Rd 2 - Amsterdam

Updates have been scarce of late for many reasons. In the past I took to this forum to rant and rave and I wrote a few entries in that tone in the last couple of months. They remain unposted however. The month immediately after the first tournament was particularily disappointing. We'd set our stall out to work on specific weaknesses but the response was poor as attendence waned. Injuries to some key players compounded this and we lost a good opportunity to make the necessary improvements. This behaviour frustrates me as we will not progress without greater application. However, I knew the numbers would bounce back and there are still +/- fifty sessions left this year to make up the ground. The result of the poor attendence and injuries meant that fitness levels dropped and that being one area we can definitly control, we spent a good chunk of the last month working on that. Perversely, it's also a quick win in building up the morale as lads really drive eachother on. So we arrive in Amsterdam for Round 2 on Saturday a little unsure of where we are versus Round 1. Of the 27 players travelling, 10 did not play the last day. Injury and other reasons deprives us of some key men but I guess each team suffers equally in that regard. Still, the pieces fall reasonably well into place and we should again have two competitive teams. The last outing confirmed what we all know; Benelux is tough and there may only ever be a score between a good day and a bad day. The last day the Championship team would have made the final in a one point defeat against Lux was reversed while the Shield team went down narrowly in the final. Summer has arrived in this part of the world and it promises to be a scorching long weekend. Let's hope our play follows suit.