Number 15, Finally Seen: My Greatest Sports Moment

For athletes, there are special moments that stay in their memories forever. Whether it is a game-winning goal or hitting a home run. For myself, my greatest sports moment was the first time my U10 Gaelic football team won a championship. All the difficult practices, constant conditioning, and grit we put into the game made it so worth it. I remember that last minute of the match so vividly. Standing at left cornerback, I looked towards my teammates with the biggest smile on my face when that final whistle blew. This is the story of my greatest sports moment.

I played in my first championship game in June of 2017 with the St Brendan's GAA club. My dad, sister and I were heading down to the Rockland GAA field where the game was being held. I knew it would be a tough match because we were playing against New Haven, which was always a tough matchup. I remember my dad talking to me about the game and telling me what I needed to do to help the team, but I was too busy eating breakfast in the front seat. When we got to the facility, we met the team on the lower fields. I ran to put on my jersey of the day, number 15, and started to warm up. We practiced passing, soloing, pickups, and scoring. Finally, the referees came over and we started the championship game. I went to my position as left cornerback and waited for the referee to throw the ball up and start.

This game was a close matchup to the end. The score was tied 2-5 to 2-5 (goals-points) till the final half of the match. Tensions were high during this game, whether you were on the field or the sidelines. Surprisingly, my composure remained intact with my dad coaching on the sidelines. People tend to feel more pressure when they have their parents coaching, but when the team was lucky enough to have my dad coaching, I felt relieved. He always knew what to say to me without putting too much pressure on me. Having him on the sidelines kept me grounded. As we got closer to the end of regulation, everything changed for St. Brendan's. One of my teammates took the risk and punted the ball as hard as he could. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as that ball went through the two posts and the referee raised his arm to call the point. The biggest smile popped up on my face and the team cheered. However, we still had a few minutes left to play. The rest of the defense and I played our hearts out to keep New Haven away. The final minute came, and my heart was beating out of my chest. As time began to run out, I realized that we won. We got the ball out of the defensive zone and the whistle blew. I looked to my right and said to my teammate, “Did we just win that?”. We won the Championship game with a score of 2-6 to 2-5, winning by only one point.

The whole team came together to receive the trophy and when we lifted it in the air it was the greatest feeling ever. This game had meant so much to both my father and I. We reminisced about that incredible day recently, reflecting on the memories and emotions. As we talked, I asked him to share his thoughts and insights from that unforgettable season. To start, I was curious about what stood out to him the most about that team:

Q: What do you think made this team special or different from others you’ve coached?

A: “We had a great group of kids that year. They never missed practices and made every game, travelling through the Bronx, Queens, New Jersey, Rockland and New Haven. All of the kids got along great and were very respectful, which to me is the most important aspect of being an athlete.”

That strong sense of unity and respect clearly helped shape a winning team. As we continued to talk, I couldn’t help but ask about that one unforgettable moment at the end; the moment we knew we had won.

Q: How did it feel in that final moment when we won the championship?

A: “What I remember most was seeing Caitlyn holding a cup above her head and the smile on her face was priceless. It was a great feeling, and I’ll never forget it.”

As we wrapped up our talk, I decided to dig deeper and see what the victory meant to him.

Q: What does this win mean to you personally-as a coach, but also as a dad?

A: “Winning any championship game is great. It’s a wonderful feeling to see the smiles on those kids' faces when they carry that championship cup. Caitlyn was the only girl on the team and my daughter, so that made me even more elated to see the smile on her face.”

In my first few years with St. Brendan's, I was always the only girl on the official team. Every now and then we would have some girls come and play games for us, but at that time It was always just me. I never felt connected or close with any of the guys. Whenever we finished a game or practice, I would hear the coaches and parents saying, “Well done boys”. I would just smile and stay quiet. I knew that I put my heart and soul into every game I played but never felt that family-like relationship that the other guys felt. What changed that day was what made this game so memorable. The coaches and team handed me the trophy and told me that I deserved to keep it. They picked me over any of the other guys on the team and that meant the world to me. For the first time, I felt like I wasn’t just a player, but I felt like I truly belonged to this team.