What have I been doing the last month?

No running I can tell you that. I tried out a few short runs last month but still didn't feel I was well enough over my injuries. I don't feel like I'm missing out on much as it's still the middle of winter here and very wet, certainly not nice weather for running (though I know you folk in North America put up with a lot worse in your winters!). So my aim is to stay away from any impact training until at least spring and build back up to some distance running for our summer.



It's been a busy month at home too with Michelle's parents staying with us for a month while they renovate there property having now returned home from their nine month tour of North America. We also had my mother staying for two weeks over the school holidays. It all made for a very full and often entertaining household. Some might think that a month of your in laws staying is enough to drive anyone crazy, but we all get on okay so it was all good. It helps that Jan is a great in kitchen and Bruce (yes another Bruce!) acts as a punching bag for the boys.



Here's a photo of them and the kids from when we were in Vancouver recently.







The other milestone in the household this month was Sam's 5th birthday party. With both boys now being at school it's like we're moving on as a family ahead into a new stage of our lives , leaving the pre school days behind us. Sam has taken to school really well and had been literally counting down the days until he could join his big brother each day. It's also a big challenge ahead for Michelle. Having put her Legal Exec career on hold seven years ago to stay at home with the boys, she is now going to be looking to re enter the work force on a part time basis.






Until next time, happy running.

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Resting Up

It has been ten days now since my last run, a 5.8 mile loop that takes me around the Orakei Basin in Auckland. I'll write some more about the route in another post but lets say it is a very scenic run that includes a section along the Tamaki Drive waterfront, which on a fine summers day is a great place to be, even if the running is not going as good as one may like.

Throughout the run I was dogged by an aching left foot and my shin was a little sore as well. The foot problem is one that I had thought I had overcome as whilst in some recent runs it would be a bit tight to start with, I had been able to run through it recently if I just concentrated on maintaining a relaxed easy running style. Perhaps I was a bit tense and was not able to relax as much as I would have liked. I knew this run was going to be pushing it for me as in the week prior I had already completed two 40 minute runs and 50 minute run and to try for another 50+ run was possibly asking for a bit much from my still recovering body (and lower legs in particular).

As it turned out I wasn't able to run through the aching foot and it stayed with me for the duration of the run, something which I'm still paying for today in the form of a constant ache in my foot.

I think also I was getting tired of the constant daily routine with would always involve some stretching or strength training of some sort. I have been maintaining the strength work for almost four months now since I started back running in October and whilst I guess it has been partly successful, in that I have lasted this long, I'm somewhat disappointed that I'm still not 100% fit.

So this last ten days, I haven't stretched once nor have I done any other sort of training, other that a short 800m swim last week. It's been a good chance to get away from having to think about any of that stuff. The shin is feeling better for the rest and I don't think I'll need anything like the four month break I had off over winter. I think anther week off running and I'll be back into it. I'll start up some strength work again this week so the legs don't get a total shock next week.

Thoughts of the Half in Rotorua in March have gone from my mind. I was probably being premature considering such an event when I'm really still on the comeback trail. I've re-evaluated my short term goals and am now just focusing on the Run Auckland series of 5 and 10 K runs over the autumn / winter. Even these will just really be fun runs as I'm probably not yet is a position to try any speed work and press for a fast time.

I haven't been sitting around idle over the last week though. We decided it was time the boy's bedrooms needed a fresh look with some new paint. They each picked a colour which we have used as a feature wall with Jack choosing a race car red and Sam a turquoise/aqua colour. We found a nice colour with a hint of green but also some light brown/ grey tones to complete both rooms. Having just finished Jack's room today (actually they share it now since we set up their buck a month or so ago), the rooms are both looking quite stunning and while the colours the boys chose are are a bit "out there" they look great now and really add a youthful feel to that end of the house. Sam's old room is really now a toy room or a spare room for when we have guests.

Have a good week.



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Holiday Pictures from Nelson

The Mapua Aquarium is an excellent little aquarium which the boys found pretty fascinating. The cool thing about this aquarium is that the let you touch the sea life.



