Stags Abroad – Matt Danaher

Blog Note: Fairfield University students have numerous opportunities to study abroad during their time on campus, and often student-athletes are among them. Today’s Stags Abroad post is from men’s soccer player Matt Danaher who is currently in Ireland.

I can’t say enough about how much I’ve enjoyed playing with Salthill Devon F.C. for the last two months. We’ve played four friendly matches since I last wrote, one against the best team in Ireland in Sligo Rovers, the Ireland U-19

Matt Danaher is in Ireland, studying and playing soccer.

National Team, and two against county teams. These were four opportunities that I was extremely excited about, as it is not something I’ve ever had the chance to do before back in the United States.

I have to say, in the warm-up to the Sligo match, I was extremely nervous! I would glance to the other side of the pitch and see full-time professionals who play football for a living. I was on the bench for the first half, and I intently watched the game to see how the play was unfolding and where I could potentially find myself in the second half. The Sligo right-back, the captain, was playing on my side, so he was the one I watched the most. Every time he got the ball, he made his decision early; where he was going to pass it, if he was going to switch the play, if he was going to clip a ball in behind the back four. Just from a spectator’s perspective, I couldn’t believe how quick the speed of play was. Every player knew exactly what they were going to do with the ball when it got to them, and their movement off the ball was fantastic. Every player in the Sligo attack was 2 steps ahead of the last pass and were able to find space where a few seconds ago there was none.

Although I was initially nervous in the warm up, I thought about Dan Abrahams Soccer Tough and realized that in a game where the speed of play is that fast, you don’t have time to be nervous! You have to have full confidence in your abilities and your technique so you can focus on your movement, work rate, and decision-making. So as I warmed up to come on in the second half, I set my mindset on how I was going to check to the ball to receive the ball from the center back, and where I was going to be in our defensive shape when we didn’t have the ball. Tony Mannion, the manager, called me over around 25 minutes into the second half and put me on as a right-winger. At this point, Sligo were putting on a passing clinic, keeping the ball for the majority of the game. I think I might have touched the ball 3 times in the 20 minutes that I played, and all I could do was complete 3 passes to my teammates. I know I did more tracking of the Sligo left back than he did of me. Despite us losing 5-0, the experience of playing against a team like that is invaluable. You don’t fully appreciate the speed of play on the television until you are thrust into a situation with it.

The next match we played was against the Ireland U-19’s. While the starting 11 played the first half, the rest of the players and myself trained for an hour on the Astroturf pitch next to the field. We came onto the bench for the second half, and I came on as a left back in the 60^th minute. It was a little awkward at first for me because I’m not naturally left footed, but I managed to get past two Irish players on an overlap and put a good cross into the penalty spot with my left foot. The next time I got the ball, I unbalanced the Irish back four with a long ball over the opposing left back to put our right winger in on goal, where he just nearly missed past the outside of the post.

In our most recent preseason friendly, I got the start at right back against Mayo County. It was one of the most beautiful days I’ve had so far in Ireland, so I couldn’t have asked for better weather to play in. Our team played well in the first half, and we found ourselves 3-0 up at halftime. I almost got myself on the score sheet when I came forward midway through the first half. A cross was over hit and as I came forward it bounced a couple yards away from me from the corner of the 18 yard box. I struck the ball on the way down and drilled it back across the frame of the goal, causing the keeper to parry it across and away from the goal. Over the course of the 55 minutes, I made sure to stay positive in everything I did. I made a few mistakes sure, but I made sure to immediately divert my attention away from them and back onto the game. I’ve stopped trying to be a perfectionist and just play because I love to play. If there’s anything that I can take back with me from Ireland to Fairfield for next fall, it’s going to be this mentality of focusing on the positive and being 100% confident in my ability.

Also, on a side note, last Saturday we had the day off so I had the opportunity to go see the Cliffs of Moher for the first time. They are truly breathtaking! I haven’t had the chance to do any traveling since I’ve been here, unlike my American friends (Talking to you Maddie) but I’m really happy I got the chance to see them. The pictures really don’t do the cliffs justice; you have to experience them for yourself to understand what I’m talking about. I made sure to wear my South Central Premier cap to give them a little shout out! I also wanted to give a little shout out to my BTE family. Eric and Mike, you guys have been with me this entire way and I can’t thank you enough for the things that you’ve done to get me to this point. Tiff, Matteo, and Manya, you guys are the best and whenever I hear about you guys doing well it’s like hearing about an accomplishment from a brother or sister. I always make sure to wear BTE on my wrist every game to remind myself of you all and to help me remember that I’m not doing this alone.

