You Never Forget Your First Ride

After a flurry of recommendations I managed to plan out a detailed agenda for the trip to New York City. SoulCycle came highly recommended by Clarissa Chun and Jen Sinkler. This didn't really give me any idea of what I was letting myself in for - a wrestler and a rugby player/fitness guru (yes you're a guru). I had a quick look on their very swish website and found a studio near me on .... When I tried to book a spot in the class and it said bike 56 I had to a double take. How big is this peleton?



All I knew was that it would involve cycling, music and good vibes. So within an hour of landing in NYC I was sprinting across Central Park to the class. What I found was a nicely laid out space with great light and great people all getting ready to go. They have made excellent use of space and their branding is excellent. Nice article on that can be found here.

It was nice to see the interaction between members, staff and instructors - lots of spandex and smiles. I got my cycling shoes on (provided by reception) and realised they were too small - and I thought, I'm not going to make a rookie mistake here and got one of the crew to change it for me. I thought I must know more than I thought about this. Pride comes before a fall :)


The Soul Staff were all super nice (see I am in America now I can say super) and very helpful. There was a long waiting list but they managed to squeeze me in to the studio just beside the exit on an extra bike. Somebody kindly adjusted my bike for me and strapped my shoes in - there was no escape now. The lights went down and the Exit sign glared in red above me.



A few things dawned on me very quickly. 1) There were not too many guys. Maybe 5 out of 50 or more people. 2) I needed to adjust my bike but couldn't. 3) Instructor Amanda Max was like a little box of dynamite and was not going to give me an easy time of it! 4) I chose the wrong shorts for this class.

The tunes were pumping, the heart rate was too. As well as the cycling there were exercises and movements added in to the music. These included some work for abs, legs and stretching. I was struggling a little (ok a lot!) due to the settings of the bike - reaching out to the handlebars to do the movements was not something I was used to. Nor was wearing cycling shoes either - I did try to launch myself a few times when I forgot I was strapped! Excuses, excuses...


I was reaching around behind the saddle to try and adjust it and found two tiny weights. What are those for? Do they stop people like me launching the bike? They seemed very small. Far too small to anchor the bike.


Anyway, I had bigger problems. I was sure I heard Amanda ask if I was feeling the burn. I was. I mean really feeling it - chaffing had me now. I decided there was nothing to do but just go for it. I looked at the Exit sign. Again. But I stuck with it. There was no escape.

I put my head down and pedalled and let the music take over. Then things picked up with a series of exercises getting everyone up out of the saddle, and back down, and up, and back down, and up... I tried. I failed. A girl in front of me was so fast at this. I tried to keep up. I nearly put the saddle where the sun don't shine. I took it a little easier.


I was having flashbacks of dance classes - tango to be precise - where I would try and follow the teacher at the front of the room. In my mind I was perfectly replicating the movements. The mirror and my wife's eyes said differently - I looked so disjointed.


In my head I had christened our explosive instructor Amandown. I was A Man Down. "Hey, we've got a man down over here!". I wondered how often that happened in this studio. Just some of the rambling pedalling through my mind!

The sweat was pouring out of me. I cursed the name of Clarissa Chun. I should have known a wrestler would love this - just a normal day cutting weight for her. The burn was getting worse all the time.

Then in the dark, the burn, the sweat something happened. First Amandown told us all to imagine our first ride. I cracked up inside - it was also dark, sweaty and a little uncomfortable too. That made me smile, laugh and keep going.

The other thing that happened was that the beat changed and we went in to more side to side movements. This I could do. All of a sudden I was dancing (that's what I call it) on my bike. This, this I could enjoy.

But Amandown wasn't happy with me enjoying myself, so we all picked up our tiny dumbells. Hilarious I thought. That didn't last long. Just some light exercises but high reps, intensity and non stop. It was definitely a Lift Weights Faster moment - the faster your legs, the faster you lift.

Then we were winding down towards a light stretch. Phew. I was banjaxed. But happy. There was so much good energy in the room and around the studio. Everyone felt good and we had all done that together.

