So, once again it has been a little while since my last entry> You should be used to it by now.

On the March 8 the first team traveled down to Bath University in hopes of getting revenge for Bath killing our second team in the flags finals. We knew we were going to be a little short on numbers, but as the game started we only had eight players and it looked like it was going to be a long day.

I scored the first goal of the game putting us up, but it was tough playing 4-on-6 at either end of the field and we soon found ourselves down 4 to 1.

Towards the end of the first quarter we had another player show up, Pete, another American who used to play at Army and has been living over here for quite some time. It really was remarkable how much that one extra person, especially a good one made as we quickly scored to end the quarter 4-2 in favor of Bath.

The second quarter we shut them out and scored four of our own going into the half up 6-4, which was nice. We ended up winning 12-8 and all the goals were scored by the Americans, Dave, Pete and myself.

Last weekend both teams traveled to Wales for games. I ended up having to drive a van full of eight guys to Wales as our designated driver didn't know he was supposed to be driving and was sick anyway. So after a fun three-hour drive to Wales I played for the second team against some Wales University team.

It really seemed like no one wanted to be playing as the game was really boring and probably the worst game I've ever been a part of. We ended up winning, but I'm not really sure if we scored a goal in the entire second half of the game.

After that we packed it up and headed down the road to Penarth for the first team game. That game started off in an interesting manner as our goalie tried to get in a fight with one of their attackmen and that friendly atmosphere continued for the majority of the game, although it never got out of hand.

We ended up killing them like 16-7 or something along those lines. I had a pretty sweet game finishing up with around 6 goals and 4 assists including nice behind-the-backs in each of those categories.

Its a pretty odd feeling for me right now with the war starting, especially in a country that is so against it. I've also only got about four weeks left of my job which is also kinda crazy and then will hopefully be traveling around some more before I head back home.

I must admit that I was quite shocked about the CCD score and hope to see nothing like that again this year. Look forward to reading about the rematch against Chapel Hill.

Later.

Had a pretty busy week with the Hitchin area POP lacrosse tournament on Wednesday and the Luton one on Thursday. Had the Hitchin one at a local college's astroturf and it was a really fun day. William Ransom ended up beating Wymondley 4-3 in the finals and they both automatically qualify for the regional tournament that will be held sometime in March.

The Luton tournament was held at one of the primary schools that was playing in the tournament and, boy, did we tear up their field. After the second game it was basically a mud bowl. Wigmore beat Tenneyson Road in the finals 6-4 and they both qualify for the reginal tournament as well.

It was great to see Wigmore win as they are one of the schools that I've been teaching at, and the fact that they've finished dead last in the tournament every other year!

This Saturday the first team played Purley, who, yes, look very similar to Riverside in their uniforms. They are known as being the top team in the South year after year and their name alone seems to intimidate a lot of people.

We had a lot of absent players and fielded a relatively weak squad, which is never good when playing a better team, and ended up getting killed 30-4. Our pitch was horrible as it has been very cold lately so the ground was frozen, and as the top couple of inches melted it just turned to mud.

Up till now we've been fortunate enough to not have played on many bad surfaces so that didn't help our cause any as it seemed that Purley was used to playing under the conditions. Out of the four goals I had three, so that was at least a small plus, but I still managed to have fun out there and enjoy myself.

The second team also had a home game against Cambridge and managed a good 8-5 victory in a must-win situation for league points. Next weekend is the Flags Final and both Hitchin teams are playing. The first team plays Oxford but I'm not sure who the second team is playing.

I am off to Milan tomorrow moring and will not be back till Thursday so hopefully that will be a sweet time and I'll let everyone know about it when I return. See ya.

Well, we actually had a game this weekend. The first team played Croydon, who beat our second team a couple of weeks ago. The second team's game was canceled so about five guys from their team came and played with us.

They had a couple of decent players and actually jumped out to a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes, but we got into it and ended up beating them 21-7. I was face-marked the entire game by their best defender, who basically just held me the whole time, not letting me cut or move at times. It was really fun. I managed to get two goals and around three asists though, but mainly just pulled him away from the play and let my guys beat them 5-on-5.

On Sunday I went back into London and did some more sightseeing. I went to the London Bridge, which is really just a boring, plain bridge, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Globe Theater, St. Pauls Cathedral and finally the Tate Modern. I have to say that I'm not a big fan of a lot of modern art. Painting a canvas blue and hanging it on a wall isn't really art to me, but to each their own.

I finally got to see that Body Worlds exhibit before it was deported and it was definitely worth it. It really was an amazing exhibit and also very educational about the human body.

