Andrew's Sporting Review of 2015

2015 was a massive year for sport so much happened such as Leicester topping the Premier League Table, Great Britain won the Davis cup, Ronaldo won the ballon d’or and David Luiz somehow got in the team of the year. Here are my highlights…..

 2015 was a great year for rugby as we had an amazing rugby world cup with lots of highlights and upsets as well as some horrible referee decisions. Japan had a surprisingly good world cup as they defeated South Africa 34-32 scoring a try in the 84^th minute to win the game.

 

Japan lit the Rugby World Cup alight with an electrifying win against South Africa

 

Scotland did very well as they got all the way to the quarter finals being the last home nation left in the whole tournament, unfortunately referee Craig Joubert made a horrible decision by giving Australia a penalty in the 78^th minute and Australia went on to win the game but by no means did they deserve it.  Scotland almost had a place In the semi-finals and in my opinion would easily beat Argentina giving them a place in the final which has to be a huge boost for upcoming six nations.

New Zealand were easily the best team in the world cup and went on to win the tournament for the second time in a row. They did not lose any of their rugby world cup games destroying everyone in their way all the way to the final. I think they deserved to win it as they came into the tournament as the reigning champions so and had the most to lose. New Zealand are the first International Rugby team to retain the Web Ellis Trophy.

 

The All Blacks cemented their place as Rugby Royalty in 2015

 

In football Barcelona won the treble by winning the La liga,Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. They had  a brilliant year and they were well known for how well Messi, Neymar and Suarez (known collectively as MSN) who together scored 121 of Barcelona’s 158 goals in all competitions in 2015. Barcelona beat Juventus in a hard fought match to win the Champions Legaue and Andres Iniesta deservedly won the Man of the match with Morata equalizing the game after Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring then Suarez gave Barcelona the win by scoring past Buffon then in the 90^th minute. Neymar scored just to rub it in to Juventus at the end of the game we had one of the saddest moments in football history as we see football legend Andrea Pirlo burst into tears as he retired from the game.

Andrea Pirol, even when he's crying he still looks cool...!!!

 2015 was great year for sport with great goals great, amazing saves shocking red cards, expensive transfers, new managers, bad referees and much more. I really enjoyed 2015 and I am looking forward the Euros in France this year as well as the Olympics in Rio.

 

by Andrew Gilchrist                                                                      

Innes O'Donnell's Football Review of the Year

2015 was a big year for football and one of the most memorable moments was when Barcelona won the treble.  Barcelona won La Liga by only two points to the mighty Real Madrid and lifted the trophy at Atletico Madrid’s Vicente Calderón Stadium. 3-1 was the score in the Copa del Rey final where Messi scored a brace and Neymar scored at the Nou Camp which was hosting the event.  Barcelona were fantastic in the Champions League mainly because of their frontline of Messi, Suarez and Neymar.  Lionel Messi stole the show against Bayern Munich in the Semi’s scoring a brace and destroying Jerome Boateng and chipping the ball over Worl Cup Winning keeper Manuel Neyer.  In the Champions League Final Barcelona played Juventus who were the Italian champions and they beat them 3-1 with Neymar scoring two goals and Suarez scoring one.

 

Messi, Neymar and Suarez give the 'Dashing White Sergeant a go'

 

For Steven Gerrard 2015 at Liverpool was his final year but it certainly wasn’t his best.  His last home game for Liverpool was against Crystal Palace where they lost 3-1.  Gerrard’s final game for Liverpool was away at Stoke where Liverpool where thrashed 6-1, Gerrard did manage to get on the score sheet but that obviously wasn’t enough.

The 17th December 2015 will remain as a major date in the history of Chelsea as it was the date when club legend Jose Mourinho was sacked.  At the time of his departure Chelsea were just one point away from the relegation places after nine defeats in 16 games. 

 

Adel said hello while Jose waved goodbye in December 2015

 

Jamie Vardy the 28 years old Leicester striker hit the headlines in November after scoring in eleven consecutive Premier League games, ending with Leicester City's 1-1 draw against Manchester United where he had overtaken Ruud van Nistelrooy's previous record from 2003 when the Dutch hitman notched in ten successive matches.

