Belgium

Europe Tour day 12

After another chance to have a good sleep in we said goodbye to our hosts in Holland and departed for Belgium.

We arrived at our Belgium hosts mid afternoon in preparation for our next matches.

Wanderers girls came away with a 5 nil win against a young but determined Belgian team.  Players Player was Brooke. Coaches Award Hannah

Wanderers Boys played a solid Belgian team and suffered a 3-1 loss. Players Player Lachlan and Coaches Award James W

After the games the children went home with their hosts to have a shower and dress up for the evening meal and disco back at the club house.

It was Brooke Smith’s 16th birthday so everyone enjoyed a piece of a beautifully made Belgian chocolate and cream cake.

Day  13

Sunday sleep in!!!  Everyone gathered again at the club house at 1pm to depart for a day outing in the city of Antwerp.  We visited the MAS (Museum Ann De Strom) which is  relatively new building of unique design that holds memorabilia of the maritime history of Antwerp.  (Antwerp harbor is Europe’s 2nd busiest port)

After the MAS we walked into the city centre to enjoy the cobbled stone streets, cathedral, souvenir shops and most importantly the CHOCOLATE retailers.

Day 14

Tot Ziens to our hosts in Antwerp where we met back at the club at 8am to prepare for our departure to Lille on the Belgie/French border.

Along the way we stop to explore the township of Brugge. Some of the children enjoy a horse and cart tour of the city whilst others enjoyed a spot of shopping.

We arrived safely in Lille for the evening and enjoy Pizza for dinner before heading back to our motel for some well earned rest.

Holland

Europe Tour Day 11

Today we are off to Amsterdam to see the sights. Our first stop is in Volendam on the outskirts of Amsterdam where we learn how to make cheese and clogs. Next stop Amsterdam for lunch and a wonder around before visiting the house of Ann Frank.

We depart the interesting city of Amsterdam for our next matches against our next hosts in Zeist.

The boy’s game is a cracker, end to end action with multiple scoring opportunities for both teams. Whilst we scored two goals through James K and Isaac VR our opposition was good enough to win a very close game game 3-2. Players player was Brendan whilst the coaches award went to Josh .

The girls unfortunately came up against a very strong opposition to be defeated 7 nil.
They didn't give up and managed to penetrate Phoenix's circle a few times however they just couldn't finish off.  A good overall effort by the girls and a valuable learning experience.  Players Player: Brooke S   Coaches Award: Kate B

Europe Tour Day 10

A night of rocking and rolling on the waves as we cross from England to Holland. The boat was big the cabins small. Back on our coach as we travel from Rotterdam to Baan along the way stopping at Oosterbeek museum to learn about the battle for “the bridge too far” and operation Market Garden (the battle for Arnhem), the tour group then made a visit to pay their respects to the allied forces who lost their lives in the battle for Arnhem.

Our next stop was to the biggest hockey shop any of us have ever seen – 23 sticks, 3 pairs of shoes and 30 odd miscellaneous items latter we need to depart the shop to get to our next match on time, and ensure our luggage can still fit on the bus.

After conceding an early goal to a fast starting Dutch opponent the girls settled into the task at hand and worked their way back into the game.  Strong defense and an outstanding game by our goalkeeper keep the match even until our opponents sealed there win with a goal at the death. A very deserved Players player was Sally Ann L whilst Breanna G received the coaches’ award.

The boys continued some fine form scoring 3 goals in the first half. Consolidating the result with three goals in the second half, running out 6 nil winners. This included a hat trick to James K a double to Declan R and a single to Brendan H. The player’s player was James K whilst Ben S received the coaches’ award.

Europe Tour Day 9

This morning we travelled from Southport to Manchester, a tour of Old Trafford, the Manchester United Soccer club museum, Man U - change rooms, players tunnel and reserves bench – sad to stay still only two Manchester United supporters amongst us. After lunch we travel to Hull to board our ferry to depart for Rotterdam. Alas our days in England are over, we will miss the old dart the weather was kind and surprising to say the people were friendly.

At 5pm we boarded the Spirit of Hull for the overnight trip to Rotterdam, the players enjoyed a relaxing evening exploring the ship and the various activities it had to offer; Disco, Movies, Arcade games whilst some amused themselves playing cards.  

