Well I know it’s been a while since you have heard from me so I thought it was about time to get the blog rolling again!
Since my last match report Coops and I did have our final game of the first half of the outdoor competition. I didn’t get round to writing a report for it as I headed to London for a week following the game and got too wrapped up in being a tourist (When I make time I will share with you some stories of my London discovery). I can report that the game was a bit of a shocker for the team and while I can’t remember the final result it was not a pleasant one for our team from Nijeveen.
There has been a major development in the Odyssey. Coops’ and Cam, unable to find employment in the Netherlands, have decided they could not afford to stay without being able to earn income. Coops’ will be returning home at the start of December. It is with much sadness that Coops’ & Lorenzo’s Epic World Odyssey will come to an end earlier than planned. Coops’ return to Christchurch will no doubt benefit our local Korfball family back home as we prepare for the 2014 Asia Oceania Championships to be held Hong Kong on August 17-23. In the meantime Coops’ and Cam are rightly making the most of being in Europe, exploring Italy and France before returning to tidy up their lives here.
Here at DOS ’46 the Korfball machine has shifted up another gear. Preparation for the hall season began well before the final whistle had blown on the outdoor competition. Training for all teams moved indoors to the fortress De Eendracht in Nijeveen. De Eendracht is the beating heart of DOS ’46 during the hall season. The atmosphere and pulse of the club continues to rise to new levels as the club comes together under one roof. Tomorrow is the first round of the competition and no doubt this will mean the atmosphere at De Eendracht will explode with excitement and energy. For the teams of DOS ’46, A1 (the top junior team at the club and last years national runners-up) will lead off at 3.15pm followed by the 3rd, 2nd and 1st teams playing sequentially. DOS ’46 1 always play their home games at 8pm and will draw a big crowd of local supporters as they begin the bid for promotion back to the Korfball League. My 4th team will finish the night’s action, playing at 9.15pm (yeah it’s a late one!). The exciting thing is that every home game weekend (basically every second weekend), this pattern is repeated which will add to feeling of DOS ’46 being one big family living under the De Eendracht roof! Elmo (the club mascot) will be there, Koru the Korfball Kiwi will also be soaking up the action and keep your eyes peeled for a couple of other mystery mascots who might pop up during the season!
To celebrate the new hall season, DOS ’46 held their first ever ‘DOS Got Talent’ night at De Eendracht. In previous years the children in the club would put on items in a similar night. This year every team in the club put together something to showcase some of the hidden talents at DOS ’46.
De Eendracht was dressed in its best balloons and streamers for the occasion, appropriately all red and black. With seats and beverages filled, the younger junior teams kicked off the night with a mixture of dances and acting that showed DOS ’46 has a big future, not just on the Korfball court! It was obvious that the teams had put much time and preparation into their items, many of which we set to very famous Dutch songs (little of which I could understand haha!). The costumes we also impressive, particularly one tarzan inspired group.
It was then time for the A-selection to be presented to the club. The A-selection consists of the top club players that make up the first and second teams. The group stood proudly in front of a club willing them on to great success this season. With new uniforms presented, sponsors thanked and interviews done (again I could only understand a little but definitely got the hang of clapping at the appropriate time), it was time for the older junior teams and the senior teams to take to the stage for the second half of DOS Got Talent. As the teams performed, our combined 3rd and 4th team group snuck away to the kledkamer (changing/locker room) to get in some more practice as we had completed only one short practice season previously. Our item “Dancing Around The World” was to be the last of the night. We began with the dames (females) performing the Macarena (Spain) followed by the heren (males) showing their best Gangnam style (Korea) that got the children up off their feet dancing too. The dames managed to all stay upright during their rendition of the Can-Can (France); needless to say the first practice of the Can-Can was not always so vertical! Then it was time for a little bit of kiwi culture to grace the stage as I led a Ka Mate haka, ably support by the other heren. Maybe it was my excessively loud chanting, maybe it was the pukana or maybe it was the sight of tall Dutch guys doing a haka; whatever it was, the loudest cheer of the night was given to that haka. We finished our performance with the Dutch classic Polinasia (I have no idea if that is spelt correctly), where every gets in a line with hand on the shoulder of the person in front and dances along, trying to get some of the crowd involved as well. We had an absolute blast but we could not top the graceful ballet of DOS 5, maybe it was the men in tutus that swayed the judges! The night continued on into the small hours and the whole evening just proved how much more together the club becomes during the hall season.
I’m grinning with excitement. I know this will be the most incredible time during the hall season and feel humbled to have the privilege of going through this experience as part of the great DOS ’46 family!
