Weekend Games

I've got a case of the Monday's after a big Sunday.

Sunday night always delivers in Newcastle. We met for Gab's birthday at a local bar/club that opened just for her and her friends to celebrate. I was lucky enough to get on the invite list and it turned out to be a really fun night.

Flash Back to Saturday:

We traveled into Sydney for a double header against the Syndey University squad. I played in the Men's A League at 1 pm and the Men's B League at 2. Sydney Uni has a nice indoor pool and we ended up playing just 25 meters. That came as a pleasant surprise as I knew I would be going for 2 in a row. The Sydney Uni team looked like they have been training and playing together a bit more than us. We played with them until the 3rd, where we lost a bit of our composure and gave up some easy opportunities which they took advantage of.

I played the full first half of the Men's B League game right after we got done with the Men's A League and definitely started to feel my body fatiguing. I like having the opportunity to play in both divisions as I am getting back into the flow of the game.

The drive from Newcastle to Sydney is rapidly becoming more and more familiar. The guys here talk of Sydney like I talk about L.A. There are a lot of "uuhhh"'s and "ooohhhh"'s and "damn Sydney traffic" coming from Juice in the driver's seat.

"Juice" is the coach of the club. He and his wife, Karen, have been unbelievably generous since I have been here. Karen hooks it up with some really tasty meals and their son Campbell is a hilarious little guy. Juice works super hard to keep the club together and devotes a lot of time and energy into the team.

Sunday game against Wests Club was close. It was what I call my "rock bottom game." I played terrible but I am looking at it knowing I can only get better from that performance. We should have smashed them but we could not finish our opportunities. My year off definitely caught up with me in yesterday's game. I feel like I am still creating a lot of opportunities but my fitness level is not up to the level it needs to be. It is a challenge to find my role within the team but it will come together with more practice sessions and games. There is always something new to learn and challenges to overcome. That is what makes being an athlete exciting.