cbc-dutch touch

March 27, 2010- Saturday

2010-03-27T04:09:00.002-05:00

On our way to Gronau, Germany to play 2 games - one with the younger group and one with the older group.
Friday was a great day spent I'm Amsterdam. Canal cruise, shopping and sightseeing in downtown Amsterdam.
We then went to Ajax for tour of the ArenA, Museum and the gift. (fan) shop. While at Ajax, we watched youth training there. We had Avery nice dinner at Humphrry's in. Nijmegen.

Typical Dutch weather day - cloudy, rain off and on, and colder .

2010 Dutchtouch arrives in Holland

2010-03-25T09:08:00.001-05:00

Under clear, sunny skies and warm temperatures, the group arrived after a smooth flight with no problems. Luggage arrived and connections were made on time --
after arriving at the Zeven Heuleven Resort, we had a taswty brunch enjoyed. A light training sessioin (stretching) followed and then it was time to rest before a walk to and throiugh the village of Groesbeek. A tasty dinner in trhe village and a return to the Resort.

Friday will be a day in Amsterdam -- part5ly at Ajax and part dowmtown with a canal cruise and shopping.

The first was a huge success.

Camp ends

2009-07-24T18:09:00.002-05:00

Friday

Camp has ended, but not without many memories. It was a great week from the weather to the enthusiasm of the players to the quality of the coaching. You really could not have asked for more. I want to sincerely thank all the coaches and helpers for their effort and the quality they brought to the Camp. To Jan, who had been grounded by his doctor, many thanks for a great program to folloe each day of the week. All the players benefitted from the experience and the interaction with the coaches.

We ended Camp with the Awards ceremony and Sam Scoles and Gudo Van Dronkelaar were awarde the Wooden Shoe Award as the Camp's MVP in their respective groups. During the week we awarded the Player of the Day and we made 9 presentations of that award.

We hope that everyone leaves with a better understanding of the Dutch Vision of soccer and in some way, hopefully, a better player. Thanks to all who attended the Camp and we wish you all the best in soccer future. we hope to see many of you back in Camp next summer.

More Pictures

2009-07-24T18:02:00.003-05:00

Thursday, July 23

2009-07-23T22:19:00.002-05:00

We are now approaching the end of the Camp and it really seemed to fly by.

Today, Thursday was a good day,. a light rain in the morning session, warmr in the afternoon session and a lightning delay fo the evening session. We managed to get everything in without any problems.

Friday we have a morning session with 2 technical training sessions - 2 contests (Pk and Juggle) - 2 All Star games ( 1 with the 2 younger aged groups and 1 Staff vs 2 older groups) -- followed by lunch and the Awards ceremony.

We ad a fantatstic week with the weather cooperating wonderfully -- everyone met new people and made some new friends and had the opportunity to learn from some of the best coaches possible and to experience the Dutch Vision of soccer.

It will be sad to close Camp on Friday, but we hope that the experience was one that will last longer than the week of Camp. We look forward to seeing many of the payers returning next summer to Camp and we will invite some to join us on our Spring trip to Holland.

2009-07-23T14:41:00.004-05:00

pictures

2009-07-23T14:20:00.008-05:00

Thursday

2009-07-23T07:19:00.002-05:00

Wow !! We are already at Thursday, the last full day of the Camp. It has been a great week in every aspect. The players have cooperated very well, they are working hard, learning, improvining , making new friends, and having a great time , plenty of fun.

Wednesday was a good day with a morning only training session under cloudy skies and cool temps. The 4v4 was very well attended and the players enjoyed 'free play' - no coaching, just play and have fun with friends. The pool party was great, a little cool, but the heated pool helped. Even more players attneded the pool party. At 10pm, when our day ended, everyone was tired, but had a a lot of fun.

Today we are back with 3 training sessions. Another nice day of weather, with no chance of rain and moderate temps. We have been extremely fortunte with the weather this week and that makes a hge difference on the energy, attitude and performance of the players.

Friday, a morning session to include a juggle and penalty kick contest, followed by All Star games - with a staff vs the older campers in an All Star game. We have some younger helpers and assistant coaches who will challenge the best of the older groups - should be fun.

Wednesday, July 23

2009-07-22T07:25:00.002-05:00

Today is a different schedule for the players -- local players morning trianing session and guests will have the day to sightsee in and around St. Louis. Everyone will meet at 6 pm at St.Luke's for 4v4 on grass fields, BBQ and then to swim party.

Tuesday was another GREAT day in Camp - the weather was nice, a littl sprinkle of rain just for a short time, the players were awesome - great enthusiasm and energy - and we hada soccer quiz that everyone participoated in.

The week is starting to get away from us as we approach the last few days of the Camp. Everyone is having a very good time , making new friends and enjoying a good atmosphere and thew Camp has been running very smoothly with a great program sent over to us by Jan.

Today, Jan has some further tests in the hospital to make sure that everyhting is normal and ok with his heart -- let's wish him well and hopr for the best.

later today, I will have some time to post more pictures.

A few pictures

2009-07-21T23:23:00.004-05:00

Tuesday - Camp Day # 2

2009-07-21T07:18:00.002-05:00

Monday was a great day with beautiful weather, good meals and a full day of soccer. The players cooperated very well as we played right up to 8:30 pm with the 11 a side games. I am sure that the players slept well last night as the day was long and they were tired.

Today, Tuesday will be the same full schedule, but with the possibility of rain. We will seewhat happen with that-- we will still have the cool temperatures, maybe just a little bit wet.

Wednesday will be a break in the schedule with the Dutchies off untl 6 pm to do some sightseeing and the local boys with a morning training session only.

More later

Monday - First Full Day of Camp

2009-07-20T07:15:00.002-05:00

Hello

today, Monday will be the first full day of camp - starting with the warmup at 9 am and training from 9:15 until 11:30. The morning will bedevoted to passing exercises and small-sided games. Lunch at CBCen at 12 noon and then back o the field for the afternoon session - warmup at 1:45 and training starts at 2:00. The afternoo training consists of shooting, possession and theory (classsroom session. The session ends at 4:00 with dinner served at CBC at 4:30. The evening session begins with a warmup at 5:45 and 11 a side at 6:00, with the day concluding by 8:30 pm. All in all, plenty of soccer for 1 day. The schedule is the same for Tuesday and Thursday - full days of training. Wednesday and Friday's schedule are differnt.