Unfortunately, as the first match approaches on March 8, I remain stuck in limbo. My international clearance has not come through yet from the United States, and until that happens I cannot play in any first team matches. Unfortunate as it is, there’s nothing I can do to control it. I could be cleared to play tomorrow, or it could be the end of April. All I know is that I can’t focus on that, I just have to remain positive and keep working hard and playing well in training and when my chance finally comes, I’ll grab it with both hands.

Thanks for reading, God bless, and go Stags!

My Take

Senior Michael O’Keeffe – Men’s Soccer

He walked into dinner with a swagger only someone who is the best in the business can pull off, yet he humbly made a point to go around the table and shake and introduce himself personally to everyone.

Before dinner was served he had only two demands… that the females go first and there were two chicken drumsticks left over for him!

It set the tone for the evening, a casual comedic dinner filled with his insightful and personal opinions regarding the NBA playoff race, MVP candidates and MJ and Lebron comparisons as requested by the students.

I sat there laughing the whole night along with the 25 other students in attendance at his ability to shape and formulate his argument in such a way that left you in awe of his incredible way with words.

Thanks to FUSA and Fairfield University Athletics for this fantastic opportunity.

Senior Tiffany Lawson – Softball

From the anticipation of his arrival, to the excitement he brought to the building, Stephan A. Smith had everyone on the edge of their seats wanting more.

The audience was captivated by his hilarious comments and inspiring life lessons. He effortlessly demanded respect from his audience by his knowledge of sports and his ability to confidently yet effectively deliver his opinions. To me, Stephen A. Smith is exactly what you see on television. Debating sports with him is simply not a good idea. Mr. Smith is a living example of how hard work and determination pays off.

What I liked most about Mr. Smith was how real he was in delivering his message. He taught me life lessons after college and the importance of staying focus and determined. He is a man full of wisdom and personality. He said in order to succeed in life’s journey; you have to out work your competition. His life stories were motivating and touching as he worked his way up the professional ladder.

He is certainly a tremendous man to look up to and admire. This is a man who has been through life’s hardships but still came out on top. The overall experience of meeting Stephen A. Smith was one to always remember.

DOBO Diaries – The Road Trip!

Blog Note: Kyle Koncz is the Directors of Basketball Operations for the Fairfield men’s basketball program. He is partnering with Kelly Romano to bring you DOBO Diaries throughout the year – sharing with you some insights into the behind the scenes work that goes into making a Division I basketball program run.

Eight games, 5,141 miles, six flights, numerous buses, and ONE lost bag. That is how the Stags started the season. In what felt more like one of those legendary long NBA road trips we were able to go 4-4, while being able to learn and grow a lot as a team. It feels good to be home, and we are definitely looking forward to our home and MAAC opener this Friday night, but before I get to those details I’m sure many of you are wondering what goes into planning a road trip.

There is a lot that goes into it actually, and it really is a group effort by the staff. The first thing is figuring out if we are going to fly. For our games at UVA, DePaul, and Austin Peay we did. The next step is finding the right hotel. We always want our guys comfortable on the road and able to get a good nights rest before a game, but we also have to take into account meetings spaces, meal availability, and distance from gym. The last step is finding a bus company that will lug us around for the days we are one the road. It is a long process, one that has me making a lot of phone calls and trying to work a lot of deals.

Once all of these details are figured out you have to execute the road trip itinerary. It seems like it would be easy, but when you go on the road there is a lot of things you can’t control. Things that can go wrong include traffic, airport check-in and security lines, weather, busy restaurants, and time changes. Now those are the things that keep a DOBO up late at night with nightmares. Luckily for us, other than a traffic scare on our way to JFK for Austin Peay, none of these caused us any problems.

What was the best part of all these trips? Other than the feeling in the locker room and bus after a victory, it had to be our seven-hour bus ride back from UVA. You’re probably asking what about a seven-hour bus ride is fun? Well it did come after a victory over Penn, but it also wasn’t your normal run of the mill coach bus. It was a sleeper bus, and for those of you who have had the chance to take a ride in one I’ll explain. A sleeper bus is normal 56-passenger coach bus, but instead of being filled with seats it’s filled with sleeping space, TVs, couches, and some seats. It even had a big screen projector on the back wall. It was something our guys really enjoyed, and by taking it allowed them to be back in class Wednesday morning.

Coming up this Friday we finally get a chance to play in front of our home fans and the Stags 6^th Man – the RED SEA. We are definitely looking forward to the energy and enthusiasm that will have Webster Bank Arena rocking. We have spent enough time on the road hearing it from the opposing fans, and we can’t wait to have the support on our side. Hopefully we see you all there, tip-off is at 7PM, and remember as always GO STAGS!!!!

