Ahead of the 2017 Wall-Ball Nationals Festival in Breaffy House Co. Mayo, GAA Handball spoke to 4-time winner and current reigning Wall – Ball Nationals champion, Down’s Lorraine Havern.
Loraine Havern is now a name of notoriety among those who play, watch and enjoy Wall-Ball. She has made incredible strides in Ireland’s fastest growing code of Handball and is not afraid to speak her mind on the topic.
When asked about her love of Wall-Ball as a code of Handball, Havern responded that it is a great all-round family game, she notes that it is wonderful that anyone can play at any level and at any age around the world. She finds that the tournaments that are held around Ireland have a great’ buzz’ about them, especially the Irish nationals that take place each year in Breaffy House Hotel.
She comments that the festival weekend is excellent as whole families can come together to play the same sport simultaneously under the one roof. She feels that everyone is catered for and it's a very social entertaining weekend for everyone involved. Havern remarks that the growing number of entries each year is proof of how enjoyable the Breaffy weekend is. Outside of competing in the highest level that the competition has to offer, Havern is quite humble as she states that:
“I can't wait to see all the great games at the weekend, every year the underage players just get better and better, it's magnificent to see.”
Though she enjoys the comradery of the weekend, Havern is all business as she discusses her preparation for the task at hand. She comments that preparing for a tournament like this is very intense as it's one of the biggest in Ireland. Everything that she does revolves around the Wall-Ball Nationals. All her gym work, practice games and her decisions to play in particular tournaments is all to make sure that she is peaking at the right time to be playing her very best when it comes around.
After all the physical preparation is taken care of, the mental aspect of Havern’s game is quite important to her as an athlete. As the reigning champion coming in to the competition this year, Havern noted that she feels more confident now that she is back competing as the champion:
“I know I can go all the way again if I stay focused and play well, all the training is done on and off the court so it's just a matter of playing to the best of my ability”.
Learning from last year, she noted that as the former champion she was very nervous when competing, especially since the previous year she had been beaten in the final, and she doesn’t want a repeat of that. Moving forward, she has adopted the mindset that:
“I won it last year, I can do it again”.
When we spoke of the opponents that she is to face in this year’s tournament, Havern knows that every game will be a battle. She has a vast amount of respect for each of her counterparts but she does say that her toughest opponent so far would have to be Limerick’s Martina McMahon, and notes that McMahon is a great handballer in every code.
Wrapping up the interview, GAA Handball asked Havern is there any advice that she would give to young aspiring players who hope to one day achieve her level of success:
“Wall-Ball is great fun, and I found that the more I practiced, the better I became and the more I enjoyed it, that’s the key, to practice and have fun”.
To see Havern and all of the other athletes in action this weekend, make sure you stop in to Breaffy House Hotel in Co. Mayo, on Friday 30th June, Saturday 1st July and Sunday 2nd July.
Alternately, games will be streamed live on GAA Handball’s Facebook Page.
For a full list of Wall Ball playing rules click here.