Soccer is getting underway in Norway. On Tuesday we had a pre-season game again Stæbek, the team that was called Asker last season. This is the same team Amy Vermeulen played for in the 2008 season, and they have done very well with their recruiting and signing during the close season. And, let me just get this out early: We lost to them 5 - 1.

Although the statistics say the score was a 5-1 loss, it was not a 5-1 game. We, at Team Strommen, made some HUGE errors and gifted them a couple of goals. In addition, we did not make our opportunities count as we should have. All in all, this pre-season outing was an exercise in frustration.

Perverse as it sounds, I actually think that the game bodes well for the coming season. Except for the score line, we dominated some periods of the game, created some great scoring opportunities for ourselves and we were by far the stronger team in terms of fitness by game's end. Losing in such a humiliating manner is maddening, but I would much rather lose now when the games don't count. By the time the season starts in April, we need to worry about the score.

D and I leave with Team Strommen on 28th March 2009 for La Manga, in Andalusia, Spain. Every year the Norwegian Toppserien League hosts a pre-season tournament there: Not too shabby at all, and this Tournament should give us a better indication of where we really are compared to other teams in the league.

Tonight, training was cancelled as we had a team meeting with a woman named Marit Breivik. Marit has just stepped down as the coach of Norway's Women's handball team, and she is the most winning coach in the country's history. It would have been great to actually understand what she was saying, although I know it must have been interesting as everyone was "oohing" and "ahhing."

I did my best to keep up by reading the slides she was putting up. Of course when I say "reading, " I mean that I was doggedly looking up words in my Norwegian/English dictionary. I think I had the gist of what she was saying. I am getting pretty quick with my little book.

One thing I did catch, mostly because a teammate ( thank you Mari ), told me what Marit was saying, included that by getting annoyed at the referee, you lose an important part of your focus. To be the best, you have to be able to stay 100% focused at all times.

I had a tiny flashback to my red card in Cyprus while she was saying this, and could not agree with her more. The hard part is obviously putting that little tidbit of information to actual work. I knew when I yelled at the ref that I should have been preparing for the free-kick, but I was SO angry, that I couldn't think of anything else than helping my teammate. I am going to have to teach myself some calming techniques.

Even though the yelling may have made me momentarily feel better, I bet he isn't still thinking or dwelling on the red card he gave me. The only loser in this situation was me.