Day 1: July 19th

What a long night for everyone! Our flight from Boston to Heathrow went very smooth but I'm not sure if anyone got any quality sleep on the flight...We are happy to be safe and sound in England!

After getting through customs and picking up our luggage (thankfully no bags were lost), Katie Corkill (CMT staff member) greeted us at the terminal.  The girls quickly picked up a morning snack at Mark and Spencer before we headed outside to get on our coach bus to Ardingly College.

You would think that the girls would be a little sleepy after an overnight flight but they weren't because they sang the whole bus ride to Ardingly (about an hour ride).  It was great to hear and see our group of 16 girls getting along so well at such an early hour.  Matt Daly greeted upon arrival at Ardingly and showed us to dorm we are staying in for the next 10 days.  The girls were given their room assignments and were off to unpack and settle in (some girls also to the opportunity to explore the campus in groups).

Lunch was our first meal on campus and the girls could pick from salmon with couscous, a veggie and cheese turnover, steamed veggies, fresh salad and parsnip soup (not sure what the girls think of the food).  I tried the salmon and thought it was pretty tasty.  After lunch, Matt and the other members of the coaching staff (Dave, Harriett, and Tom) had a meeting with the girls to introduce themselves and go over the training/game schedule for our stay.  Matt also had the girls write down 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses when it comes to their field hockey skills.  Then it was off to the pitch which is about a 5-7 minute walk.

The pitch is astro turf and just as we started training, it began to sprinkle which made the surface even faster and smoother.  The girls are going to be spoiled this week because they will only play on astro turf the whole time here.  In addition to our 16 girls taking part in this camp, there are 15 other players from South America and Europe.  Matt introduced both groups to each other and the girls immediately started to mingle.

The training consisted of some ice breaker games and a 3 v 3 tournament.  The girls were placed on mixed teams so they had the opportunity to play with some unfamilar teammates. The overall play looked strong and the girls worked hard and had fun!

As I'm writing this post, all the girls have headed off to bed for the night (which is where I'm headed once I'm done) even though it's only 9 pm here....I think they are a little tired.  They have 2 training sessions tomorrow to rest up for so I don't blame them for going to bed early.