In the jaws of a great white!.



Sammy touching a starfish.

Caving at the Ngarua Caves, on the summit of the Takaka hill. The operators of this cave give guided tours on the hour and a full of knowledge about the cave having been therefore 24 years or so. It's about a 30 minute walk through with several stops along the way to hear about the history of the cave.

The weird thing is that later that day we heard that three tourists got caught "out of their depth" and had to be rescued from the huge Harwoods Hole cave nearby. Here's a link to that story.



Back above ground after our caving experience.



Amazing stalactite formations tens of thousands of years old.

Over in Takaka went went Salmon fishing at the Anatoki Salmon fish farm. Rods are provided and all you have to do is head over to the lake, through your line in a wait one of the many Salmon to hook up. It was a sure thing really and the kids loved. The Salmon steaks were beautiful that night.





Our prized catch. Actually Michelle caught it, though she had an unfair advantage as she was feeding them extra food.

After the fishing it was off to the beautiful Tata Beach, in Golden Bay.




After my 50 minute effort last Sunday, I've had two more runs during the week. A 40 minute run (7.5 KM) on Tuesday and 54 minutes (9.3 KM) on Thursday. I'm concerned that I may have overdone it this week however and cancelled todays planned run due to the shin not feeling good. My left foot is also still sore following Thursdays run during which I had to put up with an aching foot/heel for most of the run.

So I'm not sure what I'm going to do now really. I'm a bit over it at the moment to be honest. Will keep ya posted.



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On the Run in Nelson

Hi there, I'm back from my week in sunny Nelson, well actually it's not as sunny as they claim, it was only the 4th of 5th sunniest city in NZ last year apparently.

We had a pretty good week, only two days of wet weather early in the week, during which I took the boys to Alvin & the Chipmunks which they thoroughly enjoyed, okay I laughed too. The next wet day we visited the local aquatic complex/wave pool a fair part of the day. Sam's (4) confidence in the water is really improving leaps and bounds from last summer.

I might cover in more detail some of our other activities later but they include such things as salmon fishing, caving and of course lazing on the beach.

I'll just quickly update you on some runs I've done this week and then set about catching up on some of your blogs;

- Tuesday Ran 5 k 30 minutes.

This was an early morning run along a misty and grey Tahunanui Beach. Beach running is not something I've really done any of so they sensation was a little strange. The sand was quite soft, even the wet sand near the water.

- Friday Ran 7-8 k 43 Minutes

For this run I arranged to be dropped at the start of the Abel Tasman Track in the Abel Tasman National Park. It is one of the premier walking/hiking tracks in the country which runs alongside the stunning Tasman Bay coastline for 50k or so. The idea was to get a water taxi up the coast to the first drop of some 12 km from the start and then run back. Unfortunately I just missed the taxi and had to settle for plan B which was to run in and back out again. In the end I ran in for 20 or so minutes and ran out again. It was certainly worth the effort.


- Sunday Ran 8.5 k 52 minutes

Ran from my house to one of the local beaches where I met Michelle and the boys. It was a great cooling off in the water (quite a bit warmer than Nelson too I'll add) after such a hot run. Temp must have been around 25 deg C today.


I'll be going into some more detail about these and other runs at a later date in a new series of posts which I'm calling "The Places I Run" where I'll try and describe the local terrain together with some pics of our lovely country.


The shins are hanging in there and don't seem to be too much of an issue at present. Here's hoping they stay that way.


Have a great week.


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2007 in Review

We've had a relatively quiet Christmas this year, with the only family around being my Dad and Michelle's Nana. The rest of our immediate family are wide spread with M's parents in San Francisco at present, my Sister in England (expecting their second child any day now) and my Mum and M's Sister in Nelson.

Still we had a cool Christmas, just at home with my Dad and M's Nana coming over for Christmas lunch. They boys had a great day and were very grateful for all the presents they received. Favourites for Sam were a Star Wars Light saber and a Cricket set while Jack's favourite was a new battery operated train set. They each also got a new scooter each which are getting a great amount of use.



