Off to play ze Germans!

Today, we are on our way to Mannheim, Germany for a couple of matches against ze Germans over the weekend as preparation for the World League Semi-Finals.

What I love about our programme at the minute is that we are training a lot, but we are also playing a lot. This weekend is another chance to play against world class opposition and measure ourselves against what is considered the yard stick.

Having lost 3/3 last week in Belgium, we are now looking to put the polish on our long periods of possession, and score some more goals.

The last time we played against Germany, we won 5-2 in the Champions Trophy. Both squads have been added to since then, so I’m actually really excited about getting started.

Match Report: England vs Belgium 06/06/2013

We are getting so much closer to the performances needed to win a lot of International matches, but we are making too many school boy errors in critical areas.

We have dominated long parts of matches this week, but now it’s time to learn the lessons of International hockey and do what really matters: be ruthless in attacking and defending circle.

We are in a learning and development phase at the minute, and I’m glad to be part of a team that plays good hockey. Now though, our challenge is to become a team that plays good hockey and wins.

Congrats to my Reading teammate James Bailey on making his Senior International debut.

Below is the match report from England Hockey:

Match report: England vs Belgium 04/06/2013

At the final whistle, I felt deflated. With less than a minute on the clock, I received a ball at top circle with my back to goal turned and hit the bar. They then went down the other end to win a corner and score in stoppage time. We may have still lost the game if my shot had gone in, but losing 3-2 is completely different to losing 4-1.

Again, our 2nd half performance was much better than our 1st as we started to dominate large spells of play. We. Are a team that are growing in confidence and the obvious next step is that everyone in the team desperately wants to get on the ball and make a difference; not all by being an Ashley Jackson and carrying it, but by getting the ball ahead of the defence and executing their role like it really matters.

We still have one more game against Belgium this trip, which means we have a game to win.

Congrats to Phil Roper who made his Senior International debut tonight. A great young player who has a lot to offer international hockey.

Below is the match report that England Hockey published after the game tonight.

I’ve never looked forward to a 3 day training camp as much as I do now

In February, I was told that, 3 weeks prior, I had torn the posterior cruciate ligament in my right knee during the Indoor Super Sixes finals day at Wembley Arena. At the time I remember feeling as though my world was crashing down. Every plan I had made and every step I had taken towards fulfilling my dream of playing in the London 2012 Olympics seemed to be wasted as I saw my chances of getting back to full fitness for the warm up tournaments in time a tall order.

It has been a tough time for me but I have tried to stay positive throughout. It has given me the time to work on thing s that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to work on, such as my core strength, balance, flexibility, and resting old niggling injuries. It has been tough for me not only because I have not had the opportunity to fight for my squad place, but have had to sit and watch others train and play in the position I hope to be occupying; it has also been tough because I have had to watch my club side, East Grinstead win the league by 11 points but then lose out on becoming Champions after losing to Beeston in the Playoff Final, and then we lost to Reading in the last 16 of the Euro Hockey League. It was a really hard two weeks as I had to miss two crucial club games so that I could be in better form for Summer Internationals. Selfish, but right now, I need to be.

But now, all of that waiting, patience, and countless hours of rehab, are just about to pay off. The last few weeks have been really encouraging and I have made some serious progress. I am now in a position where I am completing full speed, conditioning, agility and weights sessions, and have been doing light to medium hockey sessions (unopposed). On Thursday however, I will be back in full training with the GB squad at our training camp from Thursday through to Saturday.

It is going to be physically demanding as I haven’t played outdoor hockey this calender year and am being thrown into a 3 day training camp with a team that is at the peak of their fitness… but I like a challenge.

I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to fighting to earn a place in one / some / all of the International tournaments this Summer.

Wish me luck.