Day 8 - April 26, 2014


The day dawned sunny and cool. This was a day for the boys to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds (and smells) of the much heralded "King's Day" celebration on the streets of Amsterdam. Our intrepid host Jos led the group into town, where they enjoyed loempia, hamburgers, hotdogs, french fries and waffles with ice cream. The streets were full of vendors selling...things. It was a massively distributed yard sale with orange-themed fashionistas milling about on an epic scale.

The perfunctory windmill.

Wyatt and Ryan styling in orange.

Nico and Will going native.

Another postcard

 Milling about.

Palling around.

Ahh, the smell of the great outdoors.

The boys enjoying a break in Vondel Park on the west side of Amsterdam.

 Tulips in Vondel Park.

We "am" Far Post

There is an "I" in Comai.

The "Toppers.". A Dutch Favorite, in sequins.

The square behind the Rijks Museum.

The Royal Palace Square at the Dam.

Day 7: April 25

It's a sad day here in Holland: our last day of soccer! Following breakfast, we left the quaint hostel in Valkensvaard for the bustle of Amsterdam.

 ...but not before we left our mark!

We went straight to the Ajax training facility, which the group had visited this past Saturday for the Aegon Future Cup. To our surprise, we were greeted by one of Ajax's senior youth specialists, Eddie van Schaick. Eddie was familiar with our club, having briefly observed our teams training at the Ajax facility last year. This year, however, he ran the session himself.

Despite tired legs, our boys showed good composure and insight, letting the ball do the work in true Dutch fashion. Some technical passing work (Coach Sam's bread and butter), followed by tactical build-up play prepared the boys perfectly for their final match tonight in Almere.

 The boys being put through their paces at Ajax, with the Amsterdam Arena in the background.

 The squad following training with Ajax Coach Eddie van Schaick.

 Brain trust.

Gifts were exchanged, and 20% off coupons distributed, leading to another trip to the Ajax fan shop. We then returned to our same hostel in Zeeburg, a borough of Amsterdam, where the group had team lunch and relaxed before our final match.

 The boys playing a one touch game they developed in the park outside the hostel in Zeeburg. Games like this have been their definition of "rest".

 As promised, the bus driver brought his beaver to the game. It yodeled.

 Our hosts made us feel at home hoisting the colors.

 The boys preparing for the game in Waterwijk .

 

  Another international incident. With soda and fries.

                                                  Last lengthy pose-down of the trip.

A tired first half left our boys in the hole 1-0, with the best bit of play coming just before the half time whistle. After the break, the visitors managed to find enough fuel for a final thirty minutes of play. Some intricate passing work created a few good opportunities but in the end it wasn't enough and the fresh legs from Waterwijk ran out as 4-1 winners. This was not enough to overshadow the warm reception from the largest soccer club in the Netherlands and the friendly interaction between the boys over french fries and soda.

I know Bill Pelkey, I've climbed Maklu with Bill Pelkey - that's not Bill Pelkey.

Day 6: April 24

This morning the boys welcomed the return of Behr and Leo at the Valkenswaard club pitch where they held training sessions in the morning and the afternoon. Schools are apparently on a two week holiday since Easter and there was a group of high school aged students holding a field day in an adjacent park.  It was sunny and mild here in the 70's and the boys were feeling the heat a bit on the turf this afternoon. They had two sessions today, then bid farewell to Behr and Leo with grateful thanks and spirit gear from Far Post. Both coaches remarked how well the boys responded to training and their tenacity in coming back from a deficit in both of their games thus far.

We had our best meal yet for dinner at the Stay Okay Hostels, which consisted of a pork stir fry and vegetable medley (no photo op tonight). The consensus was the meat was pork tonight, but half the group is convinced it was chicken. The boys then made their way back to the Valkenswaard club to warm up for their game at 6:30 local time. During warm ups, we counted 5 six-footers on the opposing squad (None of whom appeared to be present on the day the team photo was taken) and observed sharp passing and foot skills.  Despite some defensive miscues near our goal, Far Post held even at the half at 2 all. In the second half, it was clear that, while a talented and balanced team, Valkenswaard relied on their physicality to control the tempo of the game. Far Post ended up falling 4-2 with some great individual efforts. Bill Pelkey was pressed into service as a linesman on the Far Post end and performed flawlessly. Dr Sheeser's professional services were also required to examine a knee injury of  an opposing forward who went down hard in a collision with Wyatt. The Far Post team was then invited for soft drinks and bitterballen back at the Valkenswaard Canteen, who provided our thirsty coach and chaperones with cold beer and crumpets.

Back at the Hostel, the boys have been playing pool and a small contingent opted to go for a swim at at the Watervrienden at Valkenswaardl with Coach Sam and Mike Sheeser. The boys worked up the nerve to perform a series of maneuvers off the 3-meter spring board with varying degrees of difficulty.

  After a quick swim, the boys needed to quaff their hair under the dryer in the changing room.

At the pool, the boys were impressed with Coach Sam's 3-meter technique as well

Later Graeme and Ethan relaxed at the Hostel bar knocking back a few Chocomels. (Ethan says he really needs calories at night.)

In Holland, they display anatomically correct bathroom signage.

Finally, Sam in his H.M.S. Pinafore kit relaxing after another hard day of work in Holland.

Tomorrow, the team heads back to Amsterdam for training at the Ajax Academy and their final game

versus Watervijk based in Almare outside Amsterdam.

Day 5: April 23

Evening everyone.

