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RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

CATCHING RAYS IN CALIFORNIA 25th March 2008

I forgot to mention in yesterday's journal that the team was "fried" yesterday. Our pasty team from the wintry Canadian northlands, even covered in handfuls of sun screen, was a sun ray magnet. There were some lobster pink body parts on full display in the evening, and this morning the burns have turned to a deeper red. I have to give a special mention to Mel Booth who now looks like she has said something rude and is constantly blushing. For runners-up awards, I should also mention Sophie's one shin that took the brunt of some especially strong UV rays, and Clare Rustad and Shelby (our massage therapist) who have acquired deep cherry red complexions.

This morning was much like yesterday's morning. WE started with breakfast, followed by TV time. Training was again at 11:00 am, and people came even more prepared for the sun this time, with 65 SPF sun block for faces, and sports sun screen for the rest of the body. I played mother hen and tried to make sure all the little chicks had doused themselves as much as they possibly could, I am therefore certain that at least one of these girls took a great deal of satisfaction from the fact ' that I burned my lips to a crisp today. The one thing I forgot…. The one darn thing!

Training, like yesterday, was a long one, but also sharp and focused. I thought we looked lively and sharp, and there was some good stuff on display for the Men's college team who came to cheer us on ….. at least, it was a kind of "cheering on."

The session ended with a fitness drill run by our goalie coach Paul Rogers. I don't know the real name of the drill but I have nicknamed it the "hell box." There are 8 cones forming a circle, basically four cones for the corners and four to fill in the gaps. Each cone has two girls on it. There are two balls, starting at either side of the grid and for 5 minutes we had to pass the ball around the square and then sprint across the square to the opposite cone. This sounds easy enough, but as you fatigue passes can go a little off course and when passes aren't perfect a whistle blows. This is the signal for the whole team to sprint one full turn of the circle. You have two touches on the ball, and you have to make sure that your pass never touches the cone or goes inside it. The more mistakes you make, the more fatigued you become and so the evil circle continued. We did three sets of this drill, and I can guarantee that we soon became very careful with our passes.

Lunch was sandwiches, exactly what we all were craving, so far the food receives an 'A' mark. We did little in the afternoon, just some socializing, some physio and some TV. I am sure everyone knows how a lazy afternoon goes. I am just off to supper now, nursing my painful lips, and with my fingers crossed that we get through the day without having a meeting called.