The weather is continuing to cooperate as today will be mostly clear with temperatures to reach 80 F - very unusual for this time of the year in St. Louis, but also very welcomed !!

I will be back at the end of the day recapping the day's activities, hopefully with some pictures to post as well.

On Sunday, all the dutchies seemed to be in good spirits and were actively involved in the activities.

Camp Photo

2009-07-19T22:38:00.000-05:00

luckily, I got a Cmp photo sent very quickly --
here it is

enjoy

Sunday's Done --

2009-07-19T22:13:00.002-05:00

hello everyone

Wow - what a great start to the week !!
Sunday was fantastic with the cooperation and the energy of everyone. The level of play and the enthusiasm was very high.

We started off in the gym with the Orientation Program and welcomed all of our guests and read an email letter from Jan explaining his situation. The pictures went fast and then we started playing and that's what everyone was waiting for.

We were on the field for over 2 1/2 hours and the time seemed to fly by. Players played and coaches evaluated.

I hope to post a camp photo tomorrow if all goes well.

first full day Monday -

more tomorrow

Sunday, July 19, 2009 -- Camp Day # 1

2009-07-19T09:54:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone and a special hello to Irene !!

Yesterday was a great day and everyone got through their jet lag and did a variety of activities. The coaches had a great meeting and we are anxious to get started.
Today looks to be another very nice weather day and everyone should be fresh and full of energy.

We will start at 4 pm with an Orientation meeting, followed by pictures and then we start playing with small-sided games for evaluation purposes. The night will end by 8:30 pm and then we will resume Monday morning with a 9 am warmup and training at 9:15.

I will return later tonight when we finish the Sunday session and post how that went.

Jan has sent over a nice letter by email explaining his situation and wishing the kids a good week. He has asked them to be open to learn and to work in a way that is still fun - but by the end of the week, to be better. I know Jan is really missing being here, but he has no choice. Health takes priority and he needs to rest for awhile.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

2009-07-18T07:14:00.002-05:00

Hello

Saturday looks to be a great day for our guests as the weather will be very unusual for this time of the year -- a clear sky, with a nice breeze and very comfortable temperatures. It will be a wonderful day to experience St. Louis with the host families. Everyone is free to do their own thing today and I am aware of the following activities: a BBQ where several groups will join together, a Cardinal baseball game, a day on the water boating and a visit to a college campus to meeet with the soccer coach.

The coaches will gather and have a pre-Camp meeting to go over all the details as sent by Jan. We wish Jan the best in his recovery from his medical situation and we will miss him this week. He has sent over the program for the week and it is very well planned and will provide the players with a well-rounded soccer experience.

Camp will begin on Sunday at 4pm with an orientation meeting, followed by pictures. Then we will begin with the soccer activities as we evaluate the players and put into groups for the week. Sunday's session will end by 8:30pm and then we return Monday at 9 am for a full day of training, ending by 8:30pm. Lunch and dinner will be provided at CBC and we will provide ample rest in between the 3 sessions.

We have made arrangements to have the Camp put on a DVD this year and it is available for purchase. Hopefully, all the dutchies received the information pre-Camp. If not and you would be interested in purchasing a DVD, please contact Terry at michlert@cbchs.org ---

More to come as the week unfolds ----------

Our Guests Arrive !

2009-07-17T20:12:00.002-05:00

Friday, July 17, 2009

We are pleased to snnounce that everyone arrived afely, on time and in good spirits --- and all the luggage arrived as well. So, we are off to a gret start. In addition, the weather in St. louis could not be beter for this time of the year -- it is relatively cool with very little humidity. Usually we are aweltering with high temperatures and high humidity crating a high adangerous heat index. The extended forecast into next week looks just as good. We should be in for a great week of Camp.

Please check this regularly as I will keep this up during the Camp with a daily update

Tomorrow, Saturday, is a free day for the families to get to know their new guests. Camp starts n Sunday in the late afternoon.

Good first day report.

Back Home !!

2009-03-30T11:01:00.002-05:00

Monday, March 30, 2009

United flight 8039 touched down in St. Louis just shortly after 5 pm and that brought the trip to its end point. I think it is safe to safe to say that most of arrived very tired, but very satisfied with the trip. A lifetime of memories accompanied each of us as we departed and met up with our families and stories were told right away and will continue to be told for awhile. The trip was not without a glitches, mostly on the part of the airlines and luggage. Many of us arrived hoem to find our luggage was still in Chicago. Hopefuly,that will be resolved very soon.

The final days of the trip saw most of the players spending time in the guest homes of the guest families, getting an up close and personal look at the Dutch living experience. All of the players seemed to be very satisfied with their guest family setup and seemed to adjust rather quickly to the new surroundings. For those that stayed behind,most of them spent the final day in Amsterdam, taking a train from Nijmegen. Saturday night on TV we watched the Dutch Naional team beat Scotland 3-0 in the Amsterdam Arena.

The trip was very well planned, fast- paced and interesting as we managed to see many different places and to do many different activities. Rain became a constant companion. Outside of the first 2 days, we had rain everyday, and usually for most of the day, and it was usually a cold rain with a strong wind.Never did it seem to bother the people on their bicylces as they went about their business as usual.

Special thanks to Jan for his planning and to Harry and Theo for their coaching and time spent with us, and especially for their historical stories aling the way. We also thank Astrid for her great meals at the Hostel Uitzicht and the staff at the de Oude Molen for their service and hospitality.

All in all, the trip delivered as promised. It was a life - enriching series of moments that will long be remembered by everyone on the trip. The soccer experiences were especially memorable - the stadium tours, the training sessions, the professional games, our own games, the way they play in Holland and the amount and design of the many soccer complexes that we saw where-ever we went. It was a great experience and one that hopefully will improve us in mnayt ways -- not just as soccer players and coaches, but as people with a global experience.

My thanks to everyone on the trip for their cooperation throughout the time in Holland. I hope that everyone, in their own way, realized all that had hoped the trip would be. We will release the dates for the Spring Trip 2010 shortly.
Applications for CBC Dutchtouch International Camp are now available on the website -www.cbcdutchtouch.com - don't wait too late as the interest in the camp is high and enrollment is limited -- don't be left out !!

Another cold, rainy day in Holland

2009-03-27T04:01:00.002-05:00

Friday March 27, 2009

When in Holland, expect rain -- and cold as well !!
Thursday we had a morning training session, mostly in the rain - as usual.
After a big warm meal (mashed potatoes, big meat balls, green beans, salad and dessert), it was off to Nijmegen for a shopping spree in the centrum. From there we loaded vans and went separate ways to Huissen for the younger group and to Cuyk for a the older ones. Oh yes, it rained during the shopping spree and why would it not.

