoke about a strong opening half and we got it after the usual gentle start. The O line had ample space to put away all their goals and once the D line got going we won well. We leaked a few at the end of the game to put a slight gloss on the score from their point of view but a 7 point win was enjoyable all the same.
MVP - Kev Timoney - another display of good hands and simple throws. Brilliant on offence especially.
Fire Of London
We knew going on to the pitch that we were facing a team who had set their sights on much higher a finish than they achieved. They'd lost a couple of tight games against higher seeded teams and weren't happy about it. We'd played FoL 2 at Tour and won with ease but this was a different kettle of fish altogether. We started well and some smooth offence and feisty D got us fired up. Then came a 3 point swing which we worried might let them take the game from us but we replied and went in at half a point to the good. Nialler stirred the troops with some great battling words at half and we came out refreshed and determined. The heat was tough but we kept calm and won out by 3 points (I think) to record a great victory that we'll remember for some time.
MVP - Derryk Boyd - fired up, concentrated and all over the pitch (well, his face was anyway), Gags had a huge game when we needed big players to stand up and be counted.
Day Six
Mooncatchers
Revenge was the word on everyone's minds. We were fired up and they looked tired. From the opening 5 or 6 points it seemed to me like there was only going to be one winner and there was. The 1 point loss earlier in the week had really hurt us and despite losing a couple of players to injury (including Super who turned his ankle walking down some steps) we played well, getting turns with a strong front up and converting our offence despite having to mix the lines. A 6 or 7 point victory was just reward for a strong display. The tanks were close to empty though and the heat was relentless...
MVP - Enda Naughton - Reliable all week long, Enda was full of energy when we were all wilting. Got some huge grabs and threw a load of point winning passes.
Cambo Cakes
Everything went wrong in our last game of the week - we lost players before the warm up, we warmed up late and without intensity, we lost Perfect to a nasty clash of heads in the first few points and we suffered in the heat. Not to take away from a purposeful, hard-working and hard-running Cambo Cakes performance but I dont think we turned up at all. We fought, we huffed and we puffed, but we never really got any sort of a foothold in the game. Throws were overthrown, catches were dropped at chest height and we chased instead of anticipated.On a personal level, I found it really hard to finish the week like this. It wasn't anyone's fault - we were 14 players reduced to 10 by the end of the game! - and were playing a well drilled team with more than 20 players. It just hurt. We'll play them again next year no doubt, and if I'm there, this loss will be in the front of my mind stepping on to the pitch.
MVP - Podge who played brilliantly when we all crumbled around him. A rock on D and calm on O.
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