I had Thursday and Friday off work and they have been mainly spent relaxing at home though he weather has been good enough to get us all down to the beach on both days for a quick cool off in the water.

As we come to the end of 2007 I thought we would have a look back at year by delving into some interesting numbers summing up the past year;

319 - Miles run
39 - Hours run
421000 - Number of steps run ( based on 180 per minute)
1500 - Ice cubes melted icing shins
40000 - Meters swam
4 - Months I had off running
85 - Litres of Powerade drunk
100 - Hours of stretching (excludes any pre or post run stretching)
80 - Number of posts to the blog
85 - Weight at start of the year (kg's)
89 - Weight at end of the year (I put the increase down to less running in the second half!)
23 - Finish time in my first ever 5 K race back in April.

The Shin Report

The shin actually feels like its taken a bit of a backward step this week. I'm starting to notice it more in my last two or three runs. I had a check up with the physio on Thursday and she has given me some more exercises to strengthen abs, quads and glutes. Calf exercises and stretching continues. We are suspected possible weaknesses in those areas might also be a factor. I've had to basically write a training plan mixing all the exercises up over two days otherwise I would be at it for up to an hour a night.

Training this week has been as follows;

Sunday - Run 65 minutes (a very slow 10K had the boys tagging along on bikes for the first half).
Monday - Swim 30 Minutes
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Run 30 Minutes
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Run 35 Minutes

That's all folks, hope you all have a great New Year.


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What to do after watching your national team self destruct?

Below is my first attempt at posting a video from You Tube. Perhaps check it out then return to this post.

So to what do after watching your national team self destruct?

Being the last day of the school holidays we had a nice family day out and headed for the beach and then followed that with a little bush walk. We visited Wenderholm beach, about 25 minutes north of us. It was a beautiful day, quite warm considering it is still spring. They boys played in the sand and paddled in the water while I lay on the beach taking in the suns rays while contemplating how on earth we could have lost that game.




When we were done at the beach having polished off one of Michelle's great bacon and egg pies, we headed for a bit of a walk in the trails nearby.

Here's the start of the trail and a Maori carving at the entrance to the trail. No the trail is not all this smooth!







Taking a rest half way up the hill....



and another rest at the top.




But what about the view!




The trails in this regional park would make for some great trail running and I hope to be back some day to run them. The full trail is just short of 5km so two laps of that would see me doing two decent climbs and almost 10km.

That's all from me, hopefully we will be able to bounce back after our disappointment of today, but I expect to encounter a fair amount of depression in the next few days.

Happy running and have a good week.

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Boys Weekend

It's not what you think.

Michelle was in Rotorua over the weekend (Thursday Night thru Midday Sunday) with her Netball team for an end of season tournament. By the sounds of it there was more partying than Netball, but I guess that's what happens on Netball/sports tours right?

So that meant it was a boys long weekend at home with me firstly taking Friday off to drop Jack and Sam off and pick them up from school/pre school. In between those duties it was back home to tidy the mess that had been left then it was down to check out the brand new Westfield Albany mall that opened last week just up the road from us. It's your standard shopping mall and wasn't there to shop, just curious that's all.

It was then back home to mow the lawns and do a bit of section tidy up before I was out the door again to pick the boys up.

Saturday was a quiet day mainly at home though we ventured out for a couple of hours around to M's Nana's old unit which she has recently vacated for a retirement village. M's parents needed some help around there moving some stuff. It was then back home and we biked up to the local playground for a bit of fun on the slides, then back home for some computer games. M's parents had kindly invited us over to their place for dinner which was gratefully accepted. I am fortunate to have a good relationship with my in laws and they of course love to spend time with the boys too.

We were soon home and boys were in bed by 8pm (a little late for them) and I settled in to watch the New Zealand Warriors seal 4th spot on the premiership table with a 24-20 win over Penrith in the NRL thus also setting up a home semi final next week.

