Salerno Hockey
by Ailbhe Nally
I graduated from Salerno last May 2013 and throughout those five years of being in the school, I was a Salerno hockey player. Playing hockey with the school is one of the main things I miss now and it was also one of the main reasons I enjoyed school.
In October 2012, the Salerno senior hockey squad had the opportunity of playing a tournament in Cheltenham. We played four other teams from the UK and we managed to come in second place throughout the whole tournament. The Cheltenham trip is definitely one of my fondest moments of hockey in Salerno and hockey in general.
Last year, when I was part of the senior hockey squad in Salerno, we got knocked out of the Palmer Cup by Taylors. It was a devastating moment for us as a team because we all wanted to get through to the semi- finals so much, but it was even more devastating for me and all the other fellow Leaving Certificate students on the team because we knew that it was our last match with Salerno.
Last Friday, the 7th of March, I went to Dangan sports grounds to cheer on the Salerno hockey squad in the Palmer Cup final against the Jes. Being a Salerno hockey player, I could tell how much the girls wanted the cup and to represent their province and school in the All-Ireland final. Especially because Salerno haven’t won the Palmer Cup in 12 years. Being the typical ‘Salgal’ that I am, I dressed up in my old green Salerno uniform and painted my face green for the match and watched it in Dangan. I got some very strange looks from students, who were probably thinking “who is this girl? I have never seen her in the school before.” I wanted to people to know what team I was cheering for.
There was a huge crowd up at the game, floods of green and maroon covered the pitch as buses and buses of students came up to Dangan to drop off their loyal supporters. There was an amazing atmosphere, students chanting their school jingles and rhymes, people banging the drums and blowing whistles and horns, it made me wish that I could be in their position, I began to realise how much I missed playing hockey with that squad and how badly I would of loved to be in the Palmer Cup final against the Jes, one of our all time leading rivals.
When the match started, the chants got louder and louder and as soon as Salerno scored their first goal from a short corner, I could see green colours flying about everywhere, but soon after I could feel the atmosphere getting tense. I could really see that both teams wanted to win but it was clear that Salerno were going to win when they scored their second goal. Once the final whistle blew, hundreds of students made their way onto the hockey pitch to congratulate their fellow classmates and friends. The final score was 2-0.
Seeing the squad get the Palmer Cup Trophy and get their team photos taken made me so envious. What I would give to be in their shoes and still play for the school but some good things must end.
I sat down with a Salerno senior hockey player to ask her a few questions about her experience playing hockey with Salerno and how she felt about being on the squad and winning the Palmer Cup after 12 years, this is what she had to say:
When I asked Rebecca about how she felt about playing school hockey and if she enjoyed it, she told me that the other girls on the squad are all very friendly and nice and it makes it easier to play hockey together.
I asked her if she had a favourite memory from playing school hockey, “playing with the same girls all the time is nice” she said she enjoys the training sessions they have every Tuesday and Thursday and she mentioned that her coach was nice which made training sessions more enjoyable.
I asked her what it was like to be the first Salerno team in 12 years to win the Palmer Cup, she mentioned that it felt great to beat the Jes for once, since they usually win. She said it can be frustrating and heartbreaking seeing the same team win all the time so she’s happy and proud of the team for getting this far. “I know how it feels for us to lose so I know how they feel, but it’s great to win.”
I asked her if she was nervous about playing the Jes in the Palmer Cup final, and she said she was nervous, “the first time we played them we beat them and they were very good and we were very nervous because they have gotten better since the last time we played them.” She said that the squad had heard that they were training a lot to prepare for the final which also made them nervous, “we heard the stories about Ritchie training them and it made us all nervous.”
She told me the squad were more nervous about playing Taylors than the Jes when I asked her about which team they were more worried about playing. “Definitely Taylors because they’re probably our biggest competition, they’re our rivals.”
When I asked about the details of All-Ireland final, she said it takes place on the 27th and 28th of March, on the Thursday and Friday, it’s being hosted in St Andrew’s college in Dublin. “We’re playing Lurgan, from the North, St Andrew’s, and another team which I’m unsure of.”
The final score in the Palmer Cup final was 2-0, goals were scored by Kelly Dunleavy and Ellie Noone. Salerno will be representing their province in the All-Ireland final which will take place in St Andrew’s college in Dublin on the 27th and 28th of March.
