Hall season Round 5 – DOS ’46 4 vs. Heerenveen 2
This week the date ticked by that meant I have been away from New Zealand for over six months. The official northern winter is upon us in the Netherlands. My friends back in Christchurch, and now Coops since her return, are basking in 20+ degree days while life here is a little more chilly. Single degree temperatures are the norm and an icy car sitting outside in the mornings is also becoming more frequent. Sunrise is about 8.30am with sunset at 4.15pm, don’t forget it’s still two weeks until the shortest day! (At least the days are longer and less grey than those my London based friends experience). I can see how people living in the northern landmasses can find these times challenging but I believe opportunities can be found in every situation. The saying goes that ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing’. The Dutch people certainly continue to smile as they go about their daily lives cycling to where ever their destination is. I’m excited to experience a northern winter for myself! Even though I can’t skate, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the nearby lakes and canals to ice over. There was definitely a big childish grin on my face awaking to snow falling on Friday as well!
The end of November and the days leading up to December 5 are also a reason for the Dutch to smile, especially the children. It is the time of Sinterklaas. Children will place shoes at the fireplace during the night in the hope of finding some surprises filling their sneakers in the morning. Some days there will be nothing but persistence usually pays off with chocolates, Pepernoten (traditional spiced cookies) or some other goodies to enjoy. My gifts arrived courtesy of the mail service (from a thoughtful mum!). Many tastes of home packaged into a box, which I will have to share with everyone! But the thing that brought the biggest smile to my face was a scrawl on a piece of paper from my little niece and a letter from my mentors/adopted grandparents Grahame & Doreen Felton.
Here in the Netherlands there are parades and gatherings as Sinterklaas visits each village. December 5 heralds the arrival of Zwarte Piet, an idol to Dutch children but also figure of recent political correctness controversy that received plenty of media focus. If you are one of the lucky ones who still has faith in the magic of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, you might just get a knock on the door, opening it to find a sack of presents awaiting! There is something idyllic about Christmas time and winter, especially coming from a country more accustomed to BBQ’s and beaches on Christmas day.
Christmas should never be about the commercialism. It is most importantly a time for families to get together and hopefully appreciate the importance of those closest to them. To be clear, families doesn’t necessarily mean blood related. The DOS ’46 family also celebrated Sinterklaas with all the younger members of the club.
DOS ’46 had another home game day with tough opposition expected for all teams, especially as injuries are still plaguing the club. As usual my day begin with medical duties for A1. After a tight tussle early, the home team proved to be more clinical in all areas once again, celebrating a comfortable win over SKF 28-17 and maintaining their position among the top junior teams in the Netherlands. Following this DOS ’46 3 had a tough assignment against a strong KVS 2 side. DOS 3 stayed in touch throughout the first half, going into ruststand 8-9 down. However KVS then went on a seven-goal run taking the score to 8-16 and secured the two points 17-25. It was time for the fireworks to begin as both DOS ’46 1 and 2 were playing their respective counterparts from SKF. The visitors rolled out their club banner on the wall and brought plenty of supporters with them, including an air horn and drum. The outcome of the evening was looking very ominous as SKF 2 completely dominated DOS ’46 2 early on, shooting their way to a 2-12 lead. From then on DOS ’46 played with more control pulling within 4 goals but were unable to overcome their slow start, losing 21-25. In the night’s showpiece, recorded by the regional TV station, DOS ’46 1 showed too much variety and control for their opposition to handle. Overcoming the rowdy support for the visitors and a 2.1m+ opponent, the home side rewarded their vocal fans with a 26-17 win.
Once again my DOS ’46 4 side took to the court with a different line up from previous games. Still stuck at the bottom of our group we were hoping to change our fortunes against Heerenveen 2. We began the game with more composure and control than previous weeks and as the goals mounted the scores remained tied. I will be the first to admit I had a bit of a mare of a game, struggling to find the balance between doing too much and not doing enough at the right time. We were 8-10 down at half time, but certainly in a position to beat this opposition if we could control the game a little more. I was subbed off early in the second half to bring on a taller player as I was dominated in the rebound, which allowed for too many multiple attacks from Heerenveen. We were unable to take control of the game for any reasonable length of time. Despite some good attacks and Colin shooting well a lack of cohesion on attack meant another loss 15-21, remaining winless.
It is important when times are tough in life or in this case Korfball to focus on the things you are learning from the experience rather than getting too frustrated by it. It is certainly an easy task for me to add to the list of lessons learned so far from this Korfball Odyssey and also to add to areas to focus on over the coming weeks to improve my effectiveness as a player. Obviously developing a deeper understanding of attacking patterns will make a big difference to my ability to contribute to the team effectively. Another focus must be learning to use my body better to gain more rebounds against taller players.
This was always going to be a challenge both physically and mentally but what better way to learn than doing things way outside your comfort zone.