In a match between Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg Robert Lewandowski was subbed on at half time with the score was 1-0 to Wolfsburg.  Lewandowski scored in the 51^st, 52^nd, 55^th, 57^th and 60^th minute.  He scored 5 goals in 9 nine minutes breaking many at Bayern Munich.    

After 99 years of waiting it came down to an Alexis Sanchez penalty against Sergio Romero in July 2015 where Chile claimed the Copa beating Argentina 4-1 on penalties.  It was very special for Chile as the tournament was hosted in Chile.  Before the penalties it was a very close game all it was missing was a goal.  On the way to the final Chile won all their games apart from drawing to Mexcio 3-3. Argentina’s fight to the final was a bit tougher beating Uruguay in the group stage and Colombia in the quarter finals.  Lionel Messi wasn’t at his best in that match although he was the only Argentinean player to score a penalty.  The man of the match was Arturo Vidal and later was named the player of the tournament.  

 

99 years of hurt were ended for Chilie in the Coppa America in 2015. Not a Hibbie among them...!!

 

The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in Canada, with the number of qualifiers increased from 16 to 24, including eight from Europe.  The winners were the USA and they thrashed Japan 5-2 in the final with Carly Lloyd the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’or winner scoring a hat trick.  The biggest win in the tournament was a 10-0 humiliation that Germany launched on Ivory Coast.  England surprised many by earning 3^rd place losing to Japan and beating Germany 1-0 in the bronze medal match.  This was USA’s third WWC tournament wins overtaking Germany with 2 Women’s world cups.

 

 

By Innes O’Donnell.

Erin Interviews Dance World Cup Hopeful Laura Stirling

Laura Stirling was more than happy to answer some of our questions about her dance life. She dances with Central Scotland Ballet School and also within the Larbert High School of dance at National 5 level. Laura does many types of dancing such as Ballet, Tap, Hip-hop and many more! She has become Scottish cheerleading and Hip-Hop champion for 2016. I asked Laura about her dance duo that recently earned her a place at the Dance World Cup, a huge achievement in the world of dance. Laura has won many competitions in Scotland and across the country.

 

Laura has been part of the Larbert High School of Dance Since S1.

 

First of all I asked Laura what a typical weeks dancing is like and what’s involved,

 “On a Monday I have competition troupe which is really easy until 4:30. Then I have Acrobatics from 7-9:10 which can be quite difficult. On a Tuesday I usually have Higher Dances to practice, at night I have hip-hop for 45 minutes. On a Wednesday I have School of Dance until 5:15 which can be quite hard, and then I have Intermediate Foundation Ballet for 60 minutes. On a Thursday I don’t have anything after school. But Tuesday night I have Jazz, Tap, Ballet and Pointe from 5:30 till 8. On a Friday I have tricks after school and at night I’m free. On Saturdays I help out at dancing and on Sundays I have Elite for 60 minutes then Pride of Scotland after that.

This is a massive total of 11 hours 30 minutes each and every week! This can be very tiring and you need a lot of energy to do this especially when you’ve just had a busy week with school and homework!”

I then asked her what her ultimate goal was in dance and how she was going to achieve this, she told us…

“I want to be a dancer when I grow up and I would like to get all my qualifications and go to Urdang (Dance school) which is in London. I’d also like to go on to perform in the West End.”

Then I asked her who has inspired her the most into following on in dance as a sport and she replied…

“Ehm, well I have been dancing since I’ve been 2 so it wasn’t really a choice back then but I’ve just moved dance schools last year and it’s changed so much. It’s so much better and there are so many more people to look up to.”

After asking her what the best decision she has made in dance she replied…

“Dayna and I done a duet together and we put it in for the Dance World Cup and got through, so there’s 3 people that will be going to Jersey to compete which I’m really excited for.”

After replying with this, it was obvious Laura’s dance teacher from Larbert High School , Mrs McAlister, has really helped within only 3 years of dance…

“well starting School of Dance in S1 has changed me so much because Mrs McAlister is just such an amazing teacher and then moving dance schools and getting to know people who have danced their whole life and have worked with people is really good”

Laura told us that when she is older she would love to follow on with dance and hopefully go to London once she has got all her qualifications.

Hopefully Laura does well with dance from now to her later life and we wish her all the best in the Dance World Cup, hopefully she can add to her many titles won in Scotland.

