"Be a good teammate" was always the advice my parents gave to me when playing sports. It is fundamental not only to a winning team, but to a cohesive team as well... not to mention it is always nice to be well liked. In my first days of practice that is exactly what I tried to do...
Practice on the first day went very well. I was excited to meet all of the girls, and they seemed excited to meet me. We went very light on the first day. The practice mostly consisted of running through offensives because (and to my surprise) we had scrimmages coming up on the weekend and we needed to have some sense of offensive flow.
I didn't know what to expect from the team or the coach in this first practice, but I definitely liked what I saw. We had an organized practice plan with points of emphasis of one or two things. The primary one this day was talking, and I made sure to do that. We all clapped as we huddled before practice, and the enthusiasm and high fives were kept up the entire day. Not only was I focusing on being a good teammate, but the entire team was for the duration of practice. Positive talk and energy were everywhere. Though most of the girls do not "talk their game" (or talk on the court), they always encourage and have funny things to say on the sidelines.
On the second day here, I began what my normal schedule will be for most of the season. I woke up at 9, made myself breakfast and started my 5 minute walk to the gym. The walk is very cool, I cross over a small bridge into the sports complex where teams were playing rugby, boys were taking batting practice in the cricket cages, men and women were hitting tennis balls, and, of course, multiple people were playing soccer. I had a mini workout with two of the girls who didn't have work that day. We got a lot of shots up and chatted for a while. After the workout, it was definitely time for a nap, as jet lag was still kicking my butt. Practice followed that night, and was very similar to the first. Lots of team stuff and a little more 5v5 action. The only thing that differed was that this time after practice, I was told to go shower up because I was being taken to a 'fair'.
I quickly showered and was picked up by a teammate and taken into the city where a big carnival type event was taking place. It goes on for 3 weeks and I think most of Luxembourg was there. Colorful lights, rides, beer carts, and food trucks lined the streets, and I was given a tour of all of it. That night, I even made my first purchase... a Belgian waffle with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. I know we have these at most fairs, but I must say, I have never had anything like this!!! It was delicious and the perfect after practice snack (though Angie might say otherwise). Though my sister says it's not a real fair without funnel cake, I beg to differ.
Today (Day 3) was more of the same in terms of a morning workout and practice. However, instead of my long jet lag nap, I was taken to the grocery store to do a little shopping. It was awesome to see all of the different foods, cheeses, pastries, and products that they have over here. And it was fun to try and figure out what everything is because the labels are in different languages. Though the stuff that was new was cool, my favorite was seeing all of the brands we have here in the states with a European twist. For example, Kellogg cereals had different types of berry flavors and their mascots were different from some of them in the US. They look pretty good too, so I am definitely going to have to try some out later on. I was very thankful that one of the ladies who works with the team could drive me to the store, as it is a 10-15 min walk on my own and I had quite a few groceries being it was my first week here and I needed supplies. When I told the girls at practice about my adventure, they made sure to let me know that if I ever needed a ride to give them a call (using my prepaid cell phone that they just showed me how to use (; ).
Be a good teammate... I for sure was trying, and as for the team, they definitely were succeeding in that department.
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