Day 6

Today was our last day with our favorite dutch coach Roel! We had our last training session from 9-10:30 and then set off to explore the oldest city in Holland--Maastricht.

Upon our arrival in Maastricht, some of us separated on a tour of the history packed city, while others got a head start to the wonderful shopping in the area. Our first impression of Maastricht was that it was quite charming taken the friendly atmosphere and humble Cathedral "Basilica of Our Lady". Little did we know what was to come later that night...

Following our time in Maastricht we crossed the border into Belgium only to find ourselves in a mall quite similar to any mall you would see in the United States. As we were all exhausted from our three games and three training sessions in a row streak we would have simply gone back to rest if it weren't for our tour guide Hub insisting on us making it to our intended destination of the Maasmechlen Factory outlets. After browsing through outlet shops and having gellatto and/or "warm chocolate milk" we returned to the hotel to prepare for our second to last game of the trip.

Being that we had just been in Maastricht hours before our game, we had expected something a bit different than what we were exposed to. As we exited the bus to the Maastricht Club we noticed large tents filled with hundreds of intoxicated Dutch people and an uncountable amount of empty cups on the ground. Bombarded by people speaking to us in Dutch or telling us that we were "too late. the party is over", we fearfully trudged through the garbage to our field. As we walked many of us were reminded, by the wretched smell, of a familiar place at home called Riemert. Some parents are unlucky enough to have moved their children into this place and must understand the extent of this awful stench.

(man in background leaf-blowing empty cups and garbage off the field we played on)


We eventually excused this interesting welcome party with the fact that their summer had just begun, and refocused ourselves on the game. After the trash was literally blown off the field by what appeared to be a leaf blower, and our field was unexpectedly watered down during our pow-wow, we finally began the match. Though we were unable to score against this previously top ranked club team, we seemed to connect better than ever in the entire tournament. We fought long and hard for three 20 minute periods and learned a great deal. We then socialized with our opponents in their Club House and enjoyed the rest of our evening. It is now time for a nice break for our legs until our next and final game in Amsterdam on Tuesday night!

-Bitts

UCFH & The "YMCA"

Day 5

It's hard to believe we are already on Day 5 of our European Tour! But for our bodies... it's very believable. WE ARE ALL SO SORE.

After a tough loss today in our third European match, we hobbled around the city of Valkenburg to get some lunch.  A few of us joked around saying we were all extremely susceptible to robbery due to the fact that if someone grabbed our purses, the odds of our tight muscles being able to push our bodies into a full sprint were slim to none. (Relax Mom I did not actually get pick pocketed. And no I am not wearing that pouch that you suggested I wear under all of my clothes that holds my ID and insurance information. It is highly embarrassing)

We have all been doing really well with branching out and indulging in some true Dutch cuisine. One of the club teams introduced us into some interesting snack called a "bittere bal" that we were all brave enough to try! (Except for our little herbivore, Julie.) Most of you were worried your picky daughters (myself included) would be scoping out the nearest McDonalds while in Europe, desperate for some familiar American cuisine but you will all be proud to know that we have so far enjoyed several little cafes and food stands full of Dutch delicacies!  (Though OK I confess I did buy a pack of Pringles at the local supermarket... but give me a break those things are delicious!)

Today a few of us stopped at a bistro in town to eat lunch.  Julie was satisfied with her vegetarian options, and Rachel had her first bowl of French onion soup! 

Day Five presented us with a tight schedule, so after lunch we raced back to the hotel to pack up our gear and head to our next session with our new favorite trainer, Roel. (pronouced like: ROOL)  His interesting, Dutch approach of warming up had us playing an extreme form of leap frog yesterday and "horseback riding" today.  Let's just say that as soon as he said partner up and hop on your partner's back, I knew it was going to be a disaster. (Our trainer, Vandeburg looked more than a little bit nervous from the sidelines...)

Our game of "horseback riding" claimed one victim, poor Courtney :( But no worries parents, we are in great hands with Michelle! Only Michelle would give us a piggyback ride from the bus to the hotel when we have injured one of our bear paws.

We ended our day with a nice stretch in the hotel pool, and there may have been a little synchronized swimming here and there... Got to nail that choreography for our upcoming music video somehow!


With love from the Netherlands,
Kara

Day 3

Today, after breakfast and a bus ride to the "pitch", UCFH was greeted with a new Dutch hockey trainer. His dry sense of humor and exciting new leap frog- ish warm up games that will be "great for our muscles" along with some Men's Spanish inspired hockey drills left us all excited to be able to work with him for the next few days. His unfamiliar but seemingly easily forgotten name will be shared tomorrow.  His serenade of the the birthday girl (Rachel.. yay!) in Dutch concluded our practice for the morning. We all loaded the bus to catch lunch in our small village of Valkenburg before heading to the Cave tour!

(some members of the team playing leap frog at our training session)

After arriving at the entrance to the caves, unnerving bathroom breaks and a 40 m descent on a never ending spiral staircase left us in the largest underground mines of marl stone in Europe extending over 70 kilometers.