 

 

By Erin Kerr

Connor Interviews Upcoming Livingston FC Player Jay Willis

I interviewed Jay Willis in the library and I asked him about his football career with Livingston FC a professional football team in Scotland. I also asked him about the teams he played with in the past, his career, and opinion on the overall sport itself.

 

Jay could be turning pro soon, maybe then we'll get a smile out of him...!!

 

Hello Jay can you tell us a little bit about your sport and the level you are playing at? - The level I am playing at is a quite high intensity I’m obviously quite a young player to be playing at such a high level.

Can you talk us through a week’s training for you and how hard you train? - The first thing we do is come in to the changing rooms in the morning the kit is all laid out, then go out for a training session after that we get something to eat then go out for another training session for an hour and a half.

What is the ultimate goal in your sport and how are you going to achieve it? - The ultimate goal in my sport is to progress to higher levels being with the top players and performers and obviously to improve.

Who did you play for before Livingston? - I played for a couple of teams like Hibernian, Hearts, Rangers and also trialled with Celtic

Who got you interested in football and what do you like about it? - It was really myself that got me into playing football when I was younger I went to the park to play and had a kick about with a football team my age. I went back to my house and asked for a couple of pound so I could go to training, and I just kept going back.

What is it like playing for Livingston and who do you look up to the most? - It is pretty good, we have good coaches also a good setup the banter is really good most days. The player I look up to most is Lionel Messi I want to be like him one day.

The Sports Journalism team and I wish Jay good luck in his football career hope to see him playing at the highest level in Scotland and maybe even beyond in the near future.

 

 

By

 Connor McCallum

Mark Interviews Basketball 'Future Star' Jake Cavanagh

On Thursday the 10^th of December I met up with basketball player Jake Cavanagh in the library. Jake plays for Falkirk fury under 14’s and Larbert High School, he is also in the ‘future stars’ programme for high level junior basketball players in Scotland. I asked him a few questions on what life is like for a keen basketball player.

“Can you tell us how you got started in your sport?”

“I was in p7, I was doing basketball in PE and my teacher said I should go to a club after school, so I did and then eventually Falkirk Fury asked if I wanted to play for them and I said yes”.

“Can you take us through a typical week in your sport?”

On Tuesday Jake has school basketball training and he practices in his front garden most days. On Wednesday he has fury training from 8pm till 9:30pm. On Thursday he trains with the Larbert High Senior Team and he has fury training from 7:10pm till 8:20pm. “On Saturday I sometimes have Scottish cup games and Sunday I either have future stars training or RDL (regional development league) games. On Monday’s and Friday’s I focus on my studies and homework, I sometimes play nba2k16 on my ps4 as well”

 

“What is your ultimate goal in your sport?”

Jake would like to play in the NBA but he doesn’t think that will happen.  “I think I can maybe make the European league which has a lot of good teams or I would like to coach a team in the European leagues”

 

“What are your strengths and weak points in basketball?”

“I’m quite strong and I can push to the rim and I try not to hog the ball. I need to work on not panicking when I get the ball in games, and when I get the ball I sometimes rush getting to the basket”

 

“Who are the toughest team you have ever come up against and why were they so tough?”

“Probably the Edinburgh kings, they have really good shooters and it’s hard to lock them down. There is another team Saint Mirren, they play really good defence but we ended up winning that game”.  Fury U-14s beat Saint Mirren in the Scottish cup to advance through to the next round and play the Edinburgh kings.

 

“Can you explain what the future stars programme is like and why is it such an exciting opportunity.”

“it is such an exciting opportunity because it’s my way of fitting in and not feeling embarrassed because when I go there’s a lot of new people it’s not just one team that I have friends from teams around the country. I think I’ve got a really good chance of getting in the Scotland squad this year”    

The ‘Future Starz’ is a basketball program for young basketball players, it gives them a chance of getting in the Scotland squad that year if they impress the coaches. This is what Jake is focusing his efforts on this year and hopefully he can make it into the Scotland team

 

 

 

by Mark Mcguire

Andrew Interviews Rugby Hopeful Louie Kesson

I met up with Louie Kesson in the larbert high school library to talk a bit about rugby, Louie currently plays like a high standard of rugby playing for Stirling County and Larbert high school. I spoke to Louie about his ambitions and goals in rugby as well as asking him about his weekly training and diet. Louie was happy to answer my questions

 

Want to play rugby? You've got to adopt the rugby pose, we call it the LHS haka..!!