Fathers day Sunday and the boys brought out their presents (some much needed clothes)and then set out to make me some breakfast (toast) while I was laying in bed. I could hear the toaster was getting a bit of a hammering so while the thought was nice I sort of took over at this stage and ended up making toast for them.

After breakfast it was time for another big clean up, clearing up two days of mess before M was home. Boys were a little scratchy today obviously still tired (Jack just can't sleep past 6 AM it seems). Fathers Day lunch was up at the retirement village with M's parents and Nana and M turned up a little early than expected so was able to join us for lunch as well. Boys had a swim in the complexes indoor pool which they loved. The swimming lessons we have enrolled them in since they were toddlers are really starting to pay off. They both have great confidence in the water.

M's has nothing but great stories about the girls weekend and is already talking about next year. Now when was that next golfing weekend of mine? November i think!

Training remains uneventful. Only a swim, aqua run and body balance class last week.

Some slight improvement in the shins/ heel bit it remains slow. I'm still doing a range of stretches 3-4 times a week so I don't lose any flexibility I have. Now that my one month LMI membership is up I'm going to attend a weekly yoga class to keep working on the flexibility. The class i've settled on is a Bikram Yoga class near my work at this place.

I haven't been doing as much weight training as I intended so this week I will get back to that also aiming for one morning a week.

The slow progress is a disappointing so if there not much more improvement by the end of this week I will go back to a physio to seek some more advise. I might try the Millennium Sports Institute on the North Shore this time, which seems to have a range of health professionals all at the one facility.

Finally, just an update on Jack's Soccer season which finished last weekend. Of 14 games played they won 5, lost 5 & drew 4 scoring 20 goals, conceding 16. After a shaky start those five wins came in the last eight matches. Not bad for a rookie coach eh. Jack didn't make it to the score sheet but is never the less enthusiastic. Everyone seems keen to keep the team together next year so hopefully we will be a stronger unit for having our first year behind us. It's also been said that once you start coaching kids sport you won't be allowed to give it up!

Have a good week.

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Still waiting to Run

The long wait continues as I am still not ready to lace up the running shoes, well not to run anyway. I won't go on about all the boring details but let me just say this rehab thing is a slow process. Nothing happens quickly.

I started the week with two nights down in far south of the country in Dunedin and Invercargill, two cities I had never been to before so that was something a bit different.

The temperatures down there were verging on zero, a good ten degrees C lower than what we usually get up here in Auckland at this time of the year. On my drive down to Invercargill on Monday afternoon the roadside and surrounding hills were blanketed by a good covering of snow from the night before. Here are a few photos from the trip.



Tahakopa Bay, Southland. Almost as far south on the NZ mainland as you can go. Looks perfect but imagine it at almost zero degree C with a brisk southerly blowing (read northerly for any northern hemisphere readers).



Catlins River mouth, Southland.

My only workout this week has been while in Dunedin on the hotels elliptical trainer and bike.

Monday night I saw Die Hard 4 in Invercargill. I always have been a keen Bruce Willis fan and this movie didn't disappoint. Lots of action filled with unbelievable stunts.

Tuesday afternoon /evening I was stuck at Christchurch airport for five hours after Air New Zealand decided to cancel two flights back to Auckland. Eventually got home at 10.30pm.

Wednesday night Michelle and I watched a movie at home, Michelle's choice this one, The Holiday with Cameron Diaz & Kate Winslet. Not quite Die Hard but it was okay I guess.

Thursday slept in so missed morning workout then left my gear bag at home so couldn't swim at lunch time, not that I was too fussed to be honest.

Today, another rest day.

The weekend, I will go to the gym tomorrow. Not sure yet whether I'll do Body Pump, Body Balance or just go on the bike. Sunday I'm playing a game of golf.




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Heading South

I have not done much in the way of training since my last post. Just a Bodypump class at the gym on Thursday morning.

