Another Sunny Day in Holland.....

All kids were tucked and in their rooms when Oscar arrived to inform us that the flu bug had hit again!!!  This time it took out Sean, Oscar and Derek.  They are recovery and sleeping mostly today.  So, 4 of 19.  We are hoping it stops there!  The ill boys slept in until around noon after a long night.  They are recovery well today with rest.  Hopefully, they will be up and running tomorrow.

The others woke up at the hotel headed off on our bikes for breakfast at the hostel.  Then off to our first Maastrict training with Leo.  The AM training was focused on technical drills and finished with an 8 v 8 scrimmage. 

This afternoon training was more 8v8 scrimmaging with lots of training from Leo.  He is very good and has helped our boys with opening up, being exact and making smart passes.  He has really focused on the passing game and using your team.  It is actually quite simple but he holds them accountable for mistakes and sloppiness. 

They are resting now for the match tonight.  They are playing the MVV Maastricht D1 regional team.  There opponent should be very good.  Tonights game is being coached by Leo.  They seem excited!  We will post the results later tonight.  After the canteen visit we are having a barbecue back at the hostel on the river.

We are going to download a bunch of photos now and will get back to you on the match.  Happy Sunny Days!  Wishing that sunny days will soon be in Vermont too.....

Todd's Wednesday Update

Here is Todd's update for the day. Fascinating experience at PSV Eindhoven this morning. It is always a treat there because they allow us all to get so close to the players and the coaches. The training session was quite simple involving some general warm-up along with some basic fitness followed by a dynamic warm-up. They then went into a simple technical workout that was basically a pass and follow focusing on first touch. They then went into a basic "Rondo" exercise which is simply a "keep away." They ended the session by playing about four-minute 7v7 games on a narrow field. The session was low key and was a great experience for the boys to see how real professionals train up close and personal.

I intentionally wanted the boys to participate in the Kazamatten, which are the underground tunnels in Maastricht. The boys were divided into three "groups" that needed to work together to solve problems and work as a team to get from one place to another. The team with Oscar, Alden, Shane, Nick, Christian and Max were by far the clear "winners" by making it through the "maze" a good 45 minutes faster than everyone else.

We debriefed the days events tonight and I asked the boys to really think about some of the lessons we learned today from these activities. I think there was a lot to learn, and I will be talking about some of the stuff tomorrow.

We have a bit of a flu bug running through the boys now but we are managing it well. Tomorrow, we are back at training with two session and then playing a very good team MVV, which is a top youth team from the Maastricht region. More updates tomorrow.

Busy Day!!

We started early with breakfast, packing and loading the bus (a few had to say goodbye to our new English girl friends).  We went to the PSV training of the 1st team players. They are currently in 1st place in the league.  It was really neat for the boys to watch training.  They were big, fast and skilled and Alden, Oscar and Cody especially enjoyed the goalie session. 

We headed south to Maastricht about an hour and a half.  The bus was very quiet with most sleeping.  We arrived at the Kazematten Tunnels.  Wow......was that a neat team building activity.  The players and chaperones were divided into three groups that Todd made up.  One group worked together and did a great job, others did well on some activities and others well......lets just say "they were challenged".  It was very exciting and fun for all though.

We then had a few hours in the beautiful city of Maastricht to walk around, shop, tour, etc.  We had an excellent dinner at an authentic Italian restuarant in Holland.  Go figure!  Walked through town on our way to rent bikes and find our way to our new hotel.  Was really fun riding on the paths to the hotel.  Some bike better than others......but really fun.

Boys had meeting with Todd and headed up to bed.  Tomorrow starts with a training with Leo.  They have 2 trainings and a match tomorrow night.  Hope for more sun and warmth!

We will be updating the blog tomorrow with  pictures once we get to the Hostel.

Jacky & Sheri

This is Todd checking in. The boys are having a great week so far. They are very physically and mentally tired right now, so tomorrow will be good for them to recover. Our trainer Leo has said on a number of occassions that "the boys are very hard workers." I have seen some great progress in their play, and we have been very fortunate to have had two good games so far.

The boys are eating well. The ones that we were all concerned about with being picky have been getting some good food into them. The feet are doing okay for the boys although some are getting some hot spots. A day off will do them well.

