Friday, June 8, 2012

Play Day

::Emily (6/8)


Today was another beautiful day in Pristina. We woke up to the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. Visar met us in the Lobby around 10 am where we proceeded to the Kosovo Sports Department right next door to our hotel. Visar came bearing gifts—a box of chocolates from his daughter's  birthday that was celebrated the day before! Once we were finished eating the delicious chocolates, we met with Dona, Lumi, Nora, Albinna, and Sanije to go over the soccer clinic that was going to be held in a stadium later that day. It took us a little while to organize ourselves because we all had different opinions and ideas of how the clinic should be run. But, once organized, we had arranged a 2 hour soccer clinic including a game of log tag to start, warm ups, 4 different stations practicing different skills, and finally the much anticipated "Carly Cup" tournament. Check out our pictures here!

After the meeting, some of our group went back to the hotel to rest, while the rest of us went for lunch with the Kosovo girls. We ended up at a diner called Route 66. It reminded us all of home with the American styled diner and food. There, we talked about family and friends, while enjoying foods that reminded us of home such as cheeseburgers, hotdogs, french fries, and a quesadilla. We then headed back to the Department of Sports where there was a press conference being held for us to talk about what we are trying to accomplish here in Kosovo. Coach Carly, Baeth, and Cassidy, who we all chose to represent us in the interview, sat in front of a camera talking about our experiences, our  hopes for women's soccer in Kosovo, and the success of what the girls in Kosovo have accomplished thus far.

At 2:30, we all piled into Visar and Sanije's cars to be transported to the stadium where the soccer clinic was being held. Around 20 girls showed up for the clinic. Most of them had played soccer before, and only a few had never played. It was very hot outside, but everyone was very eager and ready to play. It seemed that our log tag was a hit among the Kosovar players, for there was a lot of laughter and smiles during the game. By the end of stations and our Carly Cup, everyone looking a little weary, we went into penalty kicks to decide the winning team. Holland's team made all of their shots, granting them the victory of the Carly Cup Tournament. Everyone then proceeded to head for home, a little sunburned but happy to have played soccer and to have met knew friends!

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