I must also admit to starting to get a little lazy with my stretching routine. I seem to have dropped the daily stretching in favour of two to three times a week, plus the Body Balance class.

I would estimate I'm still several weeks away from running again, so I can pick this up again later if I feel more is needed.

This morning started with a fine 2-0 win for Jack's Soccer team. The team has really come on strongly in recent weeks. From out last six games we have four wins, a draw and a loss. We have scored ten goals and conceded two. Overall for the season to date we have played 13, won 5, drawn 4 and lost 4. It's amazing the improvement some of the kids have made since our first few outings. From starting out with two or three stand out players we now have a team where everyone is contributing which I think has been the reason for the success in these last six games.

Today Michelle has left for a bit of a girls weekend with her mum and some work mates to Waiheke Island for the night. After seeing her off on the ferry the boys and I went up to Mairangi Bay beach for a picnic before heading home for the afternoon.

Tomorrow afternoon I am heading off to Dunedin on a work trip for two nights. I've never been to Dunedin before so it will be a good chance to have a bit of a look around. I have meetings Monday morning but the afternoon will be spent driving the Southern Scenic Route to Invercargil, the southern most city of New Zealand. Again I've never been this far south so I hope to take in a bit of the scenery on the way.

Again, as with my last trip, I will hopefully be making use of the hotel's gym facilities.

Have a good weekend.

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Injuries, Beach Fun and Sick Kids

It's three weeks to go until I even contemplate running again and to be honest I'm not even sure that I'll be ready then.

My shin still doesn't 'feel' 100% right. I'm sure you will know what I mean when I say that. Some how you just get that feeling that it's not fully healed yet. I've also got the slight bruising on my heel and somehow I've picked up a bit of a knee strain, I'm guessing through the increased weight training I've been doing in recent weeks as there's nothing else I can really put that down to.

It seems I'm going through more ice than ever before on the heel and knee together with the shin when that flares up. How ironic. During my rehab I manage to pick up more injuries!!

I know they're only minor annoyances that I probably shouldn't bother too much about (who doesn't carry injuries right?), but I would have liked to come out of this period injury free if at all possible. My one major goal remains to get on top of the shin splints as I know that once I've beaten that anything else should clear up in time.

Here are some shots of Takapuna Beach taken on the weekend. It's a superb beach right in the heart of Auckland's North Shore great for walking, running or just lazing in the sun. The weekend brought us two contrasting days from a mostly fine Saturday to Sunday when the wind and rain got up. It didn't stop the boys though from having a great time playing at waters edge chasing the waves. The island in the background is Rangitoto an old extinct volcano that last erupted around 600 years ago.







This week both the boys have been home sick. Michelle took Jack to the doctor today and evidently he has a swollen ear drum which was very close to bursting. He's on antibiotics now which will hopefully settle that down.

As a result of a few unsettled nights I've missed my early morning workouts. I did make it to Body Balance last night however and am loving that. It's a mixture of Pilates, Yoga and core strengthening and I can really sense the benefit I'll be getting from it.

Monday lunch time I got to the pool running session and tomorrow morning hopefully I'll be up early and into the gym for Bodypump. Friday lunch time will be a swim.

Have a great rest of the week, happy running.




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Injury & Rehab Update

I'm in week five of the eight week rest and reconditioning period I set myself as I try to overcome the shin splints that have been dogging me for most of my running 'career'.

The last four weeks have seen me biking, aqua running and swimming once a week, with two weight lifting workouts a week also. I'm also stretching and doing strengthening exercises on the muscles around the shin/ankle area.

Occasionally my shin still reminds me that its not 100%, so I know more rest is still needed. Somehow I've bruised my heal however and I think I did this while doing the shin strengthening exercises, one of which involves standing a foot out from a wall on your heals while flexing the fore foot up and down. I'll play it safe and keep clear of that one.

Last weekend while at soccer (which we won 3-0) I was given a prize for referee of the day which entitles me to a months free membership at our local Les Mills gym. What perfect timing I thought. Four more weeks of rehab and I get landed with a one month gym membership!