The games were played with rain, sometimes heavy, but the turf fields allow for play to go on. It is very impressive to see how nothing affects thes Dutch people -- as they ride their bikes trought he streest in the rain holding an umbrella in one hand , cell phone or cigarette in the other, and managing to keep the bike moving.

The older group, with the addition, of 3 dutchies , won 4-2 in a very well-played game. That group seemed to hit it's stride and the previous games proved to be a big help. The younger group played very well, with more intensity than before, but did not get the win. They also played in the rain on turf.

Turf is huge over here and nothing stops because of it. We are lucky because the grass field swere being hit hard by the rain of the past few days.

Today, Friday, is a free day - with the players in guest families and the rest, parents mostly, going to a U20 Dutch National Team game this afternoon. Many of the players will joins with their uest families.

so far, dry -- hope it stays that way.

A Rainy day in Germany

2009-03-26T02:50:00.002-05:00

Thursday, March 26, 2009

We left in the rain and managed to be in the rain for most of the day and night -- and it was cold to boot !! Our day in Germany went very well - we first stopped in Dussledorf for a 2 hours walk about and shopping spree in the city centrum. I t rained mosst of that time - light to heavy rain and cold ! We found big soccer store and the kids enjoyed browsing and buying.

The second stop was Gelsenkirchen, the home of FC Schalke 04 - a powerful club in the Bundesliga. Upon arriving, we quickly hit the fan shop and made some purchases of the SDchalke merchandise and then we toured the massive and new Veltins Arena - capacity 80,00o with a playing surface of natural grass that rollos in and out of the stadium as needed. Yesterday, it was out and a car show was setting up. The tour was very complete from locker room to club house to the museum to the Hall of Fame. The entire complex at Schalke was mind-boggling. Fields and equipment everywhere -- turf fields, grass fields, a sand field and a tennis court field for soccer tennis. The first team was training while we were there and some of us watched it, also in the rain and a heavy rain it was.

We played the youth of Schalke '95 -- WOW !!! speed everywhere and the fastest tranisiton team I have seen at tHt age ever. The game opened at a fast pace and they seemed to be everywhere, all at the same time. they scored 2 early goals and then we made some adjustments and the game settled a bit. It was a great display of efficiency, pace, skill and tactical awareness -- their training was very evident in their play. It was a great experience for our players. Before the game each of the Schalke players gave our players a gift bag, which was very nice and nice of them.
We played the game mostly in the rain on the artificial surface with some parts of the game in heavy rain. The second half was better and the game leveled but we were unable to score and they went on to be run away winners at 5-0. Not a bad result considering all that there is to consider.

Then it was load the bus and head back toi Holland with a stop at McDonalds, which everyone enjoyed.

Today we have training in the morning, visit and shopping in Nijmegen, games tonight and then for most of the players it will be off to the guest families until we leave on Sunday.

It's been a great rip, very busy, but very well planned. Harry and Theo have been with most all of the time and they are great in so many ways. Jan is busy as always. He has Japanese group starting their tour today, so we will not see him for a couple of days. We are now down to the last few days of the trip and they will be good as the guest families will provide many neat things to do in their country.

3 day update

2009-03-24T16:27:00.002-05:00

TUESDAY, March 24, 2009

After 2 days of no service on the computer and difficulty getting a signal for the cell phone, I will now provide an update, as best as I can remember.

Sunday: after breakfast, we had a meeting /reunion with the dutchies from last summer and the guest families for this trip. It was a great turnout and everyone seemed excited to see each other again.

Following that we had a training session led by Harry, Theo and Henk ( 3 dutch coaches). It went very well. It was also on Sunday that the weather started to change -- cold and windy, but dry. After training, there were 2 options: visit the War Museum 40-44 or go to a local senior level amateur game.

Monday: Thhe weather turned for the worse -- cold, windy, now wet. We trained and just did finish the session before we had showers. After a big lunch (dinner). we went to the Opan Air Museum in Arnhem -- and it rained (hard) and it was cold and windy. Some of the buildings were not open and it was a walking tour. After the tour, we loaded the bus to go tour games in the evening in Arnhem against the local youth team. It was quite an experience for our players as the dutchies had a degree of playing sophistication and using the body that made life difficult for us.
we played 2 games - 2 different age groups and we got better as the games went on, but did not have enough to overcome the local teams. A good learning experience and hopefully we will better because of it.

TUESDAY: another cold, wet and windy day. We trained in the morning and got blasted by freezing rain. We were able to get most of the session in before we had to give in to the weather. Then it was off to Nijmegen, tpo the local soccer shop ( many purchases) and to the NEC grounds for a stadium tour and to watch some training sessions. Then off to our games for the evening -- we did better, but did not do enough to win. We finished the night with pizza at a local restaurant.

Wednesday: we will spend the day in Germany and play Schalke 04 youth team.

Great 2 nd day

2009-03-22T02:11:00.002-05:00

sun 3-22-09

quick recap-

Jan arrives and joins us

we play indoor in Someren

Go to Eindhoven for PSV - Vitesse game

beautiful day

all luggage has arrived

meet the dutchies and train today

Great first day in Holland

2009-03-21T01:22:00.003-05:00

Sat. March 21, 2009

Sunshine and blue skies greeted us as we awoke to our first full day in country.
After a typical Dutch breakfast (eggs, bread, butter, jelly, cereal, milk and juice), we were off to Amsterdam. We arrived on time for our scheduled tour of the Ajax Arena. The tour took us through all the various areas of the Arena and culminated with a group photo taken down on the field.

Following the tour, we headed to the Youth training center at Ajax ( The Futuro ) and we watched a training session of the reserve team. The pace of the session was very lively, with high intensity and plenty of competition on the field. Our group was very impressed by the session and loud the players were during the session. Intensity and communication were the 2 most significant aspects of the session.

After the training session, it was back to the Arena for the Ajax Museum tour and a visit to the Ajax gift shop. After making our purchases, we were off to downtown A,sterdam and a Canal cruise. Amsterdam is truly a unique city in the world and our short visit did not disappoint. The volume of pepoplem and bikes, were awesome. The Canal cruise gave us an overall impression of Amsterdam and then our short shopping spree put us dead center amongst the volume of people. We all wished for more time in Amsterdam, but our schedule did not permit it. We were off to Doetichem, about a 2 hour drive back to near where we started from, for our professional game (De Graafschaap vs Heerenveen. We ate at a restaurant along the way and the ribs and schnitzel filled everyone.