Thanks for reading,

Kyle

Something About Sarah

Blog Note: The Fairfield Department of Athletics has several staff members that work as graduate assistant’s. While working nearly full-time in their respective field, they are also full-time graduate students. The GA’s will team up to bring you a look at Athletics from their eyes.

My name is Sarah Minice and I am the Graduate Assistant for Athletic Communications. I played under Coach Julie Brzezinski on the Softball team for four years before graduating in 2011. In my final semester, Jack Jones offered me a great opportunity to both continue my education and gain experience in the athletics field which I just could not pass up.

As far as my job responsibilities, I am the primary contact for Field Hockey and the Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams. In the winter, I help out with both the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams, so you could say it gets a bit chaotic in our back office when seasons overlap. There are three months of the year that are jam packed for the Athletic Communications office, November and February/March.

This past November was a new experience for me because while I was finishing up midterms and preparing for finals, I also traveled three out of the four weekends with either Field Hockey or Women’s Basketball. It was a tough schedule, but completely worth it. Not only did I visit Universities and states that I have never been to before, but I learned so much about both teams and sports.

Growing up just outside of Seattle (as a diehard Seahawks and Mariners fan), field hockey and basketball weren’t very big sports. In fact, I didn’t even know what field hockey was before coming to Fairfield. So although my love of sports was obvious coming into this position, I can’t say I knew everything there was to know about each sport here at Fairfield.

One trip in particular that stood out this past month was with the Women’s

Basketball team to Butler University. Everyone was so excited to play at Hinkle Fieldhouse and there I was trying to figure out why. Well I got my answer as soon as we walked in. There were trophy cases full of memorabilia and history all over the walls. For those of you who don’t know, the movie Hoosiers was filmed in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The best part of the whole thing was that Head Coach Joe Frager and Coach Dennis Masi had their “Christmas morning” faces on as soon as we walked into the main gym.

Now that November is over, we focus on our winter sports until February/March rolls around and the chaos begins again.

Sarah – Go Stags!!

Special K

Sorry, we know it has been a while since we’ve talked but we let midterms, 6am practice and turkey comas get the best of us. Thankfully our blessed coaches have limited the amount of 6:15am workouts to twice a week, don’t get me wrong #FUSBoncall24/7 is ALWAYS in full effect.

I think Coach Laura and Coach B realized what a drag morning practices are so they introduced Team Olympics. Our entire team was split into four teams and told to choose a team name. The teams are as followed: Sleepyheads, PMS, Boom and Clueless. Games have ranged from soccer, basketball, relay races, ultimate handball and poison ivy. If you are imagining delicate girls running around making sure they are ever so careful in not shoving anyone or stepping on any toes, think again. These are the OLYMPICS people, and we are Division I athletes, we all want that #GOLD. Our true teammates may be our competitors for 45 minutes but, by the end of the morning we are back united as one team.

In the locker room, we are all laughing about how Coach Laura caught one of us cheating or how Coach B just gave up on us completely because we turned into a pack of savages during the game. #FUSB #oneofakind #ifyournotcheatingyournottrying? Regardless we are all very happy with the new addition to our weekly practice routine.

As for lifting, Spellman is still our best friend. You know you’re lifting the right amount of weight when your family back at home comments on how your arms look like they might pop out of the sleeves of your shirt. #mustwinMAACS

Well, just as we did with this blog, we procrastinated far too long on the homework we have due tomorrow . . . so that is all for now #FUSB fans.

We promise to write again soon,

Special K

Blog Note: Softball players Kristen Filicia and Kimi Kurata are teaming up to bring Special K to StagTracks.

DOBO Diaries!

Hello All!

I hope that everyone is surviving this crazy and unprecedented weather pattern we have been dealing with lately. I know that Fairfield and a lot of the surrounding communities have been hit hard, and our staff’s thoughts are with all those who are dealing with very difficult times. We all have been personally affected and it is great to see everyone banding together to help get by!

Keeping on this note for a second, I also want to thank the Fire, EMS, and Utility workers who braved the elements the last few weeks to help rebuild. I ran into a few firemen who were showering at our athletic facilities last week during the clean up. In talking with them I learned they had been out for 3 or 4 days working around the community without seeing their families. We all owe them a huge thank you for the work they have done! We definitely wouldn’t be close to were we are now without them. Our program will be offering special nights this year at our home games for all of these workers and their families to show our appreciation!

Before the storms hit our program had the opportunity the host our first coaches clinic and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! On Sunday October 28^th we hosted over 80 local youth, high school, and small college coaches at Alumni Hall. We were very lucky to be able to have three tremendous speakers that made the event special.

