Group discussion post practice
Running laps while trying to toss balls at one another 
Having watched practice last week, our biggest fear was that we would be forced to run endless laps. Our fear came true within minutes of arrival, as we began practice with almost an hour of incessant lap jogging while trying to simultaneously perform ball skills. We voted the highly under-rated chesthead move our favorite lap, followed closely by the heading lap wherein we were not supposed to use our foreheads but rather the side of our heads, ie. temples. Kiefer took particular offense to this, saying that people could become concussed.
The lap running was followed by a fairly typical crossing and finishing drill, wherein we each spent the entire 40 minutes of the drill in our own lines, never switching. So today, Molly and I have very sore right leg muscles, while Kiefers left sided is quite fatigued. In the subsequent scrimmage we learned a bit about Nicaraguan style. They were definitely fun to play with, a true competitive edge and some savviness on the ball. Defending is not really their forte, so we got a few confused looks as we sacrificed body parts to block passes.
After the practice, the woman in charge explained a little about us and Soccer Without Borders to the girls on the team, and we gave the youngest girl, turning 14, a birthday gift. The presentation of the gift was followed by the longest rendition of Happy Birthday I have ever witnessed in my life. How many verses could it possibly take to wish someone a good day and perhaps a good year? There was clapping involved and possibly even some harmonizing although it was hard to tell as I was so dehydrated by this point I was losing control of various senses, organs, and my general ability to think or speak.
Today we had our first practice with the girls team since Semana Santa. We decided to go with a competitive theme and held a series of technical competitions with practice gear as prizes. Most of the girls come to training in the same clothes every time, and often not even athletic gear, so we put together a grab bag of miscellaneous tshirts, shorts, and balls for them to choose from. Bribery is definitely the inspiration of champions...the girls were cheering, fighting, and even submitted to learning how to take a proper throw-in. Thursday will be our last practice with them, so we will have to think of some other creative way to keep the excitement going. Como se dise "scavenger hunt" en español?
In other news, given that we basically make up our day to day responsibilities as we go along, we have adopted the habit of naming different people "Directors" of various parts of the project, in order to make ourselves feel more important than we are. Just days after arrival, Kiefer has already earned herself the title "Director of Tang." Originally scoffing at the Nicaraguan love for the fake but surprisingly tasty juice, she is now thoroughly addicted, and demands that we transform all pitchers of water into Tangy goodness. One would not expect that Spanish skills are necessary for the role of Director of Tang, but it turns out that if you do not know how to ask for specific flavors, you may mistakenly purchase the Orange-Carrot mix...with pulp. She is new to the position so we have decided to overlook her rookie mistake.
Other current and previous project directors include Carlos "Director of Bachata Lessons", Suyen "Director of Dance, Transportation, and the general learning of Spanish", Emily "Director of Purified Water", myself "Director of Tortilla Production from Scratch" (who would have guessed?), Elise "Director of Translation", and Molly "Director of Guacamole". Other positions may rise and fall on a day to day basis, but let it not be said that we are not trying to set up a structure here in Granada. All kinds of delegation and naming of titles is happening here, and we all know that is how we Americans like to do things!
Running laps while trying to toss balls at one another 
Yesterday we spent the afternoon in Managua again with the U-20 National Team. This time we came prepared with cleats and balls, as we noticed that some of the girls wore sneaker during practice and most of the balls were old, worn, and lopsided because Nicaraguans don't enforce the "don't sit on your ball" rule.
Having watched practice last week, our biggest fear was that we would be forced to run endless laps. Our fear came true within minutes of arrival, as we began practice with almost an hour of incessant lap jogging while trying to simultaneously perform ball skills. We voted the highly under-rated chesthead move our favorite lap, followed closely by the heading lap wherein we were not supposed to use our foreheads but rather the side of our heads, ie. temples. Kiefer took particular offense to this, saying that people could become concussed.
The lap running was followed by a fairly typical crossing and finishing drill, wherein we each spent the entire 40 minutes of the drill in our own lines, never switching. So today, Molly and I have very sore right leg muscles, while Kiefers left sided is quite fatigued. In the subsequent scrimmage we learned a bit about Nicaraguan style. They were definitely fun to play with, a true competitive edge and some savviness on the ball. Defending is not really their forte, so we got a few confused looks as we sacrificed body parts to block passes.
After the practice, the woman in charge explained a little about us and Soccer Without Borders to the girls on the team, and we gave the youngest girl, turning 14, a birthday gift. The presentation of the gift was followed by the longest rendition of Happy Birthday I have ever witnessed in my life. How many verses could it possibly take to wish someone a good day and perhaps a good year? There was clapping involved and possibly even some harmonizing although it was hard to tell as I was so dehydrated by this point I was losing control of various senses, organs, and my general ability to think or speak.
Today we had our first practice with the girls team since Semana Santa. We decided to go with a competitive theme and held a series of technical competitions with practice gear as prizes. Most of the girls come to training in the same clothes every time, and often not even athletic gear, so we put together a grab bag of miscellaneous tshirts, shorts, and balls for them to choose from. Bribery is definitely the inspiration of champions...the girls were cheering, fighting, and even submitted to learning how to take a proper throw-in. Thursday will be our last practice with them, so we will have to think of some other creative way to keep the excitement going. Como se dise "scavenger hunt" en español?
In other news, given that we basically make up our day to day responsibilities as we go along, we have adopted the habit of naming different people "Directors" of various parts of the project, in order to make ourselves feel more important than we are. Just days after arrival, Kiefer has already earned herself the title "Director of Tang." Originally scoffing at the Nicaraguan love for the fake but surprisingly tasty juice, she is now thoroughly addicted, and demands that we transform all pitchers of water into Tangy goodness. One would not expect that Spanish skills are necessary for the role of Director of Tang, but it turns out that if you do not know how to ask for specific flavors, you may mistakenly purchase the Orange-Carrot mix...with pulp. She is new to the position so we have decided to overlook her rookie mistake.
Other current and previous project directors include Carlos "Director of Bachata Lessons", Suyen "Director of Dance, Transportation, and the general learning of Spanish", Emily "Director of Purified Water", myself "Director of Tortilla Production from Scratch" (who would have guessed?), Elise "Director of Translation", and Molly "Director of Guacamole". Other positions may rise and fall on a day to day basis, but let it not be said that we are not trying to set up a structure here in Granada. All kinds of delegation and naming of titles is happening here, and we all know that is how we Americans like to do things!
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