The game was awesome -- small stadium, filled to capacity with passionate home fans, cheering their team on to an upset-victory. Kick-off was 8:45 local time. The walk up to Stadium was through a wooden area, which would not resemble anything we have back home. Bikes lined the trees at the edge of the walkway and the crowd was building as we approached the stadium. Great game - 2 - 0 win fot the home team, who desperately needed the 3 points. It was a clash of the bootom of the table home team vs the 4th place team in the league. The players and fans both celebrated the victory.

Back on the bus for the short return trip to our 'digs' -- it was after midnight when we arrived back and the adrenaline from the day's activities, kept sleep away for a little bit longer/

Today, Saturday, we start with a late breakfast at 9 am, a vidit to the War Cemetary, and then off to 3 hours of training and playing at a facilty near Eindhoven, the site of our professional game tonight -- PSV (Eindhoven) vs Vitesse (Arnhem) -- should be another great game lloaded with atmosphere and passionate fans.

more later, after the day's activities. Everyone is doing fine and settling in well.

Finally !! We Arrived !!!

2009-03-19T12:13:00.002-05:00

Thursday March 19, 2009

After many twists in the tail, then group srrived in Dusseldorf, Germany --
but not without a certain amount of aggravation. The Washington - Franfurt connection went smoothly, while the Chicago - Munich one made up for it.
The St. Louis departure was first delayed in the terminal, as the plane had a mechanical problem. Soon came the announcement that we would be taking a different plane -- moree delay (it had not even shown up yet ?). Then, after boarding that plane, it was determined that it was not running just right -- more delay, frustration and hope. WE were told that if we did not take-off by 4:30m that we would miss our connectionn to Germany. Fortunately, a little after 4:15 we were building up steam and awy wwe were. Kudosn to the pilot for getting us to Chicago in 40 minutes - TOPS !!!

Once we landed in Chicago, our next plane to Germany was already boarding. No wasted time and we made it to thgen gate in time and boarded -- thenn waited 45 minutes for a pet (a dog) to join us. Then we were off for a smooth ride - long but smooth.

Then we arrived at Munich and our plans were to travel the last leg on Lufthansa Airlines. We got to the ticket counter to get our boarding passes only to be told that we were not in the system !! After numerous interactions it was sorted and we completed the flight to Dusseldorf, arriving on time --- unfortunately our luggage did not !!! 19 of us were without luggage -- albeit the carry-on version. FINALLY, 5 HOURS LATER, MOST OF THE LUGGAGE ARRIVED AT OUR HOSTEL --- minus luggage of 5 people. The remaining missing luggage was located and will reach us on Friday -- the day we keave here at 8 am for a full day in Amsterdam anda professional game at night.

The group of Washington-Frankfurt also had aa lost bag, but it will arrive with the others on Friday.

After settling in, we had sandwiches and fruit and took a walk into the village.
Now it's off to dinner and a big day tomorrow.

So far, we are glad to bwe here and looking forward to each dayt's experience.

Jan Pruijn update

2008-09-17T11:27:00.001-05:00

sept. 17, 2008

CBC Dutch Touch is proud to announce the appointment of Jan Pruijn as Technical Director of Ajax Cape Town, South Africa.
Jan has a provision in his contract to return to St. Louis in July to conduct the CBC Dutch Touch International Camp.We congratulate him and look forward to his return in July for a third successful year of the International Camp.

Jan Pruijn - New Head of Technical Affairs
Ajax Cape Town is proud to announce the appointment of Jan Pruijn as the Head of Technical Affairs at Ikamva.
He has agreed to a two year contract that will see him at Ikamva until August 01, 2010.
John Comitis the Ajax CEO said, The minute we realised the sponsorship of MTN I did not hesitate to secure the services of Jan Pruijn. He has a vast reservoir of knowledge about the latest developments of football and his appointment at Ikamva will once again raise the bar within our structures.
There is nothing like having first world input and experience at your doorstep. Our association with Ajax Amsterdam keeps us abreast of the developments of the world game but having Jan at Ikamva will ensure that we continually develop our coaches in accordance with the latest technical and tactical global developments.
By educating our coaches we indirectly educate our players and how better to prepare them for football at a higher level.
Jan will also work with our scouts to ensure that players who come into Ikamva is of a high quality and fit the profile of an Ajax player.
Jan has worked extensively throughout the world teaching coaches and we hope to keep him here for a long time to come, concluded Comitis
Profile: Jan Pruijn
Jan holds a full coaching badge from the Royal Dutch Soccer Federation (KNVB), which allows him to coach at any professional level throughout the world. In this capacity, he travelled throughout the world to observe and work with many countries' most talented soccer players.
Jan recently served as the head of the Ajax International Youth Development.
He was responsible for the establishment and organizational structure in the “AJAX-way” for branches in South Africa, Ghana, and Belgium. He also worked with players and coaches in Japan, Urawa Reds; China, CFA, Shanghai; Spain, Real Sociedad; Portugal, FC Porto; Switzerland, FC Basel; and several teams in England.
After his semi-professional football career, he started coaching at De Treffers F.C in 1985. Since then he has coached with professional clubs N.E.C. Nijmegan, Helmond Sport, The Royal Dutch Soccer Federation (KNVB), Lebanon F.A. National Youth Team, and A.F.C Amsterdam.
Jan has a long history and experience in running soccer camps all over the United States and Japan. At one of these camps he lectured over 500 coaches from 42 different states as well as countries like Canada, France, England and the Caribbean who attended the WORLD CLASS COACHING International Coaching Seminar at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in the USA.

Website is reloaded

2008-08-11T22:15:00.001-05:00

Monday, Aug. 11, 2009

The website is loaded with pictures from the camp -- check it out !!!
also, updates for 2009 are posted-

enkoy !!

Updates

2008-08-06T23:22:00.002-05:00

1. Check the website after Aug 11 as the Gallery will have pictures from the following activities: Camp, 4 vs 4 at St. Luke's, Pool Party, and Awards Ceremony

2. The spring trip to Holland is just about filled --
we are waiting on confirmation on a second set of tickets for a second group to go.
That confirmation should be very soon --

3. The website will have the events for 2009 posted after Aug. 11 --
check the Camp dates and Trip dates.

More pictures from camp

2008-08-01T15:06:00.014-05:00

Pictures from the Awards Ceremony

2008-07-30T15:38:00.009-05:00

Updated Information

2008-07-29T13:58:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, July 29, '08

Until Aug 11, this will be the source for new information. The person who updates the site is away for awhile, som please check this site regularly.

