Aarhus Day 2

Day 2 in Aarhus was full of firsts.  It was my first day of full training with a professional team, the first time meeting all the players on both the 1st and reserve team and the 1st time I've ever been thrown up top as a legitimate scoring threat!

I arrived for reserves team training a bit before 6 and saw the 1st team playing.  The coach, who I had meet the day before, yelled to me to hurry and throw my boots on! I ran to the locker room, laced up and sprinted to the practice field to jump in with the 1st team for the last half hour.  They had layed out my practice gear early so I was able to get out there quick! I played with the 1st team for 30 minutes, scored a couple goals in 4v4 (teams of 8 with alternating sides when you get scored on) and met the team.  If I had to say how I fit in Id say for it being the first time I played with them I was fitting in well.  The pace was quick but I found myself getting a lot of people in on goal and scoring more than most.  After meeting the team the coach told me to come to 1st team practice tomorrow!

I then went back to the locker room, changed shirts and went out with the reserves.  We did 3 different drills in all, each for 30 minutes.  The first was half field keep away with a target area in each corners that you could score in...you had to either pass it in or dribble it into the target area and connect with a new player.  The second drill was the same as the last one the first team did, 4v4 with alternating shifts every 2 minutes...my team won all 3 games to 5 and I scored the majority or our goals.  This is when my last first of the day comes into play.

After training, the Reserve Trainer came to me and asked "I thought you said you played central midfield, do you want to play striker in our reserve match?" I was shocked and wasn't sure if I wanted to say 'I was just feeling it today, I wouldnt do that if I were you' or 'Yes, I'll score a hat trick for you!'  Either way I haven't played striker for 90 minutes since I was 11 or 12 so if I do play up top this week, they may be a bit disappointed.

I'll be taking pictures on my phone before training tomorrow of the stadium, practice facility and locker room!

Joga Bonito

Jake