A Thank you ..... Back in the USA

We squeezed so much into these past 9 days, which would not have been possible without the work of so many people.  Thank you everyone for helping to make this such a successful trip! It will be a lifetime memory for these girls (and for us adults too.)

We still have many more photos to share, which we upload once we start to catch up a bit....so check back in a few days.

At the Schipol airport

Sad to leave but looking forward to seeing family and home again. We are doing our last shopping and eating in the Netherlands.

Our last day

This morning we woke up bright and early and headed into downtown Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank House, venture out on a canal ride and tour the city.

Friday morning we woke up to weather that was a bit more typical of the Netherlands, moist with rainbearing clouds moving in.  By the end of the first training, the girls were soaked, but in good spirits.  They presented Ber with a present, and bid him goodbye. Later in the day, I heard discussions of Ber amongst the girls...he is so well like by them ...his accent, the way he gets excited when they do something right, his expressions.  It has been such a special opportunity for them to train with him these last few days!

After a quick lunch we all got into the bus, where we rejoined the boys team and headed into Einhoven to the PSV Fan shop and stadium, and then continued toward Amsterdam, across the "new lands," the land that has been reclaimed over the last hundred years from the sea.

The next match, for both the boys and the girls, was against a team in Almere. The weather was a bit rainy and very damp and cold, but the excitement was high.  The game was a real pleasure to watch! The possession game finally really clicked, and the girls "built from the back..Ber's words" over and over again.  Every player on the field was involved, and there was shot after shot on goal.  Unfortunately it was one of those days were the goal frame is for the other team!  Amber was especially keen to score, and had 8 beautiful shots on goal, three hitting the framework.   The Dutch girls were strong and fast to the ball, so they presented challenge after challenge to our girls...which the defenders were able to thwart, with their effective overlapping runs, and their good speed.  Sarah talked, encouraged and rallied the girls and stopped some excellent shots by the other team. 

At halftime the score was 0 to 0, and everyone felt like it was one of the best 35 min of soccer the team had played (except for not having a goal).  The second half was just as demanding, and the girls rose to the challenge, but fatigue became a bit more evident, and in the end Far Post fell 0-2.  However, the linesman next to us offered that he felt like Far Post was the better team, and he really enjoyed seeing the passing they were doing.  We were just a bit unlucky with the score that evening.

Everyone was treated to some food and drink at the Kantine, and the mingling was spirited as always.... the Dutch girls even ran along the bus as we drove out...cheering and waving until the very last minute.

About twenty minutes later, we pulled into the Stay Okay in Zeeburg (Amsterdam) began the long round of showers, and attempted to get bedtime by midnight...whew! Its really hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of activities on this trip.....

Note: We are having technical difficulties with photo uploading, and will post them as soon as we can...

"Without Respect, no Football"

V V Valks

We were so lucky to have the perfect weather this evening ...mild, not windy, and a mixture of sun and clouds.  The team was working on possession play and building from the back, but they also saw some opportunities to score pretty quickly.  The score was 3-0 by the half, with Nesta scoring from a corner (Ellie's head too??) after 6 minutes, Sierra at about 10m and Nesta from another corner at 17 m.   Abigail Feeney also had some beautiful shots on goal, and both the defense and mid field worked on some great consecutive passing series. All the girls got a chance to work on the concepts they had discussed with Ber.

After the half, Sierra put a beautiful shot to the Far Post for another goal, and Sam finished off the scoring .... 5 goals. There were many corners and another great shot on goal by Marisa.  Signy held her own at the wing position working well in the passing sequences and getting very close to scoring as well. Our spitfire held tough (Bri) and Ellie and Maggie worked tirelessly in the midfield. Anna and Haley rounded out the action on the field.

Biking to the match today

Thursday: the girls had another busy, busy day, with two trainings session here at the Valkensvaard sports complex with Ber, and then a game against the local girls team of this town. In fact the game was so close by that we travelled the way most Dutch people do ...by bike, that is by big 50 lb, 3 speed bike! We cruised the luxurious bike pathways that are conveniently sandwiched betweeen the auto roads and the pedestrian walkways for about 20 minutes and arrived at the sports fields and cantina of the VV Valks.

Working on tanning our legs

An unexpectedly warm and sunny day....the girls on break between training sessions with Ber