tour progress

Hi again, well we are half way through the tournament and the team is playing great. At this point we have won all 5 section games with 2 still to play. 

The locals have been trying to make things as difficult as possible for us with out going over the top! well at this stage anyway.

The coaching staff have confidence in all of the players and we are very close to finalizing a starting line up as the playoffs start. 

A couple of hundred supporters have arrived with more coming in each day, its nice to see some  familiar faces and hear their voices in the stands.

Well had better get ready for the game against Mexico tonight, I will keep in touch with updates etc - If you have any questions fell free to ask.

Cheers Dave 23 

Post World Series

Hi from Saskatoon Canada. 

We have completed our preparation for the World Series with a 15 game build up tour mainly in rural Ontario. We based ourselves in Kitchener a city of 250000 about 1 hour drive out of Toronto.

After coming out of our winter it took the team a little while to find there timing and form, but the more they played the better they got.

We lost one game on the build up (our last) 1-0 in the final of a tournament in Tavistock, a very small farming town.

Everything has been going well, food has been great, even managed to get some golf in and go to Niagara falls on our off days. 

Since we have arrived in Saskatoon the weather has been wet and cold. This has hampered our training options as every team is looking to use indoor facilities, but hopefully the weather will get better and we can feel the sun again!

We are staying at the University of Saskatchewan with 5 other teams and have set up our "Kiwi House"  that has stuff from home in our lounge area. This is the most important area as this is where all the social gatherings take place. 

We are only 2 days out from the first game, against the USA. We have done the hard work for the past 4 years, have the best players from NZ here, we are injury free so we go into the tournament with confidence but with our eyes firmly fixed on the task in front of us. 

I will keep you posted on our progress.

Dave 23 

 

Check out the series as well via Softball NZ: http://www.softball.org.nz/