Living my international career through 18 teenage girls.

Hello Irish Ultimate Community....and maybe others,

This is the blog I hope to keep while we are in Poland. Hopefully I'll be able to keep you up to date with regular posts throughout the tournament. There are 15 of us flying from Shannon to Wroclaw tomorrow afternoon. My sister (not the ultimate playing one) Sara, has joined the management team at late notice, so her and I along with 13 players are off tomorrow and will be joined by the rest of the squad on Sunday.

Its been a great summer coaching this team. I've enjoyed every minute of it and I feel proud to be part of what may prove to be one of the most important developments in Irish women's ultimate; the first ever Irish Junior Women's Squad. We have a squad of 18 players, none of whom this time last year had even heard of the sport. They now face the prospect of playing for Ireland at European Championships. This is obviously a huge ask for any group of players who are so inexperienced. We're all aware of the difficult challenge that lies ahead but I don't think anyone's afraid of it. There's a nervousness and excitement but no fear. A lot of these girls are used to playing in big games having come from other sporting backgrounds. Others haven't been so exposed to a highly competitive environment, but there's no pressure on any of them. Obviously there is a pressure of sorts and a responsibility to wearing an Irish jersey but that responsibility on this occasion isn't a product of expectation, and as all sporting enthusiasts will know, in times of low expectations Irish teams often thrive.

At the start of the week my hope is a simple one - that all of the players enjoy themselves, improve and are inspired to continue with the sport. And of course that they all come home in one piece (that's probably my biggest hope). All that said, I want to be competitive over there. I want to be able to tell you guys about some of the great results we've had. After all, I have got a famously bad record in an Irish jersey (13 games, 13 loses). As the title of this post says, I am living my international career through 18 teenage girls. I really hope they can get me off the mark with my first win. If they do, even though I will have spent it on the sideline, good luck to anyone who tries to take it away from me. But this week isn't about me, it's about them. I hope you all get behind them and give them the support they deserve and hopefully they'll do the Irish ultimate community proud. Just as their senior counterparts did in Slovenia this week.

Looking forward to keeping you up to speed,

Hobs