Ezra scores in the Helmondia game

Ezra scores on a set piece in our Helmondia match.
Nice shot, Ezra.

A typical home

Everywhere we went I was impressed with how clean Holland is. Not only did we not see trash but eavery home looked clean and new. Even homes that were obviously 20 years old were kept in perfect condition. Every yard was landscaped and neat. While we saw many duplex, condos, and apartments in cities and small towns, here is a typical stand alone home. I believe this was taken near Eindhoven.

All together at PSV stadium.

This photo is taken inside the PSV locker room area, in a special warmup room designed to simulate the stadium. The players can get some touches here before hitting the field.

Together with team Someren

Match at Someren

Albert grabs the ball off the head off the Someren attack. Note the size of the players and the height off the ground.

Match at Someren

The boys line up and greet each other before every match. We present them team captain with gifts and take a team shot together.

The full squad with Leo and chaperones

Jamie

Albert

Ryan

Sam

Brad

Two Helmondia players.

Mitch is on the left. He was outgoing and friendly. The player on the right is named Giorgio. He is an excellent player. The captain of the team (yellow arm band in group shot) was a very strong player as well, and happens to be a national Judo champion for his age group.

Helmondia

On Thursday we went to Helmond to play an excellent team named Helmondia. We were greeted warmly in Helmondia and treated to a barbecue with the Helmondia team and families after the match. Their team was very strong and they outplayed us 7-0.

Their village and club are very nice. They were gracious hosts, and I enjoyed speaking with the players and some of their parents. One player named Kevin spoke English fluently and was particularly helpful to us. Thanks, Kevin. Thanks and warm wishes to everyone from Helmondia. Good luck in your upcoming match.

Leo Janssen

Our trainer is Leo Janssen. Leo is officially retired and trains people in Futbol from all over the world. A father of 4 and grandfather of five, Leo played for the Netherlands national team for eight years. Here he describes the three principles of Dutch soccer.

Biking the tunnels.

We spent about an hour and a half biking through over six miles of underground tunnels. These are the largest man-made tunnels in the world and cover over 170km. They mine stone from the tunnels.

But Seriously..

I heard Griffin say to Ezra "We have to be together or we look stupid".

A good plan I guess.

Wall of old Maastricht

Maastricht is fantastic. I understand why our bus driver told us

"People who are born in Maastricht never leave."

Ian

Strategy on Shape and Movement

Leo explains shape snd movemnent with cones with the boys.

Tuesday practice

We had two practices today on the turf fields in Maastricht. There was some sort of carnival or party going on for grade school children at the park and it was quite noisy all day. The kids are improving quickly with the training sessions. I can see vast improvement in control and quickness. This photo shows Albert striking a header from behind Sam.

Stayok

The Hostels are very nice The one we are in now is quite busy, with 30-50 people in the main area at most times. Most of the people seem to be in the twenties but there are also people of all ages. I believe the charge is around 3o euros a night or around $45 which includes a room and meals.

Maastricht

We are staying in another stayokay hostel right in Maastricht. A ten minute walks brings us into old Maastricht, partially surrounded by an ancient stone wall. Beautiful old buildings and cobblestone roads. This city scape was taken from one of the squares in old Maastricht.

PSV Eindhoven scores 5th goal on a set piece.

They set up this set-piece beautifully. I thought the player on the left was taking the kick. Apparently, the goalie thought so too, as he did not even move to react. The celebration follows.

Amsterdam

There were so many beautiful streets, buildings, and canals in Amsterdam, I had to go back to some shots and post them here for you. Enjoy.




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Nederlands WWII Amercican Cemetery

After our second practice session we took a ride to visit the Nederlands WWII American Cemetery. A good excursion.

Sunday - we meet Leo!

After all we have heard and anticipated, our trainer, Leo surpasses all expectations. Clearly holding the most advanced knowledge of the game, and the skills needed to play it, he quickly analyzed the team and went to work building their skills and minds.

Ajax Stadium

Want the Ball!

Brief Excerpt from Todd's talk to the team on scoring...

3-8 Practice

Nico anticipates and capitalizes...

getting started

I am creating this blog for the Holland trip.
Nothing fancy, but needs to be easy enough to enter things and upload photos and videos. It looks like this will work nicely.