So I was right in there on Monday morning trying out the elliptical trainer and bike. Tuesday morning I did a Body Pump class and Tuesday night I did a Body Balance class.

Wednesday is my rest day but I'm out of the house and into work early so I can get off early to take Jack's Soccer practice.

All these early starts mean I don't see the boys in the morning and it is amazing how you miss them when you only see them for an hour or so in the evenings before they're in bed. Michelle said the boys really miss me in the mornings too.

So today I went for a swim at lunch time which means I can stay home a bit later and see the boys. It was worth it too as Sam came up and gave me a cuddle this morning and said he loved me. It's really nice to hear them say things like that.

I've only got three more weeks at the gym though and really mornings are the only time I can go (the gym is not near my work so I can't go at lunch time). Evenings are out as that just means I won't see the boys at night. I'll go for two morning workouts a week, plus the Tuesday night Body Balance after they're in bed. That leaves me one early morning weight session in my garage and a swim one lunch time and the weekend bike ride.

As you can see I'm definitely not resting up, I'm just not running!!



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Sam's Birthday

Here's some shots from Sam's fourth birthday party yesterday.



The kids loved the bouncy castle we hired from this place. It was great entertainment for the kids. We were so lucky with the weather as only 36 hours beforehand we had a big storm come through with winds approaching 200 kph in parts of the region. Fortunately all that we last was a lemon tree.



Sam has been counting down the days with much excitement for about the last ten days. He would proudly come out of his bedroom each morning announcing how many more sleeps till his birthday. He's so excited to be a big four year old now. It must be a big thing for a kid to no longer be a little three year old!



After the party we had a relaxing afternoon at home, putting together all the new lego. We ended the day by deciding to go out for a meal to our local Speights Ale House. The boys ordered fish and chips and by the time Sam had finished his all he wanted to do was sleep. We were not even half way through our meals and Sam was asleep in Michelle's arms. It was enough for Michelle to shed a tear or two as she could not believe her baby was now a big four year old.

Here's one more shot of the boys that I love. Jack had a crazy hair day for the last day of the school term the other week and Sam thought he would join in the fun. Jack's fat lip is the result of a collision at school with another kid.



Week three of my recovery programme as been a little uneventful. I missed my Thursday aqua running session due to the party and then decided on a sleep in this morning rather than my weights, opting to make up for it with the aqua running at lunch time today.

Looks like it will be a frosty start to the morning for Jack's Soccer tomorrow.

Happy running, have good weekend.

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Facing Reality, Kids Soccer, Well done Canada

I said a week or two ago that I was in two minds about whether I should keep running or take another lay off to rest and recover from my ongoing shin splint troubles. I decided on giving myself three weeks to see if I could shake of the shin splints with some light running over short distances, in addition to my ongoing stretching.

This last week the shin made my mind up for me and now I'm facing the reality of another lay off. This time I'm thinking I'll just take an extended break of maybe six to eight weeks rest, while at the same time continuing with other forms of cross training and strengthening work to hopefully enable me to come back fitter and stronger.

The week started with a 7.7 km (4.8 mile) easy run at around 5:30 pace. Right from early on the shin was feeling a little sorer than it has been in the recent outings. The other common nuisance of mine, the numb foot, also reappeared at about the 30 minute stage again to add to my problems.

Two days later I was taking to the roads again, but I pulled the pin within minutes as the shin was just too sore. I could not imagine that I would be doing myself any favours by continuing on. I new then and there that my time was up and that I would again be confined to the pool or the bike.

I need to figure out some sort of training routine over the next few days or week, that will get me back onto the roads by September. As much as I find swimming to be a drag, I'll fit in one swim a week, one session aqua running, one or two bike rides. I would also like to start some weight training again (weights have been sitting untouched in the garage for months). I keep reading that Yoga is good for assisting runners with their flexibility, so I need to look into that as well.

