Spanish Armada

The combination of a feisty latino spirit and a multi-sporting background seems to make the Spanish ideal candidates to take up Gaelic Football. We have one here in Belgium in the form of Anay Rios who rapidly and successfully converted her skills to Gaelic Football and even managed a Player of the Tournament in her first year.

Through my role as Coaching Officer on the Euro County Board, I work with the different Officers for each code on coaching related items. Admittedly, I’ve been slow to get going this year but with the constant pushing from Ladies Football Officer, Monica Duran, I’m beginning to get the finger out.

Last Saturday night I found myself on a rugby pitch in a Madrid University with the Madrid Harps Ladies Football team. Despite numbers being small due to the annual August evacuation of the city, I had a very enthusiastic group, only one of whom was Irish. Of course, as always with the Irish , we managed to find some link. This time it came in the form of Laura Feeney, a former Belgium GAA member who is friends with Madrid’s Louise.

A heavy days drinking the night before was followed by a day baking in the sun which didn’t leave me in the finest of conditions but once I shook that off, we got going. Three things stood out with the Spanish. One was their grasp of the hand pass and also their handling in general which i presume comes from their background in basketball, handball etc. Another was their tenacity. They take no prisoners when the ball is there to be won.

The final point I’d make is about their awareness. In a couple of simple conditioned games you could see they are smart players and were well able to switch the direction of the play when they saw an opportunity or adapt to different conditions easily.

Of course, we did face some issues. The biggest being the relationship between the Cork accent and the Spanish language, which apparently isn’t so strong. Fortunately, the bilingual wizards in the group were able to huddle everyone up after my explanations and get the messages across.

Afterwards I linked up with them in a bar in town and spent a good night in their company. They have an enthusiasm for the game that you more often see with kids. They really love the game and it is amazing to see how they have brought it to Spain after their experiences in Ireland. If they stick at it then I’m sure they can compete successfully with other teams around Europe in the coming years. I’ll certainly follow their progress in the coming tournaments.