First of all, please check the website fot the International '08 Camp Wrap Up article
it can be found on the homepaqge scroll and a click here --

Second, thanks to everyone who had anything to do with the Camp -- it was a tremendous success.

2 pictures

2008-07-27T16:27:00.001-05:00

a picture from the dining hall and a picture of the players warming up

The way back home

2008-07-26T18:44:00.002-05:00

Saturday, July 26 - 6:45 pm

Everything went well at the airport this afternoon and the dutchies and Germans were checked in without problems. The St. Louis departure seemed to be very normal and we hope that continues until they reach home.

Friday night the families and the guests had a party at the Laufketters and karaoke was the main event. Groups combined and sang songs and had a great time. Once again, we have built new friendships and have lasting memories of the past week's experiences.

A special thanks to the host families who so generously opened their homes to our guests and provided them with a wonderful time. For many of our families, this is their second experience as host families and they enjoyed even more the second tiome around.

Thanks to our guests for coming over and making the week special with the European flair. We feel very fortunate to have this Camp taking off and doing so well and we look forward to another good experience next summer (July 19-24, 2009).

All of the guest left with a video of the week thanks to Ray Cataldo, one of the hosts. That will provide many moments to remember the week's activities and the people involved.

Thanks to so many for so much !!

Is it really over so soon ?????

2008-07-25T20:54:00.002-05:00

Friday, July 25 9:00 pm
bb
Yes, unfortunately the week has come the end, the camp has ended and our friends,new and old, will return to their homes with manuy memories. The St Louis people involved, players, coaches and host families will carry the memories of the week with them for some to come. It was a great week, culminating in a sensational awards ceremony where Jan had an assortment of momentos from Holland for the players. He initiated a soccer player card raffle and trading event that really caught on and the kids loved it. The big winner ( National Team jerseys of Holland -Home and Away, and Germany- home) were Malik Hadjri, Spencer Holloman and Jordan Forrest.

The winners of the wooden shoe award - presented to the MVP of the Camp were - Henning Huigen (Holland) in the young division and Mara Keomanivane of Illinois in the older diivision.

Nick Imo establisheda Camp consecutive juggling record today in the individual juggling contes with 2400 consecutive juggles using a #3 ball - during which time he twice cradled the ball on the back of his neck as he dropped down to tie his shoe and also trapped the ball between his legs for a momentary rest -- it was very impressive !!

From Tuesday on we picked 3 Players of the Day and presented a T-shirt with the Dutch Lion, which they wore for the entire day. The winners were: Mara Keomanivane, Michelle van der Laan, Liz Hopkins, Sara Price, Matt Yankowitz, Corey Nolte, Nick Lehman, Ben Modde, Tony Siedler (from Germany), Justin Bilyeu, Nick Imo and Tyler Womack.

we hope that everyone had a good time and learned in some way how to improve as a soccer player. We do know that there were many opportunities presented for the players to learn and hopefully, as time goes on, they will realize some benefit.

The coaches selected some 20 players and extended invitations to them to travel to Holland on the Spring trip (March 18-29). Please check the website www.cbcdutchtouch.com for more information about the trip in the near future. W#e have 20 plane tickets reserved and we expect the trip to fill rather quickly.

In closing, tomorrow, Saturday. we will gather at the airport for the final time to see our visitors off and hopefully we will stay in contaqct thru email and see them again in the spring as we travel to Holland.

Thanks to everyone for making this a great experience.

Cool,Rainy Thursday

2008-07-24T21:41:00.002-05:00

Thursday, July 24 - 9:40 PM LOCAL TIME

Yes it was a cool and rainy day -- we were in the rain during parts or all of the 3 training sessions. A late morning, heavy rain caught the last part of the morning session, with scattered rain in the afternoon, and rain throughout the evening session. The Cardinal baseball went on as scheduled.

The rain took some of the life out of the player's legs today and the recovery and rejunivation was slower than usual. It was much better than the high temps and humidity of Sunday and Monday.

Friday will close out the week with a morning session and a short afternoon session of awards and prizes. All in all,it has been a great week and many new friends were made.

I am having trouble with posting the pictures ---

Wednesday, July 23

2008-07-23T23:40:00.002-05:00

Today was a bit of a break in the training schedule as the visitors were out on the town during the morning and afternoon and the St. Louis players trained in the morning. Some of the activities for the visitors included a trip to the Arch, the City Museum, Forest Park paddle boat and Boathouse for lunch,Six Flags, malls and shopping and go carts.

In the evening we gathered at St Luke's for4v4 on grass fields, BBQ and watermelon.
It was a great night and everyone was very enthusiastic and had a great time. Then we went to the pool for a fun-filled 90 minutes of all sots of water activities, including the "unofficial" diving contest won again by Michelle van der Laan of Holland. "Jumping" Jack Tettamble was an amusing 2nd with an assortment of flops that produced near tidal wave splashes in the pool area. Everyone enjoyed themselves throughout the evening.

Jan presented the host families with some momentos and then held a raffle where all the host families won a prize from Holland.

All in all, a great day-- busy for some , rest for others -- fun for all those who joined in the evening activities.

We resume normal camp schedule on Thursday with the usual 3 sessions, although the visitors will attend the Cardinals baseball game at night.

More tomorrow, with more pictures.

Camp photo and group photo at Rams park

2008-07-23T16:26:00.001-05:00

2nd day --

2008-07-22T21:57:00.002-05:00

Tuesday - July 22, 10:00 pm local time

We got the relief we needed in the weather with a night time thunder storm and today was very pleasant. The morning was actually a bit cool and the training was great !!
Enthusiasm today was very high and the players did very well in the activities.
We are looking forward to another nice day tomorrow as the visitors will have time to sightsee until the evening when we have a 4 v 4 event in a nother location, BBQ, and a swim party. Then Thursday will resume regular training back at CBC.

pictures to follow

First full day !!