Tot Volgende Week
Lorenzo
This week the date ticked by that meant I have been away from New Zealand for over six months. The official northern winter is upon us in the Netherlands. My friends back in Christchurch, and now Coops since her return, are basking in 20+ degree days while life here is a little more chilly. Single degree temperatures are the norm and an icy car sitting outside in the mornings is also becoming more frequent. Sunrise is about 8.30am with sunset at 4.15pm, don’t forget it’s still two weeks until the shortest day! (At least the days are longer and less grey than those my London based friends experience). I can see how people living in the northern landmasses can find these times challenging but I believe opportunities can be found in every situation. The saying goes that ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing’. The Dutch people certainly continue to smile as they go about their daily lives cycling to where ever their destination is. I’m excited to experience a northern winter for myself! Even though I can’t skate, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the nearby lakes and canals to ice over. There was definitely a big childish grin on my face awaking to snow falling on Friday as well!
The end of November and the days leading up to December 5 are also a reason for the Dutch to smile, especially the children. It is the time of Sinterklaas. Children will place shoes at the fireplace during the night in the hope of finding some surprises filling their sneakers in the morning. Some days there will be nothing but persistence usually pays off with chocolates, Pepernoten (traditional spiced cookies) or some other goodies to enjoy. My gifts arrived courtesy of the mail service (from a thoughtful mum!). Many tastes of home packaged into a box, which I will have to share with everyone! But the thing that brought the biggest smile to my face was a scrawl on a piece of paper from my little niece and a letter from my mentors/adopted grandparents Grahame & Doreen Felton.
Here in the Netherlands there are parades and gatherings as Sinterklaas visits each village. December 5 heralds the arrival of Zwarte Piet, an idol to Dutch children but also figure of recent political correctness controversy that received plenty of media focus. If you are one of the lucky ones who still has faith in the magic of Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet, you might just get a knock on the door, opening it to find a sack of presents awaiting! There is something idyllic about Christmas time and winter, especially coming from a country more accustomed to BBQ’s and beaches on Christmas day.
Christmas should never be about the commercialism. It is most importantly a time for families to get together and hopefully appreciate the importance of those closest to them. To be clear, families doesn’t necessarily mean blood related. The DOS ’46 family also celebrated Sinterklaas with all the younger members of the club.
DOS ’46 had another home game day with tough opposition expected for all teams, especially as injuries are still plaguing the club. As usual my day begin with medical duties for A1. After a tight tussle early, the home team proved to be more clinical in all areas once again, celebrating a comfortable win over SKF 28-17 and maintaining their position among the top junior teams in the Netherlands. Following this DOS ’46 3 had a tough assignment against a strong KVS 2 side. DOS 3 stayed in touch throughout the first half, going into ruststand 8-9 down. However KVS then went on a seven-goal run taking the score to 8-16 and secured the two points 17-25. It was time for the fireworks to begin as both DOS ’46 1 and 2 were playing their respective counterparts from SKF. The visitors rolled out their club banner on the wall and brought plenty of supporters with them, including an air horn and drum. The outcome of the evening was looking very ominous as SKF 2 completely dominated DOS ’46 2 early on, shooting their way to a 2-12 lead. From then on DOS ’46 played with more control pulling within 4 goals but were unable to overcome their slow start, losing 21-25. In the night’s showpiece, recorded by the regional TV station, DOS ’46 1 showed too much variety and control for their opposition to handle. Overcoming the rowdy support for the visitors and a 2.1m+ opponent, the home side rewarded their vocal fans with a 26-17 win.
Once again my DOS ’46 4 side took to the court with a different line up from previous games. Still stuck at the bottom of our group we were hoping to change our fortunes against Heerenveen 2. We began the game with more composure and control than previous weeks and as the goals mounted the scores remained tied. I will be the first to admit I had a bit of a mare of a game, struggling to find the balance between doing too much and not doing enough at the right time. We were 8-10 down at half time, but certainly in a position to beat this opposition if we could control the game a little more. I was subbed off early in the second half to bring on a taller player as I was dominated in the rebound, which allowed for too many multiple attacks from Heerenveen. We were unable to take control of the game for any reasonable length of time. Despite some good attacks and Colin shooting well a lack of cohesion on attack meant another loss 15-21, remaining winless.
It is important when times are tough in life or in this case Korfball to focus on the things you are learning from the experience rather than getting too frustrated by it. It is certainly an easy task for me to add to the list of lessons learned so far from this Korfball Odyssey and also to add to areas to focus on over the coming weeks to improve my effectiveness as a player. Obviously developing a deeper understanding of attacking patterns will make a big difference to my ability to contribute to the team effectively. Another focus must be learning to use my body better to gain more rebounds against taller players.
This was always going to be a challenge both physically and mentally but what better way to learn than doing things way outside your comfort zone.
Tot Volgende Week
Lorenzo