Nth England

From the Wanderers desk....you will see that this blog was written by one of our coaches who unfortunately is a mad Liverpool fan !!! we take no responsibility for his bias in the blog !

Europe Tour Day 7

After departing Norfolk we travelled to Lichfield. We spent the afternoon exploring and shopping in Lichfield town centre we then arrived at at the club to meet our hosts and prepare for the evening fixtures.

The girls came up against a very strong (and mature) girls team, despite some scrambling defence the locals proved to be too strong coming out on top. Players player Natasha G whilst the coaches award went to Arlya W.

The boys game was fast and furious with end to end action, after jumping out to a comfortable 3-1 lead, the boys were able to hold off the fast finishing home team to record a 3-2 victory. Players Player was Jack C and coaches award went to Josh J.


Europe Tour Day 8

After meeting up as a group and having breakfast at the hockey club we travelled to the mecca of the sporting world “Anfield” Liverpool football club’s home ground. We spent the day exploring Liverpool town centre, some touring the city in an open top, double decker bus. After lunch in the city we travelled to Southport to meet our next opponents.

Against a relatively younger team the boys jumped out to an early 3 nil lead with goals to James K, Brendan H-J and Declan R. Leading 5 nil at half time with one more goal each to Zac P and Russell in the first period, the boys, experimenting with positional changes and a different structure in the second half  took their foot off the accelerator and had to a 6 nil win with a late goal to Brendan. Players player was Izaac VR and the recipient of the coaches award was Dalton B.

The girls game was evenly matched and the game flowed from end to end, unfortunately neither side could find that winning edge and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Player’s player was Brooke S and coaches award recipient was Ellen N.

For those who are wondering why some of our players have strange things on their heads and wearing weired clothing, it is because they have been awarded "Dufus of the day" and have to wear it around when touring ! The group are adding to the Dufus fashion collevction daily and we will keep you updated with these interesting developments !

More news on arrival into Holland.

Norfolk Days 5 and 6

Europe Tour Day 5
Today we left our hosts and headed for Norwich.  On our way out of London we saw Twickenham (Rugby), The Oval (Cricket) and the main stadium and site for the London Olympics……..it appears the Poms will be finishing their constructions at the last minute!  The main stadium does however look very impressive.

We arrived in Norwich in plenty of time to make our way to the football match between the mighty Norwich City (Canary’s) and Burnley.  We sat amongst the Norwich fans where we helped cheer on the local team.  Norwich came away with a 4-1 win. Go the Canary’s!!

We then headed to our next hosts to meet our hosts for the next 2 evenings.

Europe Tour Day 6

With a well deserved sleep in for all, we arrived at the Hockey Club around noon to prepare for our matches.
The boys game was fast paced and full of skill from both sides however unfortunately our boys went down in close result 4-2. Our two goals where scored by James K who also took out the Players Player for the second game in a row.
Coaches Award: Izaac VR

The girls again played well and have started to combine together and maintain some structure.  Our hosts was a well drilled team, however, our girls toughed it out to came away with a one all draw.
Players Player: Ebony H
Coaches Award: Sally Ann L

After the matches our hosts put on a delicious dinner and then all the players and hosts went onto enjoy some more competitive Ten Pin Bowling.

More news soon as the teams head into Northern England.

Windsor Day 4

After spending the night with host families all Wanderers were returned safe and sound. Today we travelled from London to Windsor Castle for morning tea with the Queen who unfortunately found out we were coming and apparently gathered the Corgi’s and made a dash to Sandringham.  

Game two of the tours were held this evening against Yatley Hockey Club.
The girls finally found their “land” legs and hit the ground running in this game with great enthusiasm, confidence and team spirit which gave them a 4-2 victory.  
Players Player: Abigail H
Coaches Award: Erin T
The boys too hit the ground running and their improvement from the previous game was evident as they took an early 2 nil lead. Improved structure and patience allowed the boys to record their first tour win a fantastic 4-1 result.
Goal scorer’s – Declan R 3, Scott S 1
Players Player: James K
Coaches Award: Declan R