Another point of note that was welcome after all that sweat - very clean and well stocked bathroom with towels, nice shampoo and skin products. It's the little things that count.So, if you have the opportunity, do check out Soul Cycle. You won't regret it. Unless you wear the wrong shorts.

Don’t compare frogs and grandmothers

The rise and rise of women’s rugby has been incredible to witness. The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 has smashed all records of TV viewing figures, media exposure and attendance. Most importantly, for those watching the games, you can see the marked change in the quality of play.

The kicking is one element that stands out – kickers have been making a name for themselves – Agricole, Briggs, Scaratt to name a few. It’s been refreshing to see captains tell the referees, “We’ll have a go ref” and expecting 3 points each time.

The hits have been monumental – Jenny Murphy seems to play with no regard for her own safety and her efforts against a big English team were remarkable. The try saving tackle of Canada’s wonder winger Magali Harvey against France was one of my favourite moments of the World Cup.

The width on the passing has been there too with some excellent tries being run in after space has been identified and exploited.  Murray Kinsella gives some excellent analysis of how intelligent the play has been at the Women’s World Cup.

It hasn’t all been perfect and there is always room for improvement. There have been some voices of discontent – mine included – about the selection of referees. Surely the best games at a Rugby World Cup deserve the best officials? It’s great to see the IRB committed to developing opportunities for women to officiate but the Women’s rugby World Cup is the pinnacle of the game for women, and deserves the best.  

That said, the performance of Helen O’Reilly in a difficult high pressured semi final was excellent and makes me wonder what is it that Ireland is doing to produce such good officials. And also how much of her success is down to the pathway that the IRFU and the IRB have provided.  

However, all the euphoric positivity aside, there is a big gap between some of the teams. Reading some of the coverage of Kazakhstan and listening to the commentary has been challenging, infuriating and patronising at times. They are not the only minnows being exposed of course, but the ones I know best. When talking down about Kazakhstan, we are comparing frogs and grandmothers. Yes, I said it. It’s the Serbian equivalent of “apples and oranges”. Perspective is important.

In speaking with Kazakhstani flanker Marianna Balashova ahead of their game with Spain, she had a tonne of questions about Irish rugby and their progress. Are they professional? How much do the coaches earn? How many are moms? How many clubs in Ireland? How many camps do they have a year? How often do they train? It went on and on and on... She was right to ask.

Yes, they have a lot more clubs, players and competitions. No they are not professional – they all hold down jobs and some of them even play outside Ireland. They don’t have so many games, but the 6 Nations each year gives them regular competition. The IRFU and the Irish Sports Council have just invested 1.1 million Euro annually in women’s sevens. This investment does not take into account the additional support for development and grassroots programs and staff focused on women’s rugby.

They train incredibly hard and their dedication to their task is second to none. Gym sessions, pitch sessions and more. I explained that some players have training with their club, club games, provincial training, provincial games and then national team commitments. Some of the clubs field development teams because they have so many players.

One of the key criteria for the IRFU with national teams is that they be treated and supported equally. This was a vital part of the success of the national team and something that political support for the women’s game has fought for in Ireland.

Not being the type of person to make excuses, Marianna was not satisfied. When I started to talk about their support team she was really fascinated: Head Coach, Team Manager, Assistant Coach x 2, Fitness Coach, Physio, Doctor, Baggage Master, Communications Manager, Performance Analyst.

The system underneath is critical in delivering volume of talent, but how that is managed at the elite end was just as important. Maximising all resources, every detail was examined and exploited to the advantage of the team.

In Kazakhstan, the majority of “clubs” do not have a clubhouse or pitch. The season is from April/May to September due to the extreme weather. The country is the 9^th largest in the world – going to an away match can take a few days domestically covering 3 time zones. The tinyplayer pool of 300 or so brave souls  juggle 7s and 15s. In the 4 years between World Cups they will not have a proper 15s test outside of Asia.