Our first speaker was Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril, who coached for many years at Princeton University before moving on to the NBA and helping out the Sacramento Kings. It was an absolute pleasure to sit down and watch Coach speak for an hour. His knowledge of the game is limitless and I know everyone in attendance learned a lot, including our staff and players, from having the opportunity to watch him teach.

After a great lunch from Garden Catering (little plug for one of our sponsors) Pete Gillen took the court for a talk on zone offense. I have had the honor of getting to know Coach Gillen this fall as he has come by few of our practices. He is one of the most charismatic individuals I have ever met, and his hour talk was a great mix of outstanding zone plays (which you might see the Stags running this year) and some solid comedy. In my opinion he should attend some open mic nights down in NYC. I’ve been to a few and he would definitely hold his own!

The day finished up with Mike Maker, the head coach at perennial D3 basketball power Williams College. Coach Maker has one of the best basketball minds in the country. Last year I had the privilege of being on his staff and he helped me grow as a coach and a person. His talk focused on his plethora of fundamental drills he puts his team through every day, and a sprinkle of his offensive principles. We limited Coach Maker to an hour, but I know he could have gone on for days, and no one in the gym would have told him to stop!

Overall it was a great event, and one that we hope to bring to the community every year. Coaching clinics are so valuable to coaches at every level, and to often we fail to share our thoughts and experiences with each other. I definitely grew as coach, and I know everyone left wanting to immediately get in a gym to work with their players! Thank you for everyone who came out, and a huge thank you to Coach Carril, Coach Gillen, and Coach Maker who truly made the day special!

As our first games of the year start this weekend, I hope to see everyone at as many Stag games as they can make. We definitely need and appreciate your support. We play Saturday night up in Hartford against Central Connecticut State. Sunday we travel down to Virginia for the Preseason NIT with our opening game against University of Virginia of the ACC on Monday night on ESPN3. Go Stags!

Kyle

Keeping Up The Chase

Blog Note: Greg Chase is a senior on the men’s cross country team. When not running for the Stags, Greg is involved in numerous campus organizations and community service activities. You can keep up with him all season long on StagTracks.

Hey Stag Tracks Followers!

Today is the eve of the biggest day of my cross country career. Tomorrow we will be running the MAAC Cross Country Championship at 8am. What makes this one better than the last three years of conference championships? Well, BECAUSE WE ARE IN DISNEY WORLD!!!

So, we’ll be running in the morning at the ESPN Wide World of Sports which will also be on ESPN3! We not only want to perform well for the conference championship but also to look good for the University, since people can watch it from all over the nation.

Noting all of this, I just want to say that I’m so proud to be a senior in Fairfield’s Cross Country program. All five of the guys who joined me as the Class of 2013 four years ago are all still on the team. Disney, thus, becomes the greatest way to say goodbye to a program we’ve put so much heart, energy, and time into.

I really have to take the time to thank my parents for adopting me and bringing my twin brother and me into America and giving us not only an opportunity of a lifetime but really a second chance at life.

I also have to thank everyone at Fairfield for keeping faith in the cross country program over the long decades and helping us recruit better runners, attend more competitive meets, and help us fundraise. Obviously, a huge shout out to the fans. For those who do come out and support us, it is greatly appreciated. I also have to give a shout out to Athletic Directors Kelly McCarthy and Joe Klauder for helping us out with everything this weekend and of course, Coach Sags and Coach Maloney. Unfortunately, Coach Maloney can’t be with us this week and so we send him our hopes and prayers.

I can’t say how excited I am to be here in Disney right now as it is almost unreal trying to sit here and wrote this while still trying to soak it all in. I’m just so excited, so blessed, and so ready to put my best foot forward in tomorrow’s race.

Plan on writing again after Disney and can’t wait to fill you all in on our performance and our day in the park!

-Greg Chase

On Deck With Cacky & Meredith

Blog Note: Cacky Keating and Meredith LaBerge are teaming up to provide a look into Fairfield Swimming & Diving for Stag Tracks this season.

Hey Stags!

Last Saturday we had our third meet of the season against Manhattan and came out with a double win on both the men’s and women’s sides!

Our women’s team was favored going into the meet, so we had a little bit of a fun meet where we switched our events around, swimming some strokes we normally don’t swim. It was definitely fun and less stressful!

The men, on the other hand, had a tough meet that we knew was going to be close, but they pulled ahead the end! Besides the win, there were many records shattered on Saturday on the men’s side. Freshman Connor Daly broke the 200-meter IM and 100m fly records. Junior Cody Parker broke two very old and fast times in 200m free and 400m free. Senior Ryan Krebs won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, which helped the men’s team earn numerous and important points.

