A GOOD DAY AT NWT TRAINING CAMP  20th May 2010

Today was was the first day of one-a-day practice sessions - always nice. We had a quiet and relaxing morning, and, I could not have asked for anything more. The weather has been warm, sunny and beautiful here in Washington, so the whole team has been indoors, sheltering from the sun.

Just to prepare for the afternoon, I went to enjoy a Starbuck's chai latte, then hit my maths books to catch up on my distance learning program. I enjoy the down times and they are a good chance to catch up on my homework.

The afternoon practice went well, even though the weather conditions were really hot and all the gnats in Washington seemed to have assembled at our practice field.

We must have been quite a sight as we swatted at gnats, swore at gnats, and slapped ourselves at gnats, in vain attempts to rid ourselves of the pests. Now I know how the Philadelphia Flyers felt about the Canadiens in last night's hockey play-off game.

However, the training was tough, especially as we spent the first 40 minutes doing conditioning training with Mario, our fitness coach. He does not make us do fitness in the traditional, Canadian sense, but rather has us doing fast footwork, jumping and agility things. It is different to what we are used to, but trust me when I say that his activities and drills definitely get the heart-rate up.

Soccer practice after working out with Mario comprised of some pattern play for positions before we moved on to an inter-squad game. We are all still a little rusty, but we are definitely getting better. When I say "rusty' I do not mean that players are out of shape, or haven't played for a while, but rather that we have not played with one another in the team patterns. This is obviously critically important for we defenders. In defence, one becomes used to playing with Club teammates and it always takes a few days to work back into the rhythm of playing with your National teammates.