I've got my big area tournaments this week, the Hitchin one tomorrow and the Luton one on Thursday, so, hopefully, they will go well. Pretty disappointed at the turnout for the Hitchin tournament, though. Out of 11 schools only five are coming, but it's better than nothing.

This coming weekend we play Purley [Webmaster comment: Do those colors look familiar?], the big powerhouse in the South, but it seems like we might have to cancel or forfiet because all of a sudden a lot of our guys can't make it. Will be a shame if we end up not playing them since we haven't had a real challenge in quite some time. After that its half term break and I'm heading to Milan with some friends. God, it sure is rough work that I've got over here.

Later.

So, yeah, I know its been quite a while since I've written an entry, but due to a certain person's actions regarding my journal I really haven't felt like writing. Then I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't let the misguided actions of one person stop me from doing something that I truly enjoy, so there will be more frequent postings again from me in the future.

Had a great Christmas and New Year's in NC and it was great to see my family and friends again. Went out to eat with Coach Kirkley, Estacio, Scott G, Sean and Nick, which was reminiscent of the dinner we had before the '98 season, but we were all able to enjoy some adult beverages this time.

There really hasn't been much going on here since I've gotten back. The first team just recently had our first game in about 4 weeks and it was against Cambridge so it wasn't the greatest of challenges as we won 27-4. We've either had teams cancel/forfeit against us or the weather has been too bad to play, so it was nice to just get on the field and play an actual game.

I finally went into London and did a little bit of the tourist thing. Hit a lot of the main sites, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abby, the National Gallery and Leicester Square so it was a fun day. I was planning to go back this Sunday and hit up some more places I want to see, mainly the Tate and Tate Modern, and also a really cool exhibit called Body Worlds by some German doctor. But I'm not sure if I'll be able to get into London because of the weather.

Yesterday we basically had a blizzard here, it was pretty crazy. It caused a lot of havoc with transportation throughout this area. It started snowing around 1 p.m. and didn't stop till about 6 p.m. and, combined with the wind, it made driving quite difficult. I finished my after-school club in Stevenage at 4:15 and it took me almost 3 hours to get home instead of the usual 15 minutes. It was not fun at all, especially when driving stick. My legs were killing me by the time I got home.

Some people were still stuck on certain motorways this morning, having been in traffic for over 17 hours! In all, it snowed about 5 inches and all the schools were closed today so I went sledding with some friends in town this morning which was really fun.

I've got another break coming up in Feb. and I'm heading out to Milan with another American coach and an Aussie chick that she works with, so I'm really looking forward to that. So I guess that is about it. Sorry again for it taking me so long to put aside my anger and just start writing again and I'll keep the entries coming.

Later.

My weekend was pretty good. Saturday the second team's game got canceled so we brought a mixed team to play the Walcountian Blues in an important league and cup game.

It was really cold (it reminded me of playing in Ohio) but we managed to fight through the cold and win 16-4. We had a lot of really nice goals coming from good ball movement so it was a quality win for us. I had two goals and like six assists. Everyone was pretty shocked at all the assists I racked up, but hopefully it will get some guys off my back about not passing enough.

Sunday I had my camp and had eight kids show up. It was freezing that day. I think the weather report said it was 2 degrees Celsius (35 F). It was really windy, which made it a lot worse. We had two kids stop playing because they were so cold, and one had to be taken back to the house since he was crying and shaking so bad. But other than that it went really well and we got a couple more kids for the juniors team, which in my mind made it a success.

This Saturday I've been hired by the Portsmouth University team to run a training session so I've got my drills all planned and am excited about that. Just hope it isn't too cold down there.

This is probably my last journal entry of 2002 as I'm heading back to the States next Tuesday, Dec. 17, but ya never know.

Later.

Well, I had to cancel my lunch-time club today due to the weather. It's raining over here, big surprise. And I hadn't written an entry in a while so I figured what the hell.

Once again our games were canceled last weekend. I feel like I haven't played in forever and we've got an important game this weekend so hopefully training tonight will go well.

Had a fun time Saturday night at Niki and Wavey's house. I also shaved on Saturday, which was new. I can't believe I forgot to mention I'd been rocking a beard for the last three months. It was pretty funny. I'll have to give Mr. Ham a picture to put up.

Last night was Johny's actual 18th birtday so a bunch of us went out and celebrated.

Ray and I decided to combine the Luton junior with the Hitchin juniors, which is sweet since I don't have to get up at 8 anymore on Saturday. Hitchin training isn't till 10:30. I'm also running a camp this Sunday so hopefully I'll get a good turnout.

I've got under two weeks until I'm back in the States. Really looking forward to being at home and seeing some friends over the holidays.

Later.