2nd day of training with Leo

This is going to sound a little like the Groundhog Day movie......it was yet another sunny day in Holland!  A bit warmer than yesterday with temps in the 70's.  They keep telling us that this weather is so unusual and is usually cold and wet.  Needless to say, we are enjoying the weather and the soccer that is going along with it.

The boys started the day off with breakfast at 8:30 and then Leo arrived for training from 9:30-12:00.  It proved to be another day of good, solid training for the boys.  They worked very hard in their trainings today and you can see markable improvement.  Leo normally runs trainings for 90 minutes but he has been enjoying the sessions and running quite a bit over. 

We arrived at a nice club in Valkenswaard this evening for our match.  The VV De Valk U15's gave us a good match and hospitality after.  The game was hard fought and ended 0-0.  The game got sloppy due to fatigue but they never stopped trying.  As Leo would have said "It was shitty, no that was bullshitty".  Now say that with a Dutch broken English accent.  It is a special opportunity to play against this club as they are a very old and established club from 1908.  The boy's and 2 girls played us and shared drinks together after.  We witnessed more interaction as the boys are starting to get more comfortable in the canteen setting. 

The boy's are winding down the evening watching the ManU game now.  They will be heading to bed soon.  Tomorrow they will not train but will watch a PSV training up close and then to Maastricht for the tunnels and a new change in venue. 

Jacky and I treated the boy's to local bakery goods today along with evening snacks of grapes/watermelon and the local Karamelwafels.  Very tasty!  We are now doing laundry as they are beginning to stink beyond what we can handle.  Jacky's camera battery died so we will be loading some photos tomorrow.  I have been taking tons of photos on Aidan's camera and will send them to a link upon our arrival home.  We are not having success downloading them here. 

Goodnight aka Weltruste......

FIRST HOLLAND MATCH!!

After two strenuous training sessions today the boys headed to the stadium for their match against VV Valkenswaard U15 Boys.  The first half goal tended by Oscar ended in a 0-0 tie.  With both teams having strong defense and good scoring opportunities.  The second half was tended by Alden.  Both boys did a great job in the net.  VV scored first and Sean answered it fairly quickly with a goal of his own.  It was banging around in front of the net when Sean finished it off for the tie.  Much of the second half went back and forth making an exciting game.  With 5 minutes left VV scored again with a beautiful header.  The boys looked down for about 5 seconds and responded well.  We were awarded a free kick on their 45 yard line.  Patrick took the shot and placed the ball beautifully in the air for Chris to use his spring loaded legs and make a gorgeous header of his own.  It was truly a beautiful play by both boys.  The game ended in a 2-2 draw and all the kids seemed pleased and excited. 

We then went into the cantene with the VV Valkenswaard boys and enjoyed some coke, fanta and a mix of finger foods.  They were wonderful hosts and the boys sat together and shared a bit.  Some more chatty than others.  But, a neat experience for all involved. 

They are quite stinky after 2 trainings and a match.  Todd kindly took the boys to the pool where they are now.  They will be disinfected with chlorine.  They should be back shortly for their team meeting and bed. 

Tomorrow will be a repeat of today with 2 trainings and a match.  They got a taste of what is to come today.  All doing well and enjoying themselves quite a bit.  Thanks for raising nice boys!

Day One Training with Leo

We awoke to yet another sunny day in the Nederlands.  It's in the low to mid 60's with a light, cool breeze. The boys were anxious to get started this morning and and after lunch were greeted at 9:30 by their trainer, Leo.  They endured their first training session from 9:30 - 12:00.  Outside of the water breaks, the session was move, move, move.  The boys responded well and seemed to really take in all that he was instructing.  The team then headed back to the hostel for a break and lunch and refuel for the afternoon session from 1:30-3:30....which they are at now.  Tonight the team will play VV Valkenswaard, a local club team on the turf at 6:30. 

We will provide further details tonight on the game.  Below are pictures from the morning session.

Also wanted to let parents know that cell phones for calls and text messaging has not been working for some unknown reason.  If you need to get a message to the boys, please send an email to me or Todd.

~Jacky & Sheri

Fitness with Leo

Water Break....

Post training talk with Leo

Stayokay Hostel - Valenswaard