On the family front, we have all been crook this weekend, Jack as had a cold for several days now, then yesterday Sam , Michelle and I all come down with a stomach bug. Fortunately while we were still not 100% today the worst is over.

It also seems to be the season for birthday parties. I took Sam to a friends 4th birthday this morning and Jack to his mate's 6th birthday this afternoon. Next weekend they are both off to another party each. Theirs come up in July and August and the planning has already started. A bouncy castle on the front lawn apparently?

Jack's soccer is going well. The team has a record from their eight games so far this season of two wins, three draws and four losses. Yesterdays result was a 0-1 loss with the opposition scoring in the final minute of the game. Our team is a mixture of kids who have good amount of skill to those that just want to get their foot on the ball no matter what direction it goes, to some that show little interest and spend half the game in a day dream. Jack is not our most skilled player, but he tries hard and he enjoys it. The challenge is to get the kids to play in some sort of formation and think about playing as a team and looking for a fellow team member to pass to if they are in a better position. We keep on practicing this and slowly we are getting there.

Finally, well done to the Canadian Rugby team who put on a brave showing against the All Blacks last night in Hamilton. The All Blacks were the victors by 64-13 but given many in the media were predicting a 100 point spread Canada did well to limit it to half that.



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Reflections of an amateur Soccer Coach

On a slightly different subject today - Soccer - Midgets Soccer.

 

We have just joined Jack up with the local Soccer club. It's his first ever involvement in sport and today was our first of no doubt many trips over coming years to the local sports fields for Saturday morning kids sport.

As if that is not enough, somehow I have managed to land the job of Coach. Now I'm hardly and expert on the fine game and in fact I do not even watch it that much. One night however when the club phoned the house enquiring as to whether we would have any interest in coaching Jack's team, Michelle somehow volunteered my services.

It soon dawned on me that people were not exactly people queuing up to take on the job and that if it wasn't to be me then there was every chance the team would be coach less. Thus that was my first experience of children's sporting teams, without parents taking a key interest in the team and taking responsibility for some tasks including team management and coaching then nothing will happen. The club can only offer so much support but at the end of the day our success will be determined by the effort we put in. I should say that I have appointed Michelle as Manager of all off field matters a job which she is performing splendidly.

Flash back to Wednesday evening and it was the much anticipated first practice where Jack would get to meet his team mates and the Coach would get to meet the parents. We have a squad of eight players (six boys and two girls) all aged about five or six. After meeting all the parents and delivering a bit of hurriedly put together introduction of myself we got under way. The Internet is indeed a fine thing and I was able to find a number of practice drills specifically for under 8 years olds. I chose three of these which seemed to go quite well. I wrapped the practice up with a four on four mock game which was a little chaotic (if you can imagine half a dozen kids all trying to kick a ball at once).

In general everyone seemed happy with the way it went. As with most teams there are a couple of players who stand out and appear to have some obvious skill for their age so with any luck we might have a good season ahead.

Onto this mornings game... it a bright and early start and we were out of the house at 7.30am for the 8.00am kick off. In Jack's grade we play five a side for 12 minute halves and with no goal keepers and unlimited substitutions. As well as Coach I also double as referee for one half. Jack's team, which is named 'The Scorers' opens the scoring with a well taken goal midway through the first half. The opposition, Puhoi, responded with a fine goal of their own right on the half time hooter. The Scorers had the better of the run of play in the second half but just could not finish off any of the attacks they mounted on Puhoi's goal, putting several shots just wide of the posts. Unfortunately for The Scorers, Puhoi took their one and only goal scoring chance of the half and finished up the victors by 2-1.
 

Some thoughts on the first game;

- all the kids enjoyed themselves
- there were some good touches and ball control evident and the players were not as bunched as I thought they might have been.
- managing the substitutions can get a little confusing. I need a systems to ensure everyone gets a fair amount of game time. Another parent was helping out with this from the sideline which was a great help.
- if nothing else, Jack is wrapped that I'm the coach of his team. He often tells me that he loves me being his soccer coach which is nice to hear.

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