2008-07-21T21:43:00.003-05:00

I have finally received som epictures to post, hopefully more to come !!
Today was the hottest day this summer in St louis and we made it thriought the full day with plenty of necessary breaks. Lunch and dinner in the air-conditioned dining hall provided a very welcomed relief. In the evening, when the temps were lowering , the 11 a side games were played very competitively. The training in the morning and afternoon was very good and intensive and the players responded well. we are hoping for rain and a break in the high temps and high humidity tomorrow. If not, we will adjust the schedule to provide more indoor activities as well.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a good second day and the weather will cooperate.

first day in under the heat and humidity

2008-07-20T23:44:00.002-05:00

Sunday, July 20 - 11:45 pm local St. Louis time

Just finishing up the long day -- Camp started well today despite high temperatures with equally high humidity. Everyone managed to make it through and the effort was very much appreciated by all the coaches. After a technical warmup session conducted by Jan, we then played small sided games of 6 vs 6 in different ways and then finished the evening with 11 a side games played across the pitch.

Following the session the visitors and the host families met in the school for pizza and refreshments, and a little bit of socializing.

So, all in all, we had a very successful first day and look forward to a full day on Monday, although we have another day of very uncomfortable weather.

Due to a problem with my email, I have not been able to receive any mail, much less pictures to post. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have some to post.

All the visitors seem to be adjusting quickly and are enjoying themselves.

more tomorrow ---

2008-07-19T20:11:00.002-05:00

Saturday, July 19 - 8:10 pm local St. Louis time

We enjoyed a nice visit to Rams Park this morning and then had the rest of the day to spend with the host families. Sunday at 4:00pm we will meet the players and begin Camp. By that time, the jet lag should be gone and everyone will be ready to traain and play in the St.Louis heat and humidity. The temperatures are expected to be high for the next couple of days (96,97 degrees F) coupled with high humidity will make it a very sweaty ordeal.

There seems to be a break in the heat possibly Tuesday with the chance of rain showers. With the artificial turf at CBC High School, the rain will not affect the training and will probably be a welcome relief.

Hopefully everyone is settling in and getting familiar with their new surroundings.
Plenty of pictures were taken to day and I will post them as soon as I get them sent to me.

We look forward to a great first day of Camp on Sunday and the arrival of the local players. In total, we will have 104 players in Camp, including 18 girls.
Also, we will welcome back many of our players from last summer as well.

more tomorrow after Camp --

........ and we're off !!! successful landing and arrival

2008-07-18T21:47:00.002-05:00

9:45 pm local St. Louis time - Friday, July 18

We have welcomed our guests and new friends to St. Louis !!
There was a joyful reception as our visitors arrived and made their way down the hallway to the waiting host families. It was instant recognition and warm welcomes were exchanged as the host families presented the guests with Cardinal baseball hats and St Louis Rams t shirts. Everyone looked tired after the long trip, but happy to be here.

We have pictures taken and I will post them once they get to me.

First thing in the morning(11 am), we will meet and tour the Rams (NFL) training facility and then the rest of the day is for spending time with the families and spending time in various ways in St. Louis.

The good news is that they have arrived safely and we can mow proceed with our planned activities. More to come later ---

Here They Come !!!

2008-07-17T19:00:00.002-05:00

Thursday, July 17, 7:00 pm local time

In just about 24 hours from this very moment the plane will be touching down in St. Louis with our guests and new friends and some returning friends. We are anxiously awaiting their safe arrival and the time we will spend together.

The plans are all in place, the host families are very excited to welcome their new house guests and the soccer activities are just around the corner. Right off the bat, Saturday, we have scheduled a tour of the St. Louis Rams (NFL) training center in St. Louis. The rest of Saturday and a good part of Sunday will be spent resting up from the trip and getting used to new surroundings. Camp starts st 4 pm on Sunday and from then on it is busy,busy,busy. We have tickets for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game on Thursday night for the visitors and host families.

we will post daily pictures, hopefully, starting with the arrival on Friday night .

more to come in the following days ---

Countdown to CBC dutch touch International camp

2008-07-06T21:11:00.002-05:00

Sunday - July 6, 2008 - 9:10 pm local time

Hello all,

In 2 weeks time we will have just completed the first session of the International Camp '08 and will be busy placing the players in the respective groups for the week.
With just over 100 players, it will be a geat opportunity for eveyone to meet new people, make new friends,compete, learn and hopefully become better soccer players and better people as well.

We will welcome 14 Dutch players and 2 Germans to St. Louis along with 4 Dutch coaches and a group of parents from Holland and Germany as well. This is the 2nd International Camp and interest was outstanding as the registration closed at the end of April. We regret that we were unable to provide this opportunity to all those who wanted it. Perhaps next summer we will expand to a 2nd week and be able to accomodate more of the interested players.

It is our hope that everyone has a great experience and can take many positives from the week's experience. The opportunity to exchange culture and interact on and off the field with peers from Europe will be a new and rewarding experience.

Please check thios regularly as we will keep it updated and as the Camp begins, we will post daily pictures of the action on and off the field. Please visit www.cbcdutchtouch.com for Camp information, daily schedule and a photo gallery of last summer's Camp.

Anxiously counting down the days !!!

2008-04-25T16:26:00.002-05:00

Friday - April 24, 2008

hello and welcome --

welcome to www.cbcdutchtouch.com
yes the website is now officially up and running
please check it out and leave your comments

I am also able to announce at this time that the 2008 CBC-dutch touch International Camp is sold out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have a full camp plus some and it is only the end of April --
we will welcome 14 dutchies and 2 Germans to the camp this and many returning St. Louis campers with many new ones as well -- it should be another great experience for everyone.

enjoy the website

2008-04-11T15:57:00.002-05:00

Friday - April 11, 2008

Hello everyone

I want to inform you thaat soon the cbc-dutch touch web site will be up and running.
You will find it at: www.cbcdutchtouch.com

it should up at going within 2 weeks time, I hope -- definitely by the end of April.

We will be loading Camp, travel and coacing education information along with other soccer and dutch soccer-related information.

As of this moment, the registration for the 2nd CBC-dutch touch International Soocer Camp is doing very well. I think we will be full in the near future and then will have to close applications. This summer we will welcome 14 dutcchies and 2 German players to St louis along with @ 60 St Louis boys and girls. we are very excited about the prospect of another successful week and look forward to making new friends with young players form Europe.

Our most recent trip to Holland exemplified the wonderful relationships that have developed in such a short period of time. We met the parents of the players from last summer and many of them hosted our kids while we were there. It is an extraordinary benefit from the soccer eexperience and we are all better becaus eof it.

