Our under 16’s girls and boys had a great time on their recent trip to Barcelona. The trip started with a visit to R.C Polo, where a game of mixed rounders helped break the ice between everyone. Following lunch on the first day, we toured Nou camp, Barcelona FC’s home ground, which was so impressive the girls enjoyed it as much as the boys. The first day’s activities ended with both teams playing a match back in Polo. On the way to Terrassa, where we were staying, a game of speed dating on the bus (literally!) was a fun way of getting everyone to mix and tell each other a bit about themselves. The accommodation in Terrassa Hockey Club was perfect for our needs, and after the very early start a quiet night was had by all.
On day two, an early morning training session was followed by a swim in the pool on site, and both teams had matches later. The girls had an early match in Polo on day three, so much to the boys’ disgust they had to get up early and go to watch! The early start was worth it, as it left most of the day free to spend in Tibadabo theme park. Both the kids and the leaders had a ball there. Ben emerged from the park with what he claimed was a fire-breathing dragon painted on his face, but some sceptics thought looked more like a sea-horse! The boys had two matches later that evening, so Chuck and Niall stayed with them in Polo while the girls were taken into Barcelona to see a little of the city and do some shopping. Some of the boys were a bit disappointed to miss seeing the city, but there was so much to do on the trip it was hard to fit everything into the time we had. The girls did show solidarity by cutting short their shopping to get back in time to watch the boys’ second match.
At first the two groups may have felt a bit awkward with each other, but that changed very quickly on the trip! The girls had fun on the last night by soaking Harry with water in a late night prank; the boys didn’t dare risk retaliation. Odhran and Dearbhla kept us all amused with their “quotes”, and a good time was had by all. The matches on the final day left the boys undefeated during the tour, and the girls also played well and gained great experience from their games.
Individual comments/reports from the girls can be seen below. Photos will hopefully be put up soon. The trip was a great success, and credit has to go to the parents who not only gave the kids the opportunity of going, but also reared such a nice bunch that gave no trouble and made looking after them a pleasure.
Thanks also to Andrew Walker (Chuck) who did most of the organizing and to Wendy, Brona and Emer who all helped in the planning. Siobhan Madeley and Stephen Findlater, ladies and mens captains, very generously sponsored the trip on behalf of the club, and thanks are also due to everyone who helped with the fundraising and contributed time and money to keep the costs down for the kids. The leaders who gave up their time to coach and supervise also deserve thanks, Chuck, Niall, Barbara, Emer and Westy (who very kindly agreed to step in at short notice). A Big thank you also to Nacho and Pablo’s parents who were so helpful and Kind to us all whilst in Spain.
Team effort, a sense of belonging and the enjoyment and love of hockey is what this club is about. Hopefully the trip will give our future senior players an idea of what they can look forward to as part of Three Rock. The future is bright in our club.
We went to Barcelona with both our team and the boys’ team. On Thursday when we arrived we went to Polo and went to Camp Nou stadium and had a tour and then relaxed for the day and we played a game in the evening which we lost against a good side. We then transferred to Terassa hockey club where we were staying. On Friday we had a training session in the morning then went swimming in the pool. We had a match in the evening which we won against a very good side.
On Saturday we had a match really early in the morning which we lost. We then went to Tibidabo amusement park for the day and then went into Barcelona where we went shopping. We then watched the boys match next to the Olympic stadium.
On Sunday we played a match against a very strong side. We watched the boys match and then went to the airport. We all became a lot closer as a team and made new friends from other teams. All in all it was a great experience and very enjoyable