I graduated from Salerno last May 2013 and throughout those five years of being in the school, I was a Salerno hockey player. Playing hockey with the school is one of the main things I miss now and it was also one of the main reasons I enjoyed school.
In October 2012, the Salerno senior hockey squad had the opportunity of playing a tournament in Cheltenham. We played four other teams from the UK and we managed to come in second place throughout the whole tournament. The Cheltenham trip is definitely one of my fondest moments of hockey in Salerno and hockey in general.
Last year, when I was part of the senior hockey squad in Salerno, we got knocked out of the Palmer Cup by Taylors. It was a devastating moment for us as a team because we all wanted to get through to the semi- finals so much, but it was even more devastating for me and all the other fellow Leaving Certificate students on the team because we knew that it was our last match with Salerno.
Last Friday, the 7th of March, I went to Dangan sports grounds to cheer on the Salerno hockey squad in the Palmer Cup final against the Jes. Being a Salerno hockey player, I could tell how much the girls wanted the cup and to represent their province and school in the All-Ireland final. Especially because Salerno haven’t won the Palmer Cup in 12 years. Being the typical ‘Salgal’ that I am, I dressed up in my old green Salerno uniform and painted my face green for the match and watched it in Dangan. I got some very strange looks from students, who were probably thinking “who is this girl? I have never seen her in the school before.” I wanted to people to know what team I was cheering for.
There was a huge crowd up at the game, floods of green and maroon covered the pitch as buses and buses of students came up to Dangan to drop off their loyal supporters. There was an amazing atmosphere, students chanting their school jingles and rhymes, people banging the drums and blowing whistles and horns, it made me wish that I could be in their position, I began to realise how much I missed playing hockey with that squad and how badly I would of loved to be in the Palmer Cup final against the Jes, one of our all time leading rivals.
When the match started, the chants got louder and louder and as soon as Salerno scored their first goal from a short corner, I could see green colours flying about everywhere, but soon after I could feel the atmosphere getting tense. I could really see that both teams wanted to win but it was clear that Salerno were going to win when they scored their second goal. Once the final whistle blew, hundreds of students made their way onto the hockey pitch to congratulate their fellow classmates and friends. The final score was 2-0.
Seeing the squad get the Palmer Cup Trophy and get their team photos taken made me so envious. What I would give to be in their shoes and still play for the school but some good things must end.
I sat down with a Salerno senior hockey player to ask her a few questions about her experience playing hockey with Salerno and how she felt about being on the squad and winning the Palmer Cup after 12 years, this is what she had to say:
When I asked Rebecca about how she felt about playing school hockey and if she enjoyed it, she told me that the other girls on the squad are all very friendly and nice and it makes it easier to play hockey together.
I asked her if she had a favourite memory from playing school hockey, “playing with the same girls all the time is nice” she said she enjoys the training sessions they have every Tuesday and Thursday and she mentioned that her coach was nice which made training sessions more enjoyable.
I asked her what it was like to be the first Salerno team in 12 years to win the Palmer Cup, she mentioned that it felt great to beat the Jes for once, since they usually win. She said it can be frustrating and heartbreaking seeing the same team win all the time so she’s happy and proud of the team for getting this far. “I know how it feels for us to lose so I know how they feel, but it’s great to win.”
I asked her if she was nervous about playing the Jes in the Palmer Cup final, and she said she was nervous, “the first time we played them we beat them and they were very good and we were very nervous because they have gotten better since the last time we played them.” She said that the squad had heard that they were training a lot to prepare for the final which also made them nervous, “we heard the stories about Ritchie training them and it made us all nervous.”
She told me the squad were more nervous about playing Taylors than the Jes when I asked her about which team they were more worried about playing. “Definitely Taylors because they’re probably our biggest competition, they’re our rivals.”
When I asked about the details of All-Ireland final, she said it takes place on the 27th and 28th of March, on the Thursday and Friday, it’s being hosted in St Andrew’s college in Dublin. “We’re playing Lurgan, from the North, St Andrew’s, and another team which I’m unsure of.”
The final score in the Palmer Cup final was 2-0, goals were scored by Kelly Dunleavy and Ellie Noone. Salerno will be representing their province in the All-Ireland final which will take place in St Andrew’s college in Dublin on the 27th and 28th of March.