We are definitely planning to return to Holland next spring with another group of St Louis players. We have March 19 - March 28 as the dates for the trip. Plan ahead and mark your calendar as this trip will be another wonderful experience. If you have any questions, please contact Terry Michler at michlert@cbchs.org -------

Please feel free to leave comments and ask questions ---

2008-03-31T10:40:00.002-05:00

Monday 3-31-08

Below is a website that has TV footage of our game vs De Bataven in Gendt, Holland (Daan and Tim's team).
Follow the links and when you get to the list of programs, click the top left program. The game footage starts @ 17 minutes into the program.

On this site (http://www.tvlingewaard.com) go to televisie—> bekijk uitzending—> medaiplayer. You can view the TV Lingewaard broadcasting of the match that the St. Louis team played against the Bataven (at the end of the movie).

Below is the recap of the game vs SKV of Wageningen (Tom Menting's old team)

Just a short match report for our guests from St. Louis. Thursday, 27th march 2008, the match between SKV C1 and the college team from St. Louis. SKV started the match very good. It pushes St. Louis far back on its own half. The St. Louis defenders have their hands full, but they are doing a great job. It is good to see that both the boys and girls of St. Louis really enjoy playing football (or should I say soccer) very enthusiastic. Lots of energy and lots duels. SKV also uses this friendly match to try out several younger players from another team, because the C1 has some players with injures and they need some more time to recover. In the first half SKV is quite dominant, but it can not create much scoring opportunities. After 4 minutes the first shot on goal, but it is nicely saved by the goalkeeper of st. Louis. Unfortunately after 15 minutes our centre forward player must leave the game with an injury. Later in the hospital it is diagnosed as a small broken bone in his hand. He has a plaster bandage and needs to take a few weeks rest.

The first half continues with regular attacks from SKV, which result in only a few real good changes. One change for our centre forward, but it takes to much time to position the ball for his right foot. Few minutes later a fantastic save by the St. Louis goalkeeper prevents a goal. Just before half time a shot from Daniel but it hits the crossbar.

The second half is totally different. St. Louis starts much better. The combinations are good and especially dangerous are their fast attacks. It takes only a few fast combinations and the forwards are in scoring positions. SKV does not know how to handle that, and our goalkeeper needs to do some saves. Some of them require the assistance of the defenders. These fast attacks from St. Louis are really dangerous. SKV is playing 1 on 1 in the defense, and that can be quite risky. After 15 minutes SKV recovers a bit from the attacks from St. Louis. A beautiful cross reaches our centre forward, and he does not hesitate and shoots immediately at the goal. Again the crossbar saves St. Louis. A few minutes later Daniel can score after a pass from Lars. Daniel passes his direct opponent and shoots hard and low, 1-0. Being 1-0 behind inspires St. Louis to go for it. It starts to play passionately. It feels that it can still go for the 1-1. It pushes SKV way back in the defense. The attacks from St. Louis keep getting closer to the SKV goal. The players of St. Louis are pushing forward. It is with good combination football and fast forward that they can do this, but luckily for SKV the final shot or combination can be defended.

Five minutes before the final whistle SKV can score the 2-0. After an attack of St. Louis the ball is immediately played far out on our forward Daniel, He goes solo onto the goalkeeper, but unfortunately Daniel can not control the ball and the goalkeeper can pick it up. Finally St. Louis gets the desired result. A combination through the middle is not handle correctly by SKV and Tom (former SKV player) can score for St. Louis, 1-1. Almost immediately after the 1-1 the referee ends the game. After the game all the players from St. Louis get a small memorabilia (key ring with wooden shoes) to remember this game.

For both teams I think this was a great experience. It is always nice to play against international teams. St. Louis thank you very much for this game.

2008-03-29T09:47:00.002-05:00

Sat - 3-29-08
9:45 am local St. Louis ( 3:45 pm dutch)

thanks for the responses to the blog about our safe return.
the link to Bataven provides some great photos - need some help with the interviews and write-ups (dutchies ???)

A very special thanks to Tim who was huge in the preparation of this trip. He was a valuable partner from the beginning to the end. He did all that was asked of him and did it very well. Trips just don't happen to go smoothly without a lot of reasons. Thanks Tim !!!

Also thanks to the adults who were on the trip with us to help in so many ways --
Norm, Cathy, Charlie and Marc. It was a team effort and we all have great memories that will last forever. Thanks to all !!!

We will definitely plan to return over next Easter with more experience and with young players who will enjoy themselves in the same way as the players did on this trip.

Any of the dutchies with photos could please send them to Terry or Tim and we are going to compile everyone's photos on a memory stick and give to everyone.(like we did last summer)

Also, for the dutchies, I will send the sweatshirts to Jan and he is planning a meeting for you and he will give them to you at that time.

St Louis parents may also order a sweatshirt and I will send an email about that soon.

thanks to Rody's parents for taking on Nico for the entire trip and for seeing us off at Schiphol. Rody and Nico were the perfect pair --

Thanks to all the dutch parents for visiting at our Hotel on the Thursday night to say good-byes -- that was very special that you were there with us. We are vey lucky to have established this new friendship with people who live in different parts of the world. When any of you want to visit America, especially, St Louis we will have everything for you. Please take us up on this at some time.

all the best

Terry

2008-03-28T20:51:00.002-05:00

Friday 3-28-08
9:00 pm St Louis local time (3 am Dutch time)

We have safely arrived home after a very smooth flight from Amsterdam to Chicago, and then a 30 minute delay in Chicago and then, the final touchdown in St Louis to complete the return trip of the CBC-dutch touch International Soccer Experience.

Wow !!!!! What a trip !!

Special thanks to the St Louis players and parents for making this happen --
it's a great idea, but it must have a following.

Special thanks to Jan Pruijn for his expertise in arranging this wonderful trip for our kids. We had everything possible for the best trip possible. Jan had 10 teams from outside of Holland over during this 2 week period and managed to pull it off very well.

Special thanks to the Dutch host families: The families of Jip, Daan, Tom Menting, Michelle and Jordie, Tim, Rody and Irene. The hospitality and friendship was tremendous and greatly appreciated. They became our cheering section for each of the games and spent time with us even after the boys left and came into the Hotel.
We have made new friends through this soccer experience and we are better for it.

Special thanks to the 'dutchies' - Jip, Jordie, Michelle, Rody, Tim, Daan, Tom Menting and Tom Stuve who trained and or played games with us. Your friendship, influence, laughter and style of play is important to us.