(Shafi and Pappas holding hands in fear walking down the steps to the caves)

Our differing levels of biking experience were demonstrated as we trekked through the cold and humid tunnels yelling BUKKEN for duck. No worries though, parents!.. our expensively educated heads were protected in beautifully fitted hard hats complete with protective hairnets.  Our favorite stop of the tour included a room filled serenely lit perfumed candles and marked with intricate religious charcoal drawings. Upon completing our favorite excursion thus far we made it back to Valkenburg to get ready for our next friendly match. 

As we lined up across from our opponents the size deficit was obvious, but UCFH persevered as Jenna Stover broke open our international goal scoring on a nicely executed corner, a goal followed by Maddie and an impressive second half by the entire team. A short visit was payed to our opponents in their club house before loading the bus. 

Upon entering the hotel after another late game night, everyone seemed to catch a second wind as Rachel was serenaded by the entire lobby which was full of British elders who insisted on having us join them for the YMCA song . After YMCA-ing for a bit with sore legs and a talented pianist.. as a tribute he began to play the national anthem which the entire team felt obligated to finish with the traditional "home of the bears" ending. It was a great way to conclude an eventful day. Some of us caught a stretch with Van de Berg in the hotel pool before heading to bed early in preparation for our friendly match against HC Heerlen/Kerkrade tomorrow! More pictures/videos and updates to come :-) 

Best, 

Jul

Day 2

Yesterday after an early morning breakfast we found ourselves standing in front of a highly accomplished dutch hockey coach. He was not that fluent in English which added a lot of comic relief to the otherwise unfamiliar practice routine. The lack of stretching and water breaks was definitely new to all of us. Parched and ready for afternoon touring we made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before leaving for Aachen.

All of the girls were ecstatic to make a stop at the Lindt chocolate factory on the way, all of our hands full of amazingly priced sweets for family and friends. After being released for lunch on our own in the historical city,  Rachel and Pappas indulged in some traditional food including Bratwurst with mustard and potato pancakes. The other girls fancied gelato and sandwich shops before we took a tour of Charlemagne's Cathedral. The local farmers market was up and running which in combination with the tour around the cathedral a perfect combination for experiencing the culture of Aachen.

The rainy weather found us excited to get back to the hotel for dinner and a bus ride to our first friendly match against HC Blerick. The whole team experienced a brand new style of hockey complimented by a post game gathering in the hockey club's swanky club house. It was nice to interact with people from completely different backgrounds after being brought together by a sport that we all love and enjoy.  The hour bus ride back to Valkenburg soon put everyone to sleep after two days of traveling, touring, and play.

Pictures compliments of Bits to come!

Best,
Jul

(seniors at the Lindt factory with their colorful rain jackets)

(front of the beautiful Cathedral)

Day 1

After a six hour flight to London and a transfer flight to Brussels, we have finally made it safe and sound to the Hotel Walram in the cozy village of Valkenburg, Holland. Most of us are now fighting to conquer the effects of jet-lag and stay awake after an extremely busy day of traveling and touring.

When we got to Brussels we met our tour guide Hub, or "hoop"as we would call him. He showed us the Atomium, the famous Mannequin Pis, and the lovely Grand Place. We then enjoyed some free time, walking along the cobblestone streets on a beautiful sunny day in the city. The streets were filled with paintings, shops, and most importantly a multitude of precious unleashed dogs. We also took note that some people don't like when you feed their dogs...

It was nice to know that we were not the only obvious tourists, as a group from Korea jumped in one of our photos in the square. However, I think it is safe to say that one of our most favorite parts of today's trip was finally getting our hands on a delectable, warm, chocolate/whipped cream/strawberry/whatever it may be covered BELGIUM WAFFLE!!! 

You could practically savor the taste by one whiff at every corner we turned. Despite a wonderful time in Brussels, we eventually found ourselves gathering at our meeting place earlier than directed by our tour guide due to extreme lack of sleep. Needless to say mostly all of us immediately zonked out on our 2 hour bus ride across Belgium to our current destination.

We've had an extremely busy day (or two... we aren't really sure), but it is now time to get some rest and prepare ourselves for our first training session with the Dutch Coach followed by our first game overseas. We are all so excited for what we will learn!






-Bitts

      (The whole team at the Atomium)

UCFH Takes Off

First and foremost, Happy Mother's Day (especially you mommy)!!The day has finally come! UCFH is taking on Europe! Despite Shafi and Juli arriving late, and Jenna and Paige getting searched at security, we have finally made it to the gate. We are going to board in approximately one hour. We are all very excited and we are currently entertaining ourselves with silly activities such as making friendship bracelets, making music videos, and using the wifi. Shout out to Mrs. Kornfeld.... We are making memories!! We will miss all of you back at home. Don't worry we will bring back some souvenirs! I hope you are looking forward to our musical debut; we are currently working on it. Try not to miss us or worry too much; we are all having a great time and we will update you soon with pics and videos to come :)

<3 Bitts and Shaf and the rest of UCFH