 

 “What age were you when you started playing rugby?”

“Erm well I had just turned 13 and I had just started watching rugby and took interest in the sport after my brother became a coach”

 

“So who inspired you to start playing rugby?”

“My brother, I didn’t have any rugby experience and he started playing. I always kind of looked up to him so I wanted to play as well” 

 

“What’s your typical week of training and what’s your diet like?”

 

“I train two, sometimes three times a week and I don’t really have a diet as such I just eat food when I want and I eat what I want”

 

“What is your ultimate goal in rugby?”

“To play regionals maybe even internationals and get as many caps for my country as possible and hopefully get better and score lots of tries and stop some as well ”

 

“Where do you see yourself in seven years?”

“In seven years hopefully playing for the Caley squad (Caley is a top level rugby team who don’t play games but do high level training a few days a week )”

 

“How do you feel Scotland did in this year’s world cup?”

“I think we done well for our standards and in previous years they have been quite bad but to get to the quarter finals and to be the last team left from our part of the world”

 

“do you think we deserved to get to the semi-finals?

“Yes but it’s all over now there’s not much you can do about it now ,probably we could have got to the final but we need to look into the future and we should just try and make up for it in the six nations

 

“What advice would you give to someone young starting rugby?”

 

“I would say try your best if your fast you’re a back if you’re strong you’re a forward but either way try and make sure you practice everything and work on something you’re not as good at and try and get good at it”

 

“What are your best aspects in rugby are and what do you need to work on “

 

“I would say I am particularly good at running past people and I need to work on my tackling”

 

Hopefully Louie achieves his goals and gets the chance to play for his country. First he has to perform well for the Caledonia squad from there who knows how far he could go.  Thanks Louie for answering our questions, we’ll keep you updated with his progress throughout the year.

 

 

 

by Andrew Gilchrist

Calum Grant Interviews LHS Judo Player Reece McIntyre

I interview Reece McIntyre, an S2 Larbert High student currently competing at National level for Judo. I spoke to him in the library and asked him a few questions about Judo and what's it like to be a National level perfromer

Calum Interviewd Judo star Reece McIntyre. Reecedidn't get distracted by Calum's jumper and gave some great answers..!!

  

Can you tell us how you got inolved in your your sport?

Reece started judo in primary 2 and he went to dean burn judo centre. His mum told him to go there to keep fit and healthy.

 “When I went to the first session I loved it and I wanted to carry on with judo.”

 

Can you take us through a typical week in your sport?

On Monday and Tuesday Reece trains at Dean Burn for an hour he also trains

at the Scottish national judo centre in Edinburgh on a Wednesday night. Reece doesn’t really follow a strict diet like some of the other high-level judo players a strict diet like some judo players

 

“I love to meet new people at the national level and share my experiences”

 

What is your goal in your sport?

Recce’s goal is to achieve his black belt (he is currently a blue belt).

He is also targeting a ticket on the plane to go to Japan for the Olympics in 2020. Recce only competes in Britain at the moment but if he makes it to national level he could travel the world.

 

“Every morning I think about going to japan 2016, also winning gold for Britain”

 

What area in your performance do you think you need to work on?

 “I need to work on my stamina and overall endurance to keep the positions right in my routine. The breakfast club and my rugby helps me keep fit I love to play rugby too.”

And what do you consider to be your strength in your sport?

 “maintaining posture and technique. I think I work well under pressure.”

When did you know you made it into the Scottish team?

 

Last year he took part in the Scottish open. He won 2 bronze medals at the open and afterwards received an email saying he made the team.

“I thought felt so lucky to get the chance to play judo for Scotland.”

 

What are your best achievements in your sport?

Reece has won:

 

2 bronze at the Scottish open

3 gold at the hibari Kan open

1 sliver at the bupa charity open 

 

I thanked Reece for his time and for giving us an insight into his sport, ambitions and training routines.  Hopefully Reece makes it to the Olympics in 2020 in the mean time we wish him all the best for 2016. 

 

 

 

by Calum Grant