All of Inside Rakete met this weekend for a conditioning and strategy training camp in Karlruhe. Botto picked me up from the Hofheim Bahnhof just after 7am, and the two of us (both injured) showed up nice and early on a cold Saturday morning, at the same site where I went to the Christmas Cup indoor tournament with Feldrenner back in Fall 2009. While the team warmed up and did some conditioning drills, the coach and I went over some strategy stuff and drills to teach it. After drawing some of the main points on an easel of paper, we put on a thousand layers and went outside to try it out. Both the scrimmages and drills were a little ugly, but I think the weather played a big role in that. The finer points of the new tactics were also somewhat unfamiliar, we hadn't gone through quite everything, and there were a lot of questions. But overall it was on track--most were starting to get the idea, even if they weren't yet comfortable in the offense, and best of all you could tell how many of our players have solid fundamentals.
I spent much of the day trying to get to know the names of my teammates while making suggestions and explaining the offense one-on-one to other D players. As frustrating as it was that I couldn't play, I really enjoyed it. I also liked when we gathered around in a circle, before going over strategy in the hall, and each shared what our personal goals were, as well as what we thought the team's goal should be. I like the team's energy, and I'm excited for the season.
After a leisurely dinner at an upscale pizza restaurant, I crashed on an extra mattress in the WG of a teammate's club teammate. Not having to sleep on the floor? Score!
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