A large tailgate followed the meet with all parents and alumni from our team. It was great getting to see our old teammates. The next day, Sunday, we hosted our final swim lesson session for the fall, which concludes our fundraising event for our annual training trip to Hawaii in January.

This week we began including weightlifting into our schedule, so some days we are working out three times, but the hard work will pay off! This Friday, October 26, we will be hosting Fordham at 5pm in the RecPlex for another tough meet! Hopefully we will be updating you next week with another win!

Go Stags!

Cacky and Meredith

It’s a GA Thing!

Hey Everyone!!

My Name is Claire Tully and I am really excited to get the chance to start up a blog for the graduate assistants (GA) here in Athletics. I am currently in my second year as a GA for Marketing and Promotions. I get amazing opportunities to work with many of our Division I varsity sports here at Fairfield. One of my favorite things that I get to do is interact with our student-athletes. Today was one of those days!

This morning was really exciting for me because I was able to tag along with several of our student-athletes as they participated in some community service. Today was “Read Aloud Day” where Fairfield student-athletes went into Bridgeport schools and read to children. What was great about this experience was to see how energetic and engaged our student-athletes were. They might have even been more excited about today than the kids were! The day started off with us breaking into two groups for two different schools. The school that I was attending was a Special Educational school, and that is really where the magic happened.

We were greeted by extremely nice people who were to take us to each of our classrooms to read. However, before we got that chance, we were given background on the school and its students. Instead of being intimidated or turned off by the idea of having children with behavioral issues in their classrooms, the student-athletes completely embraced it!

It was amazing to see how engaged our athletes were with the kids and how the kids embraced our players. After we finished our reading we all congregated and heard hilarious stories about the different kids in each classroom. It was great to hear that our players really enjoyed the experience and even asked for opportunities to come back. Being able to partake in such a great experience is one of the great benefits of being a GA here at Fairfield.

Thanks for reading,

Claire

GO STAGS!

DOBO Diaries! Red Sea Madness Edition

Blog Note: Kelly Romano and Kyle Koncz are the Directors of Basketball Operations for the Fairfield basketball programs. They will partner to bring you DOBO Diaries throughout the year – sharing with you some insights into the behind the scenes work that goes into making a Division I basketball program run.

Hello all!

Monday was a great day for me. Not only was it our first Monday practice of the season (practice started over the weekend), it was also the first Monday I could wake up tasting a Cleveland Browns victory! For a native Clevelander when the Browns win it feels something like a national holiday. This victory was even sweeter as it came against our rivals from the south of the state, the Bengals, and it guaranteed we wouldn’t go 0-16 on the season! Baby steps and building blocks, work with me here!

The other exciting event that happened this weekend was what has become the official annual start to the college basketball season all across the country, Midnight Madness, which at Fairfield we call Red Sea Madness. Friday night in Alumni Hall both the Men’s and Women’s team joined with the Red Sea, the Stags 6^th Man, for an hour of fun and games.

It started of with the introduction of both teams. It was great to see each players own signature entrance as they came out. My personal favorite was the Stag’s junior forward Keith Matthews superman pose. He might be able to give the terminator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger a run for that 1970 Mr. Olympia title!

Next on the list of events was a three-point contest and hot-shot competition. Freshman guard Justin Jenkins was able to overcome the nerves performing in front of the Red Sea for the first time to make it championship, but he was unable to string together enough makes to pull off the victory. In the Stags vs. Students Hot Shot competition our very own student manager Brandon Bubba had his hopes and dreams crushed by a Desmond Wade’s half court buzzer beater! There goes his opportunity to trash talk everyday in practice this season, sorry Brandon. Maybe Des will give you a rematch sometime this year.

The night concluded with a fantastic dunk contest. While all the participants put on a great show, it was freshman Marcus Gilbert who stole the spotlight. The lanky Gilbert threw down two SportsCenter Top 10 worthy dunks on the way to the title. Not only can he threw the hammer down, but his ability to seemingly hang in the air allows for some great photos.

Red Sea Madness was a great way to kick off the season and our guys definitely enjoyed the night. It allowed them to be a little loose and have some fun with the crowd. Even Coach Johnson got into the action, stirring up the Red Sea with an electric boogie down at midcourt! Just trust me, it happened.

Both programs really appreciated the strong showing and support of the student body, and we can’t wait to see the 6^th Man rattle our opponents at all our games this year!

Until next time,

Kyle – Go Stags!!!