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Poland Stage = Sept 2007
Poland Article # 2 – Andrew Ziemer –
Tuesday, Sept 4th
Daily program
8:30 Breakfast
10:00 Training
12:00 Press Conference
13:00 Lunch
13:30 Rest
17:00 Training
20:00 Dinner
23:00 Room
As I lay down Monday night, the long summer and travel hit
me, but even then I could not get to sleep. Finally at
1:00am, I drifted off, thinking about the days to come.
At 4:00am , I woke wide awake and tossed and turned and
finally gave in and grabbed a book. At 6:30 I showered and
went down to breakfast.
For those of you who have traveled in Europe, most
breakfasts are similar (bread, cheese, meat, cereal, juice,
fruit and a bit of warm food). The highlight for me was the
fresh brown bread that our Aunt Vickie used to serve daily
while we stayed for 2 months with her in Bad Godesburg (near
Bonn) in 1982.
Herbert Ziemer, our father was born in Germany and moved
away before World War II. In 1982, we all had the
opportunity to meet his father and stay with relatives near
Bonn and Koln. This was during the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Benjamin (age 11) and I (age 12) stayed with our Aunt Vickie
and Uncle Frank in Bad Godesburg near Bonn. Christopher (age
8) and his friend Jason stayed with Uncle Herbert and Aunt
Marliss in Troisdorf near to Koln. Marcus (age 17) and his
friend Chad traveled for 1 month and stayed one month with
Herbert and Marliss.
The funny thing was that we were already very into Fussball
(Soccer) and our relatives were not. By the end of our stay
, we had hooked our German relatives on the game and for the
“Ziemer Brothers” the seed was further planted. From now on,
our standard was Europe, the highest level in the World.
After breakfast, I decided to start my fitness kick. I
started walking with no plan , but to find out where I was.
I walked past the field where the Polish team trains and
into the forrest. The smell brought back many memories of
playing in Germany for FC Recklinhausen at team in the
Verbandsliga or Germany 4th division.
On game days, we would come early to the club and have tea
and cake. We then would take a short walk in the forrest
(bald).
In 1987, Chris (age 16) decided to go to Germany to live and
play soccer. He joined several Americans including our good
friend Shawn Blakeman. He called Benjamin and I after a few
months and said , “you must get over here” there are so many
clubs.
Benjamin and I were playing Division 1 soccer at Fresno
State and borrowed money from our sister to move to Germany.
This started a 8 year period in which one or all 3 of us
were living in Germany. Many other friends (Dave Kaufman,
Dave Schaffer, Josh Kalkstein, Kely Jacobsen, Shawn Percel,
Zac Ibsen to name a few) came over to live and play as well.
Back to 2007, I found myself in the middle of the forrest at
a sign that said Offenbach 6.8 kilometers by bike and
decided to turn back. When I arrived back at the club TSV
Landerspiel, I took another bike trail towards Mullheim.
This trail curved along a small creek with grass fields on
both sides.
As I walked the few kilometers into Mullheim, I could not
help but notice several small soccer fields with goals.
After arriving in Mullheim, I noticed it was time to get
back for training. I want to the Haubahnhauf and found the
bus back to Landerspiel. This was all useful information
since I planned to take the same route to Frankfurt later in
the evening.
I joined the team in the hotel lobby and we walked the short
distance to the field. In the morning session, a few players
were out doing individual running programs or with the
doctor. The focus was on passing and keeping the ball.
Leo Beenhakker is a true coaching legend. It is incredible
to see him work with the team and how he creates the
environment. He is very passionate and breathes confidence
into the team. Together with Frans Hoek , he brings a lot of
experience at all levels which gives confidence to the boys
and the rest of the staff. Coach Leo and his staff feel that
they can play with anyone and they are bringing this across
to the team.
After the first training session , the lack of sleep caught
up with me and I took a nap. Luckily, Frans called to wake
me up and I made it to the lobby in time for everyone to
make fun of me (since I was still half asleep and had huge
bags under my eyes). Having worked with the Dutch for 13
years and in Soccer for longer I took it as a good sign that
they liked me enough to hassle me.
The second training session was very intense. The focus
again was on possession and then they had a 3 team
competition in two different forms. 8V8 with katzers (wall
players) and then 8V8 on a ˝ field. They were really going
at it and the environment was incredible.
I decided to head into Frankfurt and have dinner and see
what the city had to offer. After taking a taxi to the train
station, I caught the S-Bahn to Frankfurt and 10 stops later
stepped out into Frankfurt, one of the biggest financial
cities in the world.
Next blog will include information on Frankfurt and on what
I know about some of the players of the Polish team.
Training Session # 2 – 10:00am , Tuesday
Warm-up with Rondo.
Goalkeepers go separate with Frans Hoek for 45 minutes.
Focus on the passback and shot stopping and crosses from
many distances and angles.
Possession 5V5 plus 3 for each team.
9 V 9 with goals on the 18 yard lines and leaving the left
side of the field coned off (since they only have 9 on 9,
they work from attacking from the right and defending from
the left and then switch sides and attack from the left and
defend from the right). This was the first time I had seen
this and it worked quite well.
Training session # 3 – Tuesday, 17:00pm – all players (24 )
except for Jacek Bak played.
Warm-up with Rondo
Goalkeepers with Frans Hoek
Players have a 15 minute speed and coordination session with
sprints at the end
Possession – 7 V 7 plus 7, team who loses the ball plays
defense. Coach Leo used 3 different size pitches (20 by 35,
35 by 35 and 50by 35) he changed it 6 times and also changed
the rules by the size of the pitch.
8V8 with 8 on the walls
8V8 on ˝ field |
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