I have to start out by apologizing for not posting anything in a while. Things have gotten quite busy and I have forgotten to write. But now, I will give everyone an update on how things have been on and off the field here in Helsinki!! I just realized I haven't written since our League games began so I need to start from there. Well, unfortunately, we didn't quite kick-off the season as well as we wanted to. We lost our first game against TPS. Our effort was very disappointing and it felt like we had taken a few steps back. But the very next week we practiced extremely hard and extremely well and we made a huge turn around. That next weekend we faced the reigning Naisten Liiga Champions, Åland United. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We played very well and nearly took a point away from that game. But it ended in a 1-0 lost. However, it was full of positive moments. We were finally feeling like the HJK team I knew we could be. And I am so excited to see what we can do this season as we continue to grow and improve TOGETHER!
This past week we started by attending "HJK Cup" which was an event held in Sonera Stadium for all HJK teams, young and old, to attend and interact. It was so much fun to meet some young HJK girls and sign some autographs :) Also this week we had a break from Naisten Liiga games so we used that as a chance to put in some work. We had some extra sessions and did some speed and endurance testing. My favorite part of the week was getting to play MPS again and get some revenge from our last Cup game against them. It was a chance to prove how far we've come in such a short time and we really showed it to them! We clearly dominated that game and ended up winning 5-1. I was also so relieved to get my first goal of the season. Even though it was a training game, getting that first goal always relieves some pressure and adds some confidence. Now we will continue to prepare for our next game against Honka.
Off the field, things have started to pick up. I am coaching all different ages of HJK youth girl players every Wednesday at an open practice they can attend. It's been lots of fun and challenges me as a coach which is always good! I have also started working with a guy here in Helsinki on making an English version of a soccer coaching computer program he has created. He has a Finnish version already out and we are looking to get the English version ready this summer before I head back home to the states. It's been really cool working with him and I'm looking foward to using the program and getting others as excited about it as I am :) I've picked up another side job just for this week. There are UEFA U19 Women's Elite Round games being played here in Finland. Serbia, England, Denmark and Finland are all playing each other to see who will move on to the next round. In these kinds of tournaments, each team is assigned a "Liason Officer" to help the team with anything they may need. Well one of my teammates and I are the liasons for the Denmark team. It's been a fairly easy job and my teammate and I have worked out a great system. She talks to all the Finnish people and then I pass along the information to the Denmark team :) So as you can see my time outside of soccer has started to get filled up which is actually really nice. If you know me at all, you know I like to stay busy.
That's about all I have to fill you in on about my time here thus far. I hope to update this more often. And keep checking the HJK website for my writings, "Luda's Letters." A new one should be out very soon!!
This past week we started by attending "HJK Cup" which was an event held in Sonera Stadium for all HJK teams, young and old, to attend and interact. It was so much fun to meet some young HJK girls and sign some autographs :) Also this week we had a break from Naisten Liiga games so we used that as a chance to put in some work. We had some extra sessions and did some speed and endurance testing. My favorite part of the week was getting to play MPS again and get some revenge from our last Cup game against them. It was a chance to prove how far we've come in such a short time and we really showed it to them! We clearly dominated that game and ended up winning 5-1. I was also so relieved to get my first goal of the season. Even though it was a training game, getting that first goal always relieves some pressure and adds some confidence. Now we will continue to prepare for our next game against Honka.
Off the field, things have started to pick up. I am coaching all different ages of HJK youth girl players every Wednesday at an open practice they can attend. It's been lots of fun and challenges me as a coach which is always good! I have also started working with a guy here in Helsinki on making an English version of a soccer coaching computer program he has created. He has a Finnish version already out and we are looking to get the English version ready this summer before I head back home to the states. It's been really cool working with him and I'm looking foward to using the program and getting others as excited about it as I am :) I've picked up another side job just for this week. There are UEFA U19 Women's Elite Round games being played here in Finland. Serbia, England, Denmark and Finland are all playing each other to see who will move on to the next round. In these kinds of tournaments, each team is assigned a "Liason Officer" to help the team with anything they may need. Well one of my teammates and I are the liasons for the Denmark team. It's been a fairly easy job and my teammate and I have worked out a great system. She talks to all the Finnish people and then I pass along the information to the Denmark team :) So as you can see my time outside of soccer has started to get filled up which is actually really nice. If you know me at all, you know I like to stay busy.
That's about all I have to fill you in on about my time here thus far. I hope to update this more often. And keep checking the HJK website for my writings, "Luda's Letters." A new one should be out very soon!!