They receive almost no government support and a minuscule amount of media coverage – this despite dominating Asian rugby for the best part of two decades. Kazakhstan have never truly capitalised on that success while Ireland are rightly exploiting it as much as possible.

This has not been handed to the Irish women’s team - it has been a struggle for the women’s game in Ireland to gain this position and I hope the performances of the team will be a significant return on investment for the IRFU that they will continue on this course. Building a culture takes times and commitment – something that Philip Doyle and his team know only too well.

I could see that the Irish situation was difficult for Kazakhstani players to appreciate. I would love to see one of them experience it first hand by playing in Ireland for a year. Yakovleva in the centre for Munster would be great to see!

The above is not an excuse – success is hard earned and more about the culture than the cash. The main difference is that we are not comparing like with like. At the next Women’s Rugby World Cup I hope commentators will compare frogs with frogs, but not frogs with grandmothers. 

On Your Mind-Set, Go!

This week sees the Irish athletics team in action in Zurich and I am full of optimism about their chances to put in a good performance.

The reason I am encouraged is the generation of lovers of speed who have gone before - David Gillick and Derval O'Rourke to name a couple. There's a host of reasons to turn your back on the fast lane - the testing, the dopers, the scale of the challenge, the gruelling work it takes to shave milliseconds off a time.

But you just need one reason to believe it's possible. If there was such a thing as an Ambassador for Speed, I am sure Derval would be the woman for the job. Hearing her talk on @offtheball about the different factors that motivated her in her career is a message every young Irish kid who wants to run fast should hear.

I know that speaking to her or hearing those words when I was a young rugby player, would have made an impact on me. Maybe I'd be a sevens player instead of a jaded fifteens player slowly moving closer to the pack.

I have always loved sprinting and the purity of it. Whenever people mention triathlon, marathon or jogging I always give my quip about being a "stallion not a donkey" and my favourite quote from Kenny Powers "I play real sports, not trying to be the best at exercising". Going fast is a great feeling. Going faster than you did yesterday is even better. And going faster again is "betterer".

A joined up approach to physical literacy and physical education is key in unearthing Ireland's sprinting talent of the future. Teaching the good mechanics of running is vitally important in this, but equally so is a holistic approach to matching physical talents with sports that suit them. By sports that suit - speed doesn't mean you have to be a sprinter - it just means that you can use this skill in a number of ways, and should be steered in the right direction.

The choice will ultimately be the individuals but experiencing success is a great a motivator for sticking with sport. It creates confidence and belief and these are two qualities that need development in Irish sport.

It's this mind set, this measured confidence, that is starting to seep through Irish sport. It's rooted in fact - look at the times, the performances and the scorelines. This loop of performance, review and feedback between coaches and athletes reinforces belief and that's what Ireland needs.

We have seen it in the last few weeks with the Irish women's team. A systematic approach to building success has been applied. Though the athletes are amateur, their mindset is fully professional and focused. There is a focus on the process and a no nonsense approach to improving the areas that are deficient. Most of all there is an intelligent approach to maximising our potential and skills while identifying weaknesses of opponents.

Listening to the players talk about how they knew their fitness would see them through in the final quarter against New Zeland made me incredibly proud. The work had been done well in advance. Every part of the team had done their job and now it was in their hands.

Throughout Irish sport this confidence exists - I don't buy into the myth of Irish sport not being comfortable as favourites. We don't give that label to ourselves. What we can do is examine the facts and draw confidence from our positive experiences.

Most of all we can use our intelligence - a natural talent that we have in abundance. Adapting an intelligent mind-set allows us to prepare well and execute as we know we can. There are factors beyond our control in sport, but intelligent management of those we can is key to success.

This mind-set is clear to see in people like Derval and David, but there are numerous examples in the current generation of Irish sports people. An effort should be made to examine this in more detail and see how it manifests in actions and processes.

Results are an outcome of performance and I know that if the Irish team performs as they can, the results will be there. On your mind, set, go!