U-18 day 7

Hello all!

Rach squared here. Today we had an early start to the day. We woke up at 7:30 and had a quick breakfast of cereal and toast and after that we had time to get our belongings together to leave. We left at 8:50 to play at a gym where we had already practiced and play a few games. On the bus before we left the house we received an inspirational pep talk from the one and only Paul “Paul so Hard” Chan/Paulparazzi. After a short ride on the bus we arrived at the gym. We got there a while before the other team so we had time to go over our goals for the game and get PUMPED. The game started slow but our intensity picked up after we began talking and encouraging one another on defence. This intensity helped us achieve our first victory!! We had little to no time to celebrate though, because our next game started very soon at a different gym. After we had all piled onto the bus for our next game we all ate a small fruit snack to keep our energy up. We arrived at the game and to our surprise the u16s were playing the next game instead of the u18s. It was a nice break and a great opportunity to utilize the ball cleaner the gym had (wow clean balls). The u16s played a great game and won as well! The u18s played a game right after, Katya and Kennedy played a very strong offensive and defensive game and dominated the score board as well as our hearts. Tori played a strong game in goal and kept our lead alive when we needed it the most. After the VICTORY we cooled down and got back on the bus to hit the town and the mall. Alicia found us a Hummel store in the middle of a loading dock. Once again Paul worked his magic on the heart of the store owner, who then gave us all a 50% discount off of everything and almost everyone got something! After the Hummel store we quickly went to a sports store and then hit the mall. Some of the girls found necessary items such as Hummel socks and trolls. After helping bag groceries we went to the bus and headed on home. Because we stayed at the mall for such a long time we decided to have breakfast for dinner in the form of FRENCH TOAST with berries and whipped cream. Before we could enjoy this feast we headed to the nearby pool for a swim and a soak in the hot tub. To the dismay of many, it was required to shower “European style” before getting in the pool. After facing that adventure we all hit the pool for fun on the waterslides. It was a swell old time. Once everyone was showered and changed we headed back home to the feast. Cathy and Autumn made a delicious dinner as usual and gave everyone an added treat of smoothies! We are just waiting to have a quick team meeting then off to bed! Thus concludes another day in the land of ice and elves. More on trolls later.. See you all very soon, Love Rach Squared!

U-18 day 7

Hello all!

Rach squared here. Today we had an early start to the day. We woke up at 7:30 and had a quick breakfast of cereal and toast and after that we had time to get our belongings together to leave. We left at 8:50 to play at a gym where we had already practiced and play a few games. On the bus before we left the house we received an inspirational pep talk from the one and only Paul “Paul so Hard” Chan/Paulparazzi. After a short ride on the bus we arrived at the gym. We got there a while before the other team so we had time to go over our goals for the game and get PUMPED. The game started slow but our intensity picked up after we began talking and encouraging one another on defence. This intensity helped us achieve our first victory!! We had little to no time to celebrate though, because our next game started very soon at a different gym. After we had all piled onto the bus for our next game we all ate a small fruit snack to keep our energy up. We arrived at the game and to our surprise the u16s were playing the next game instead of the u18s. It was a nice break and a great opportunity to utilize the ball cleaner the gym had (wow clean balls). The u16s played a great game and won as well! The u18s played a game right after, Katya and Kennedy played a very strong offensive and defensive game and dominated the score board as well as our hearts. Tori played a strong game in goal and kept our lead alive when we needed it the most. After the VICTORY we cooled down and got back on the bus to hit the town and the mall. Alicia found us a Hummel store in the middle of a loading dock. Once again Paul worked his magic on the heart of the store owner, who then gave us all a 50% discount off of everything and almost everyone got something! After the Hummel store we quickly went to a sports store and then hit the mall. Some of the girls found necessary items such as Hummel socks and trolls. After helping bag groceries we went to the bus and headed on home. Because we stayed at the mall for such a long time we decided to have breakfast for dinner in the form of FRENCH TOAST with berries and whipped cream. Before we could enjoy this feast we headed to the nearby pool for a swim and a soak in the hot tub. To the dismay of many, it was required to shower “European style” before getting in the pool. After facing that adventure we all hit the pool for fun on the waterslides. It was a swell old time. Once everyone was showered and changed we headed back home to the feast. Cathy and Autumn made a delicious dinner as usual and gave everyone an added treat of smoothies! We are just waiting to have a quick team meeting then off to bed! Thus concludes another day in the land of ice and elves. More on trolls later.. See you all very soon, Love Rach Squared!

U-18 Blog#3

Hi everyone!

We started day 4 in Iceland off with a two hour morning practice, which was run by the Icelandic coach of the team we played against for our first game here. It was good, we started off with a warm-up, he stressed how important a good warm-up is. We did some passing and shooting and then we finished off with a little scrimmage. After practice, we headed over to the facility where our next game would be played. We had a few hours to kill before our game so we took a walk outside, saw a heated outdoor pool and a little river where some of the girls took pictures. Once we went back inside, we started playing some card games. They got a little rowdy, I got a battle wound. Our game was against the U-16 Icelandic National A team. We lost 32-14, it was a very fast paced game. They are by far the most aggressive team I have ever played against, lots of us are covered in bruises and scratches. My jersey is even ripped. Regardless, it was a very fun game and an awesome learning experience. After our game, we watched the U-16 Alberta girls play their game. Once their game was done, both teams headed downtown for some shopping. There are lots of tourist shops, which we took advantage of. Most of us visited a little café where you could get Nutella hot chocolate, Nutella covered crepes and ice cream and whatnot. Everyone said it was delicious. On our way home, we stopped at a massive church to take a look at the outside and take some pictures. Once we got back home, we ate dinner, had some time on our phones and the headed to bed. Most of day 5 was spent at the Blue Lagoon. It’s an awesome place, beautiful inside the building and outside with the water and rocks and the nice mountains in the background. The water is so warm and there is mud everywhere that you can put on your face. We spent some time in a little cave where they had information about the Blue Lagoon. It was so relaxing. There’s a waterfall that you could stand under and get a shoulder massage, it was pretty powerful. Paul Chan took some nice team pictures of both teams in the water together. Jill and I made these weird exfoliants for each other made out of sand and mud, and then we both broke out after, which completely defeated the purpose. Rachel and Rachel saw the vine famous Jerome Jarre. A bunch of us saw him later and ran after him to try and get a picture but he had already gone into the men’s change room. I’m heartbroken. Brenna, Rachel, Rachel and Lindy got a picture with him later. We took some pictures up on the viewing platform, it was freezing but we got some good pictures. We’re back at the house now waiting for dinner, and then we’ll head out to watch a bonfire and the New Year’s Eve fireworks. We’re all looking forward to it. Thanks for reading Katya & Jill Hunter’s blog about day 4 & 5 in Iceland!!!