Hockey Tour to Utrect, Holland 2018
Day 1
On Thursday 05th April, 16 members of the U14/15 school hockey team packed their bags and boarded for Amsterdam for a four-day hockey tour. On arrival in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the girls were met with beautiful weather which was to continue for the duration of the tour. After a quick stop to check in and drop off our suitcases at the fantastic Hotel Mitland in Utrecht, we travelled to Kampong Hockey Club. Kampong is the biggest hockey club in the world with over 3000 members. The girls got stuck straight into the hockey element of the tour with a match against Kampong MC5, finishing with a 1-0 win to Cambridge House. This was followed by a fantastic meal in Nummer 14 – Kampong clubhouse. On return to the hotel the girls all enjoyed a dip in the hotel swimming pool!
Day 2
The hotel breakfast definitely went down a treat, with fresh pancakes for everyone. We all set off in our taxis for Kampong Hockey Club for our training session with David Harte and Floris de Ridder. David Harte is the Ireland Men’s Goalkeeper, and Kampong 1XI keeper and was the facilitator for our tour in Holland. Floris de Ridder is one of the best upcoming coaches in the Netherlands and a defender on Kampong Men’s 1XI.
The girls were treated to a training session full of tricks and spins and how to implement them into a game. The coaches were very knowledgeable and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and all came away having learned how to improve a current skill or having learnt a new skill to try out at home.
After a good lunch, the girls got to go to Hockey Republic – the biggest hockey shop in Europe. From there we returned to the hotel for a quick change into our match gear and then headed into Utrecht City Centre for some retail therapy (and a McDonald’s)! After exploring all the shops and getting a well-deserved Starbucks, we travelled back to Kampong Hockey Club for a triangular fixture against MC3 and MC4! There was some fantastic hockey on display and some of the new tricks that were learned earlier in the day were put to the test in the matches! Again we were treated superbly well by our host clubs and played two extremely competitive and friendly matches. Another fantastic dinner awaited us after our matches in the Kampong Clubhouse.
After dinner, we all watched Kampong Ladies 1XI play against Bloomendaal Ladies 1XI in the top Dutch ladies league, were Kampong came out 2-1 winners! After another fantastic day, we all returned to the hotel, were again some made use of the swimming pool and sauna!
Day 3
A day in Amsterdam! We travelled into Utrecht Centraal Station and got a double decker train to Amsterdam Centraal for a day of sightseeing and shopping! The first stop was McDonalds for most and then we made our way up to Dam Square to see the Royal Palace. Some free time followed, with most spending a lot of time in Primark, buying sliders and buying some souvenirs to take home!
We experienced the famous Amsterdam canals on a one-hour canal cruise where we learned about the canals and their surroundings. A very relaxing hour was spent exploring the city and viewing the I Amsterdam sign from the water!
We boarded the double decker train back to Amsterdam where we headed back to the hotel to get ready to go for dinner! Il Pozzo Italian was the choice for dinner, with a lot of pizza and pasta being eaten – with some left over for later! We finished off our evening with some bowling at Mitland Bowling and in the hotel swimming pool!
Day 4
The last hotel breakfast was as good as the first with everyone getting their bellies filled for a busy day ahead! We all got packed up and ready to check out of the hotel (some even had time for another dip in the pool!). After a final goodbye to Hotel Mitland, we set off in the coach for Amsterdam Hockey and Bandy Club – the oldest club in the Netherlands. We had the opportunity to watch hockey in the magnificent Wagenar Stadium. We watched Amsterdam Ladies 1XI play Den Bosch Ladies 1XI followed by Amsterdam Men’s 1XI against Kampong 1XI! The sunshine made it a perfect day for sliders and sunglasses! After a busy day of watching hockey, we all travelled back to Schiphol Airport to travel home. There was an opportunity for more retail therapy in the airport to buy those last minute presents and to get a good dinner before heading to board our plane (which was delayed 40 minutes).
A very tired and sleepy tour party arrived safely back in Belfast, luggage in hand, late on Sunday evening after a very enjoyable and jam packed four days!
