Day 5: Maastricht and Kazematten

The girls had a day off from training and did some team-building and site-seeing in Maastricht before heading to  Valkenswaard.  We started the day with a nice 1/2 hour walk to the Kazematten tunnel entrance -- we walked though the center of Maastricht -- it was sunny but cool, a nice way to start.  We entered the Kazematten tunnels with a bit of trepidation and fear of the unknown.  The girls were split into 3 teams and with a guide to set the assignments the girls embarked on a fun adventure.  As adults it was neat to listen to and observe the trouble shooting and team work that the girls needed to complete each task.  The guides set us loose in the dark tunnels with a map, lamps and minimal instruction.  They then had fun popping up unexpectedly with masks, or at knee level, or even with a plastic rat on a string.  My personal favorite moment was when in the pitch dark our guide Luke came at our legs ...  Erika kicked him and she screamed " Yo! dude! NOT COOL!!"  The kick was to the head, and he was impressed with her foot skills!  I loved the fact that she went into self defense mode so quickly -- I have told the girls not to sneak up on her.  Apparently, Scott enjoyed tormenting his group in the dark as well - so that team had two people scaring them.  All the groups have fun stories -- it was a great morning.  We had lunch back at the hostel and saw the boys team and their chaperons very briefly before heading out to explore Maastricht above street level.  Maastriahct is a beautiful old european city and the girls had lots of spots for photo's - their cameras will be full after this trip.

We arrived shortly before dinner in Valkenswaard.  The girls were able to enjoy a bit of down-time that they have not had prior to this evening and they played card games, pictionary, painted nails and laughed.  They also shared their "thumbs-up" and" thumbs-down" moments thus far in the trip -- we were surprised by some of their answers - they never fail to surprise us.

The girls are settling into their rooms and coach Katie will do their lights-out in about 1/2 hour.  another fun-filled day -- but time to gear up for two more days of double training's and matches.