Updated: Nov 30, 2018
Our Year 8 basket ballers really enjoyed a fun coaching session conducted by Marist College Red Foxes basketball team who were in town to compete in the Belfast Basketball Classic at the SSE Arena.
The Marist Red Foxes men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States.
MY name is Matthew Hunter, I am 16-years-old and I am a pupil in Year 12 in De La Salle College in Belfast. My favourite hobbies are playing wheelchair basketball for the Knights Wheelchair Basketball team, going out with friends and sometimes playing Playstation online with my friends.
During school I enjoy to go to my favourite subjects such as Media Studies, History, PE and a lot of other subjects that I enjoy taking part in.
Knights Wheelchair Basketball is a club that allows people with special needs to embrace the excitement of playing on an actual basketball court in front of both their friends and family. Wheelchair basketball is not very different from able bodied basketball, the rules are the same, the style of play is the same and even the atmosphere is the same and there is nothing quite like it. This year will be my third year playing for the Knights and I'm pleased to say I'm enjoying every minute of it.
Updated: Nov 30, 2018
From Andersons News article by CAOIMHE QUINN
A PAST PUPIL of De La Salle College has returned to the school after almost 30 years to deliver an inspiring talk to students at the school’s annual prize-giving event. Paul McCrory grew up in Suffolk Cresent, attending the school before gaining a career as Assistant General Counsel and Group Company Secretary of British American Tabacco p.l.c. Last week he returned to West Belfast to remind students of their potential.
“It’s a great privilege to be back, especially being asked to come back to the school, which has obviously undergone a lot of work since I last walked these halls,” he
said. “There have been some fantastic improvements in the facilities they provide. The school has always had a strong sense of community, it’s something that was always here and will always be here for a long time.
“I left De La Salle in 1991 and went on to study Politics and Philosophy in Oxford from 1992 until 1995 before going to law college for a couple of years. I relocated to London shortly after where I began my work as a corporate lawyer.”
Reflecting on his journey from first entering the Andersonstown school to becoming a senior lawyer in London – the base of his globetrotting career – Paul said the important message he was hoping to get across to the pupils was they are capable of anything, especially with the support of their school.
“When I came to De La Salle I failed my 11+ exam and at the time it feels like
the end of the world, but with the ethos of the school and the teachers who really took an interest in the pupils, me and many others were able to reach our full potential. So many pupils from the school have gone on to do incredible things. The trick is not to underestimate yourself. Life is about taking risks and there are lots of opportunities out there and kids today should go for it.
“People here have a strong sense of community and people who go out to other countries have done remarkably well. It may not be for everyone, but if it is something you’re interested in remember you are capable of doing it, especially coming from the support of De La Salle,” he encouraged.
“I want to thank the school and the teachers for the great experience I had and I wish the school all the best for the future,” he added.
