June wrap-up

So June was basically full of lacrosse, lacrosse, and more lacrosse.

"South Mix" team in Austria

I taught the first week, then headed down to Vienna for the Austrian Lacrosse Open. I played with a mix of girls from various southern German cities (Passau, Munich, Stuttgart, and Tuebingen) and while it’s an understatement to say we weren’t the greatest team, we definitely had the most fun. There was another American girl on the team as well, she had played in Munich the semester after I left but it was great playing with another American and we actually just met up yesterday back in the states for lunch!

The next weekend I brought about 9 or so girls from my team in Wuerzburg to a training camp in Hof, a town about 2 hours away in Bayern. I think it definitely proved to be beyond useful for the girls since they’re all beginners, and it was nice to hear most of my coaching advice wasn’t far off the mark. The camp was run by an American who is currently coaching up north in Bielefeld and I really appreciated his advice both from a player’s and coach’s perspective.

Friendly game with Hannover

Then I had a two week break from school (thank you Pentecost holidays) and I played the whole time for a US Travel team (USA Starz). We had a tournament in Berlin, a friendly game in Hannover, and ended with another tournament in Amsterdam. We came in 4th in Berlin, had a great time in Hannover, and due to a few problems ended up coming in 5th in Amsterdam (although we should have played in the semis, long story). I can’t even describe how great those two weeks were- I made some truly amazing friends, both the guys and the girls teams played well (overall) and I had so much fun. (the picture is tricky, I’m in a Hannover jersey, #22)

So I wrapped up the last week of teaching when I got back, had a very successful “see you later” party, and headed back to the US July 1st. I’ve decided to come back to Wuerzburg next year since I deferred grad school and basically have some time to kill and have no place I’d rather spend my time. I feel like I’m in the midst of a stateside summer tour for the time being, but I’m loving every minute of it!