Tot Ziens!
Lorenzo
Since my last match report Coops and I did have our final game of the first half of the outdoor competition. I didn’t get round to writing a report for it as I headed to London for a week following the game and got too wrapped up in being a tourist (When I make time I will share with you some stories of my London discovery). I can report that the game was a bit of a shocker for the team and while I can’t remember the final result it was not a pleasant one for our team from Nijeveen.
There has been a major development in the Odyssey. Coops’ and Cam, unable to find employment in the Netherlands, have decided they could not afford to stay without being able to earn income. Coops’ will be returning home at the start of December. It is with much sadness that Coops’ & Lorenzo’s Epic World Odyssey will come to an end earlier than planned. Coops’ return to Christchurch will no doubt benefit our local Korfball family back home as we prepare for the 2014 Asia Oceania Championships to be held Hong Kong on August 17-23. In the meantime Coops’ and Cam are rightly making the most of being in Europe, exploring Italy and France before returning to tidy up their lives here.
Here at DOS ’46 the Korfball machine has shifted up another gear. Preparation for the hall season began well before the final whistle had blown on the outdoor competition. Training for all teams moved indoors to the fortress De Eendracht in Nijeveen. De Eendracht is the beating heart of DOS ’46 during the hall season. The atmosphere and pulse of the club continues to rise to new levels as the club comes together under one roof. Tomorrow is the first round of the competition and no doubt this will mean the atmosphere at De Eendracht will explode with excitement and energy. For the teams of DOS ’46, A1 (the top junior team at the club and last years national runners-up) will lead off at 3.15pm followed by the 3rd, 2nd and 1st teams playing sequentially. DOS ’46 1 always play their home games at 8pm and will draw a big crowd of local supporters as they begin the bid for promotion back to the Korfball League. My 4th team will finish the night’s action, playing at 9.15pm (yeah it’s a late one!). The exciting thing is that every home game weekend (basically every second weekend), this pattern is repeated which will add to feeling of DOS ’46 being one big family living under the De Eendracht roof! Elmo (the club mascot) will be there, Koru the Korfball Kiwi will also be soaking up the action and keep your eyes peeled for a couple of other mystery mascots who might pop up during the season!
To celebrate the new hall season, DOS ’46 held their first ever ‘DOS Got Talent’ night at De Eendracht. In previous years the children in the club would put on items in a similar night. This year every team in the club put together something to showcase some of the hidden talents at DOS ’46.
De Eendracht was dressed in its best balloons and streamers for the occasion, appropriately all red and black. With seats and beverages filled, the younger junior teams kicked off the night with a mixture of dances and acting that showed DOS ’46 has a big future, not just on the Korfball court! It was obvious that the teams had put much time and preparation into their items, many of which we set to very famous Dutch songs (little of which I could understand haha!). The costumes we also impressive, particularly one tarzan inspired group.
It was then time for the A-selection to be presented to the club. The A-selection consists of the top club players that make up the first and second teams. The group stood proudly in front of a club willing them on to great success this season. With new uniforms presented, sponsors thanked and interviews done (again I could only understand a little but definitely got the hang of clapping at the appropriate time), it was time for the older junior teams and the senior teams to take to the stage for the second half of DOS Got Talent. As the teams performed, our combined 3rd and 4th team group snuck away to the kledkamer (changing/locker room) to get in some more practice as we had completed only one short practice season previously. Our item “Dancing Around The World” was to be the last of the night. We began with the dames (females) performing the Macarena (Spain) followed by the heren (males) showing their best Gangnam style (Korea) that got the children up off their feet dancing too. The dames managed to all stay upright during their rendition of the Can-Can (France); needless to say the first practice of the Can-Can was not always so vertical! Then it was time for a little bit of kiwi culture to grace the stage as I led a Ka Mate haka, ably support by the other heren. Maybe it was my excessively loud chanting, maybe it was the pukana or maybe it was the sight of tall Dutch guys doing a haka; whatever it was, the loudest cheer of the night was given to that haka. We finished our performance with the Dutch classic Polinasia (I have no idea if that is spelt correctly), where every gets in a line with hand on the shoulder of the person in front and dances along, trying to get some of the crowd involved as well. We had an absolute blast but we could not top the graceful ballet of DOS 5, maybe it was the men in tutus that swayed the judges! The night continued on into the small hours and the whole evening just proved how much more together the club becomes during the hall season.
I’m grinning with excitement. I know this will be the most incredible time during the hall season and feel humbled to have the privilege of going through this experience as part of the great DOS ’46 family!
Tot Ziens!
Lorenzo