Two Holland Web Albums with Additional Trip Pictures

Here are lnks to two Holland Web albums -- some photo's may be duplicates.  We did not get a chance to post all photo's on the blog and this is a selection that we both made from our library of photo's.

More Holland Photo's

Even MORE Holland Photo's

Photo's from the last two days in Holland

April 28 - Ajax Stadium Tour and Amsterdam Exploring

The Far Post Teams on the Stadium sideline

Entering the Stadium

The Tour

Looks different when empty ..

The "Grow Lights"

In the Press Room

Our final view of the field

The Canal Tour of Amsterdam

April 27 - Our final Training with Baer and our last match in Holland in Almere vs ASC Waterwijk



Rondo



Baer distributing gifts

A gift for Katie

The team with Baer

Annie Clearing the ball

Loran with lots of pressure

Jess on the ball

Jackie outpaces the opponent

The sideline - again great benches for the team

Molly with a throw-in

Ellie looking to pass

With the other team post-game

Both teams together

Hard to say goodbye - the girls in another photo

Day 8- The Holland Finale

Today was our day of rest after a long, rewarding week of soccer in Holland.  After having their first chance to sleep in we headed off for a tour of AJAX stadium without the crowd.  We all learned alot about the workings of the field and stadium and how to grow grass indoors.  We walked over to the eat our final bag lunch in the mall where a few girls and Deidre participated in a timed bed making contest.  The canal ride was next followed by the much anticipated "shopping hour" in Amsterdam.  The girls split into the hardcore clothes shoppers(hard to do in 1 hour, god bless Deidre), and the serious souvenirs shoppers.  Then down to the Flower market, here's hoping customs is nice to us.  We arrived back at the Hostel with plenty of "Stuff" and a small plane worth of Stroofwafels.
Our final Stay Okay supper was spent in the colorfully decorated dinner halls which was adorned with orange banners and soccer balls in anticipation of a big soccer match tomorrow and Queen's Day,(our equivalent of July 4th) on Monday.  Supper was followed by the groups' final Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down exercise.  This is where the girls get to share their best/worst experience of the day and in this case the trip.  It has truly been a privilege to share this trip with your daughters.  If you had any second thoughts about the sacrifices they and you have made as parents to provide them with this experience, their comments clearly indicate that this is a trip they will never forget.  
The girls are heading off to bed now (10:00 PM) in anticipation of a "wake-up" knock in about 6 hours. The girls (and the adults) are both excited and sad that this adventure is ending.  They will be tired, a bit smelly, and probably won't want to see bread or nutella for about a week.
 

Day 7: Celebrity Blog Update from Coach Katie

Hello Everyone!

It's hard to believe that we only have one more full day remaining on our trip!  You would not believe how much each girl has improved technically and the overall improvement in our team play and possession.  Today the girls got up bright and early, frantically packed up their rooms, and headed down to their last training with Baer.  After a fun and competitive 4v4 tournament the girls and Baer said their final goodbyes.  The bus (which also contained a motley crew of U 14 boys, coaches, and chaperones) picked us up and, after a quick stop at the PSV fan shop in Eindhoven, we arrived in Almere to play our match.

The game was fast-paced and aggressive and while the girls played valiantly, we wound up losing 2-0. One of the best parts of the evening was the time we spent with the other team at the canteen.  The girls chatted, ate french fries, and even went back outside to play a little more soccer before our departure.  These exchanges have been the highlight of the trip for me.  Seeing both teams talking, laughing and, in the case of tonight, singing Justin Beiber despite language and cultural differences is truly heartwarming (apology for cheesy sentimental moment).

I cannot wait for everyone to see the team play once we return to the States.  The hard work, improvement, and persistence they displayed this week has been amazing.  

Day 6 brings an International VICTORY

 This was a wild and crazy day.  After a day of supposed rest, lots of walking with speed walker Jos on Day 5, the girls were tired as they entered the morning training session with Baer.  It was a windy overcast day with two successful training sessions with Baer.  The second ended with a promise from Baer, " If you lose to a team that is better than you, fine.  If you lose to a team that is your equal, we don't use soccer boots tomorrow and you will be training in running shoes".  Our evening schedule required some tweaking , as our games was scheduled later than expected.  After an impromptu quick supper  before the match with the promise of hamburgers and fries upon our return we headed to the match.  The girls entered the warmup in a torrential down pour. We realized we forgot the banner to give the other team so Deidre hijacked a innocent Dutch woman's bicycle and rode back to the Hostel.  Just kidding.  She arrived just in time for opening ceremonies.  The referee presented Katie with the sideline flag and asked her to "find somebody",  thus the picture below. 

The rest as they say " is history".   Our girls played possessed seemed to take everything Coach Katie has been telling them since September along with Baer's advice and proceeded to earn their FIRST INTERNATIONAL VICTORY as they played the "beautiful game" wonderfully.  In the end they tallied a 3-0 victory and had an even more rewarding time with the other team in the Kanteen as they exchanged Facebook addresses and the home team presented them with a signed jersey from their club.  Tissues all the way around for coaches and chaperons.  When we figure out the video thing will post it.  Otherwise the pictures will have to suffice.  The rest of the details you will have to get from your daughters.

Bear giving instruction

Both Teams together

Post Game Reaction

The team after the WIN!

 

Name your child ...

Scott decided to focus his camera lens on the girls feet - making a "name that child" game for family back home.  Take a look .. how well do you know your player's footwear?  Keep in mind that your daughter probably traveled with more than one pair -- and we only included one picture of each player (we hope, this has gotten a bit confusing).  Once you identify your player -- you can leave a comment with the cleat number -- we will be tracking your progress ..

Have Fun --

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Day 5 Photo's

A few photo's that Scott took from the day yesterday.....

Group 1 for the tunnels - with their guide Marcell

Group 2 for the tunnels with their guide "Huup"

Group 3 for the tunnels with their guide Luke in his mask.

The team posing in Maastricht