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RHIAN'S SOCCER JOURNALS:

BIRTHDAYS AND PRACTICE 17th February 2010

These last few days have been big ones in terms of Women's National Team's player birthdays. Coach Carolina Morace had a birthday on 5th February, Sasha Andrews on 14th February, Marie-Eve Naud on 16th February, not to mention my friends Kelley, Kayla and Mari whose birthday is today, the 17th February. Happy birthday to all!

This morning we were up at 8:30 am, and I have to admit that my body is a little sore. Yesterday's practice was a light one, at least in terms of training. But running on grass when you have been used to running on treadmills or snow and ice, hurts. Of course, I am delighted to be in warm sunny Cyprus running on grass at this time of year, but it will take a few more days for my body to get used to the experience.

We had training again this morning, but this time at 10:00 am. We worked on shape and did some sprint testing. I am pretty sure that I am not alone in being sore today, so our sprint times could not have been that good. However., having said this, Caley Miskimmin did run a 3.05 seconds in the 20 yard test: Pretty impressive.

We had about an hour of downtime between training sessions. Sincy, KK, D, Cindy and I spent the time sitting at the lunch table trying to summon the energy to switch out of our old training gear and into our brand new one. We eventually made it, and with about ten minutes to spare. Then it was back out to the field for the next session.

We did some work on offensive play patterns, a session on fast foot work and then we got to play. Everyone bucked up at this, even though we are all a little rusty at the moment. This has been a long winter, so we are all pleased about being here in the sun this early and getting in some extra training and a game against Poland before the tournament itself actually starts.

By the time we all returned to the hotel, the squad was exhausted, down to the last woman. The combination of training, jetlag, and staying up late last night to watch the Manchester United vs Inter Milan Champions league game has taken its toll. I don't think our coaches were thrilled about 90% of the Canadian players cheering on United against the Italians!

I am planning on trying to stay awake for the Arsenal game, but plans often change. I am definitely struggling to keep my eyes open already.