To start, some pics of a great night in Maastrict, after a scrappy victory, with some sore and hungry footballers:

                                         On the way in to downtown, post-victory.

                                                   Gelato. Wyatt loves this one.

                                          Almost back to Hostel, gelato and pizza on board.

Writing now from the 3rd Stayokay hostel, this time from just south of Eindhoven (town of Valkensvaard). Real Madrid and Bayern are into the second half--Mostly, though, Sam and a small crew are sharing some laughs over awkward pictures, and most of the rest of the boys are out wilding in the dark, 10 PM Holland time.

                                         Valkensvaard, kick around.

As reassurance, there seems to be little trouble waiting for them out there at this secluded sports complex. As soon as we arrived here, after scoring tons of gear at the PSV fan store, and after the nail-biter that has become room assignments, the boys took off to a nearby field and starting kicking a ball. The weather channel showed lightning and rain,but all we found today was brilliant sun.

We had a full day today, even with no organized soccer. The 14 kilometers of dark and cold caves swallowed up the boys for almost 2 hours. Three teams raced to find clues in the old Maastrict fortifications--your boys can tell you about the times, and a small dose of good-natured controversy, but everyone had fun, and we left Maastrict with all 13 boys.

                                          The crew, all bravado, some flashlights.

                                                   Briggs and team find a clue

After we determined that the flat, battered, and fried lunch was actually cheese, and not fish, we left Maastrict for good, and unloaded at the American Cemetary. The boys were suitably reflective, and Bill Pelkey and Han, our very knowledgeable ex-Dutch Royal Marine bus driver, both provided insight and context for the experience. Sam introduced the event beautifully and the crew wandered the grounds for about an hour, before pointing the luxury coach toward Eindhoven.

                                           Read the inscription...

As a welcome twist tonight, we fired up a grill, cooked some (mostly recognizable) meats, ate a ton of fries with gravy, and mayonaisse, and are wrapping up a rest day in anticipation of training and a game again tomorrow.

                                                   The chaperones, ever-vigilant. And the fearless leader.

                                                   Difficult to classify. Hamburger?

As a sidebar, Wyatt and Nick may be drinking their 3rd Chocomel of the evening, and a large contingent of sweaty boys just came back to the light, laughing and having a blast.

Final Note: boys on their way to bed, 11:30 PM, after a team meeting. Sam tells us that they got through some good processing.

More later.

Day 4: April 22

The boys won their second game, 7-5.

Day 3: April 21

This morning, the boys began training with KNVB coaches Leo and Ber at Scharn Futbol Training Facility in Maastrict. They had a session in the morning and one in the afternoon followed by a game versus the RKVVM futbol club at 6:30 PM. Many towns in the Netherlands have community supported soccer clubs with a clubhouse, canteen and locker rooms. The boys marched out together with coach Sam.

It was the worst of times and then it was Patrick's time. The boys were a bit deflated and disheartened being down 0-2 at the end of the first half, but came storming back in the second half and scored within the first minute of play. From there it was all Far Post as the boys put on a scoring display. Nico absolutely drilled a shot from 40 yards out. Then Wyatt shot around a wall on a free kick. In the end, Sam's master stroke to move Patrick up front made a huge difference in the game as Patrick proceeded to rack up a hat trick plus one. Our RKVVM hosts and provided a small cup of free beer and flat pepsi, which we had to pay for. (but seriously they were gracious.)

The boys had their first team meeting after the game and were excited to have won so convincingly despite having a full day of training and still recovering from jet lag. Journal spines were broken and Sam had the boys consider some interesting questions. The boys went to bed walking like old chaperones, but looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.

Day 2: April 20

The focus today was Dutch culture. The boys started out with a 7am run with Coach Sam to a nearby park in Amsterdam, where they stopped to play a game of pick-up soccer. The sun could be seen rising over the canals of Amsterdam, it was a perfect start to what turned out to be a beautiful day of sightseeing. 

After breakfast, we were dropped at the Anne Frank house in downtown Amsterdam where the group was disappointed to find a 2+ hour line for entry. We decided to spend that time exploring other areas of the city rather than standing in line. We traversed the city, crossing numerous canals and dodging bikers, until we ended up at the Rijks Museum. The boys got a taste of Dutch master's Van Gogh and Rembrandt. It can truly be said the the building that housed these works was just as impressive as the pieces of art themselves. After a quick lunch it was off to Rotterdam (Holland's 2nd largest city) for the Dutch Cup Final. 

In the final it was minnows PEC Zwolle against the overwhelming favorites, Ajax. With the sound of the first whistle, all of our expectations were shattered. A flair storm from the Ajax stand disturbed the opening play, with stewards rushing on to the pitch to clear things off so play could resume. However, an early goal inside 5 minutes triggered another deluge of flairs, forcing the referee to put the match on pause while things calmed down.

 The players left the playing area while Ajax legend Edwin van der Sar came out with a microphone, pleading for the fans to quit disrupting the game. 20 minutes later play resumed. From that point on it was all Zwolle, who ran out worthy 5-1 winners. We were seated just on the fringes of the Zwolle supporters section, who were in full voice for the duration of the match. As disappointing as Ajax were, Zwolle were brilliant and showed what happens when you underestimate your opponent. 

After seeing the cup hoisted, we boarded the bus in our beer-drenched clothes from all of the wild celebrations, and headed for Maastrict. We checked into the hostel at 11:30pm and are heading straight for bed, with tomorrow marking day 1 of training followed by our first match.