St.Mary's Almuni support

“God is a Gael”, “A Cinderella Story”, and “The sleepy town of Moraga” are ways the media has described sports teams at St.Mary’s. From 2001-2004, I was part of an underdog volleyball team; a team few believed would be successful because of the schools history. With the right coaching, mindsets, hard work, passion and discipline we went from being ranked in the 200s to being ranked 10^th in the Nation in 3 ½ years. Along with my teammates, I learned how hard work leads to success and dreams could come true. We may have not won the NCAA title but we did reach the Sweet 16, the farthest that any team at St.Mary’s has reached to date.

After graduating in 2005, I became a full time professional volleyball player in Europe. In 2007 I joined the British National team and earned my first International cap. I’ve since garnered 54 caps. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland I am currently the only player representing the small country. I’m proud to be part of the National team to represent Northern Ireland but also because we are an underdog team, fighting to keep our dream alive. In 2006, the British team was formed in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics.

After qualifying in 2010 we also lost our funding. For 2 years we have been fundraising to keep our program alive. We raise money towards playing in competitions, housing, food, travel, physio, strength and conditioning, facilities, and kit. We are determined to reach our goal of Top 8 at London 2012. We have the heart, hard work and belief to do so. However, we don’t have the money to allow us the preparation we need going into the Olympic Games. With your support through a donation or sponsorship, we will be one step closer to making sure we are 100% prepared to the best we can be when we step out onto Earls Court July 28^th.

In 100 days, the world will be introduced to the first Indoor Women’s Volleyball team from Great Britain.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions. Below I have shared with you one of our videos from Summer 2011, a fundraising bike ride, individual highlights from my professional season (2011/2012) and the link to our homepage.

Thank you for your time and help.

Gael Alumna ’05,

Stacey O’Connor

www.gbwomensvolleyball.co.uk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYyOA81ZdI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nENS-fHWEKc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUz8R8ztzLg

Cultural Difference Part 1: Houses

Every home is different no matter where you live. I grew up in Woodbridge, California (picture on the left of manmade lake) where there are about 5 different models of homes. The housing association was strict and your house had to meet many requirements for the exterior (http://www.wva.org/de-arch.htm). For example, your house couldn't be the same color as your neighbors, if you wanted a basketball hoop on the garage it had to be a certain size and have a clear backboard, etc. But when you went into a friends house that was the same model as yours, it was always different inside. Each person adds their personal touch to making a cloned home their own. Nowhere I've lived before has incorporated what the finnish have in their homes.

The Finnish home:

Here in Finland I'm experiencing new things with homes. For the first time in my life, I have a sauna. The Finnish are the inventors of the sauna and pride themselves for this by throwing sauna parties. Sauna parties can be at your house or at your holiday home by the natural lake.

The tiles of the shower floor are heated and the temperature controller is on the wall outside the shower. Because the shower does not have a base, a squeegee is used to push the collected water down the drain in the middle of the shower room.

This next difference is the most interesting. Sometimes you just have to sit longer on the toilet than other times. When this occurs, you don't need to worry about all the wiping. Just use the water spray to help clean yourself. Simple.

Besides the obvious favorite of having a sauna in my home, my second favorite thing is the rack for drying dishes. No dishwasher here, as is a typical European thing, so I'm back to handwashing all my dishes. My least favorite part when cooking. However, the cool part of drying dishes is the dish rack inside the cupboard above the sink. The water drains straight down onto the stainless steel sink. No mess, no fuss.

When entering the house, there are two doors. By having this second entrance way, the house stays more heated during the -30 degree celcius winters.

The windows are all double pane. Another helpful architectural design in keeping the house warm during the below freezing winter.

I'm more than happy with the added character to my home. I'm relaxed, clean, and warm. Couldn't ask for a better way to live.

Kiitos Suomi!

Finland loves Conan O'Brien

It all started with Conan O'Brien creating a mock Presidential campaign add for the re-election of Finnish President Tarja Halonen, all because he looks like her. Because of his humor and uncanny resemblence, the Present (she was re-elected) met with Conan O'Brien back in 2006. When Conan would mention anything having to do with Finland on his talk show, the media in Finland made sure to cover it. With their support for him over the years, Conan has stayed a strong part of Finnish media culture. When his show was no longer airing in Finland in 2010, fans gathered in Helsinki to protest. Their slogan was “Don’t be like a Finnish tv-network, be WITH COCO!” (Coco is Conan's nickname). With the country backing the comedian, Conan's tv show is now showing in Finland.

I watched an episode last night and felt so proud to be in Finland watching the ginger Irish comedian mock others with his quirky jokes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU6ierlsI0I&feature=player_embedded

Donald Duck is naked in Finland too!

You may or may not have heard about the past history of Donald Duck in Finland. The rumor goes...

Back in the late 1970's Donald Duck comic strips were banned from Finland because Donald Duck didn't wear pants.

The truth is that in 1977 budget cuts were being made in Helsinki during financial trouble. The Parliment believed that the comic strips were not in line with the educational goals for the children in Finland and decided to cut the comics from that years budget. The rumor is still believed by many today.

when in Finland...

...do as the Finnish. Tonight I tried Reindeer for the first time. Looked and tasted like beef, just a little more fatty tasting but still good. We ate it with "smashed" potatoes and puolakka (lingdonberry or cowberry in english).

My week in images (and captions)

Lake Pieksanjarvi, the town lake.

Lance wanted a photo. It's ALL about the bike...

One of few friends I allow to use my computer.

Posing like Where's Waldo (or Wally) in front of the Cathedral in Helsinki.

nutrition and performance

I've been here just over a week. I've had volleyball sessions and lifting sessions at all different times throughout the day. The best thing is, we're done by 7pm each night. This is one of my first professional teams I've played on where I don't finish late. Now my eating habits will stay consistent and healthy. It's very important I eat well to keep up my energy and also for recovery. I need a proper balance of carbs and protein before and after each training session. This helps my muscles recover at a faster pace, allowing me to be prepared to go hard the next day again. Usually I will have a small amount of high protein yogurt (like greek yogurt, low in carbs and sugar) and a piece of fruit 1 hour before training. I like to play on a light stomach. After training, I'll have a recovery shake with a ration of 3:1 carbs:protein or if I've just lifted I'll have a protein shake. During training I'll typical snack on a banana to keep my level consistent.

Throughout the day, I try to eat smaller meals. It's in the evening where I pack on my calories. This is only because with 2 training sessions a day, with a few hours to recover in between, the smaller meals won't make me feel full at my next session. Breakfast right now is Wheetabix. Once I'm in my normal living situation, I'll have more protein in the morning such as eggs and toast or greek yogurt. Lunch is typically an omlette with some meat and veg. Dinner is whatever I spend time making. The balance I'll have each night is meat, veg and some carbs. As the season goes on, I'll post my favorite meals (I know you can't wait!)

The part in my nutrition that I feel benefits me most, is eating my protein and carbs before and after each session. I tend to recover well and am less tired. That's not to say I don't get sore and tired, I do!, but my window of recovery is smaller, taking less time to recover.