Special thanks to Harry and Theo, our Dutch trainers and friends. They trained the boys and coached them during the games and shared with all of us their passion and knowledge of the game.

We look forward to the July camp (20-25 July) with 12 Dutch players and 2 German players coming to St Louis. We also will plan a return trip next Easter back to the Netherlands with the St Louis players.

We are all home, but hwne asked at the airport about retunring to Holland, one of our group said - yes, tomorrow !! That says it all.

thanks again to everyone for all that you did to make this trip a lifelong experioence.

2008-03-26T02:43:00.002-05:00

Wed - 3-26-08 8:45 am local (2:45 am StL)

yesterday was a busy day with training, shopping in Nijmegen, toured the NEC stadium, played a 'friendly'with a nearby team of Jordie and Michelle (L 1-4) and then finished the night watching a soccer blooper DVD back in the Hotel.

Today's schedule calls for training or morning game with visiting Canadian team, back to Nijmegen for the soccer shop, tour the War Museum of '44-45 in Groesbeek, then an evening game ve de Bataven (Daan and Tim's team).

Cold and dark clouds with a bit of snow to start the day.

2008-03-25T06:10:00.002-05:00

Tuesday - 3-25-08 12 noon local time (6 am StL time)

we just finished the training session ahead of the first dose of snow for the day.
It seems that we get every form of weather in the same day, except warm temps.
Yesterday started with snow, cleared, sunny, rain, sleet and snow and some form of freezing sonw/rain/ hail. It certainly was a mess as some of us were trying to get out of Amsterdam and back toi the hotel.

the first night at the De Oude Molen was fine and the morning breakfast was plentiful and good. We are now back for lunch and then to Nijmegen for the day --
watch professional training, tour the stadium, walk the city along the river, and shop at the local soccer shop. this evening we will have a 'friendly' - although due to the weather and poor field conditions, it has been changed to a turf field in the city where we are staying.

more pictures will foolow as many have been taken.

yesterday was the day with the families and many activities took place --- a castle was visited and lazer tag was played, bowling, ice-skating, sightseeing, taking in as much Dutch culture as possible.

ok for now, more later.

all is well to date

2008-03-24T04:25:00.002-05:00

Monday 3-24-08 10:30 am local time- 4:30 am St Louis time

a day off today to spend with the families, visiting sites in Holland.
The day started with snow and is a mixed sky with the sun peeking out occassionally.
The week's forecast is for much the same all week with temps rising from 5,6,7.8 celcius as the week goes on.

starting tonight we all gather in the De Oude Molen (Old Windmill) hotel for the rest of the trip. Tuesday is training and spending the day in Nijmegen watching NEC (por teasm_ train and then sightsee and visit a soccer shop. In the evening we have a friendlie vs the team from Michelle and Jordie.

we are off to see some youth games of the NEC pro system and then a driving tour of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and the north.

Vroluk Pasen - Happy Easter

2008-03-23T14:15:00.002-05:00

I see Terry already posted information on the tournament, and it is now my turn to post a few pictures. I am keeping a daily log and have much to share about Nederland in general. Irene informed it is no longer Holland!

Regards,

Tim Tettambel

2008-03-23T11:25:00.002-05:00

Easter Sunday (5:30 pm local time - 11:30 am St. Louis)

It was a nice day throughout today for the weather with the sun shining for all 3 games. The boys played very well in the first game of the day vs England, but had bad luck. We lost 0-2, in what very easily could/should have been a 1-1 draw. A penalty kick not given and a very questionable late, offside second goal was the story of the game. That English ended playing for the championship of our division. In the 2nd game, we lost 0-1 on late misplay goal that left all of us a bit disappointed. We had our fair share of chances throughout the first 2 games, but failed to capitalize. In the final game of the game, the position game, we prevailed in an exciting game that saw 5 goals. We took the lead twice only to have the Denmak team draw level with us - but in the end , in extra time, Jip Ukusare completed his hat trick for team St. Louis dutch-touch. So, we ended on the right note, with a much deserved victory, and on the day we played 2 very good games.

Monday, the players will take a day off from soccer and spend the day with the families. Easter Monday, in the Netherlands, is a holiday, so everyone, all the parents, will be involved in the day's activities. Then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are busy days with 'friendlies'at night. The players will re-group Monday night and stay in the De Oude Molen Hotel for the remainder of the trip.

We have tons of pictures being taken and we were all given a team photo of our St Louis- Dutch team, very nice !!!

look for pictures and the girl's results to follow.
I apologize for not info on the girls but they are playing in a different location than we are. Look for comments to this post and the girl's result will be posted by the vd Laan family.

I was just informed that the English team that we played well against this morning, won the Championship 1-0 vs Scotland. That was our best game and as I said, it should have ended 1-1.

Hope everyone is enjoying a happy Easter - things are fine over here and the weather is till cooperating - dry and not so cold !!

2008-03-23T02:22:00.003-05:00

Easter Sunday

The easter bunny has arrived and brought a stranger to town today -- the sun with clear skies !!!!! Hopefully, that will be an omen of good things for the day. The boys resume pool play today with games vs England and Denmark and then the position game, while the girls play for the championship of their division. There is a comment posted from yesterday's post from the vdLaan family with the good news that the girls finished first in the pool and today will have the chance to play for the championship.

This tournament consisit of 450 teams from 15 different countries = it is the European equivalent of the Dallas Cup !!

more later today with hopefully good results

we need to leave now in a hurry while the sun is still hanging around.

2008-03-22T10:20:00.003-05:00

SAT AFTERNOION 4:15 PM dutch time (10:15 am St Louis time)

another day of cold, wet weather -- and 3 shortened games.
adue to the weather and field conditions, the games were 20 minutes long.
first game vs Austria 0-0,
2nd game vs SC Venray (Holland, the host city's club) 0-3,
and the 3rd gaame vs Denmark, 0-3.

We are still looking for our first goal.
The boys were joined by the dutchies from the St Louis camp in July:
Tim, Dan, Rody, Jordie, Jip and Tom.
The dutchies rained with us on Friday as well.

The girls joined a local team as guest players and did very well in their games.
I do not have specific information om their results. Tomorrow, concludes the tournament with 3 more games.

frpm all indications, everyone is adjusting very well to their new ´digs´.
I have spoken with everyone, and all is well.
Having many of the dutchies around from last summer is really special and the interactions between the groups is fun to watch.

Tim will be posting photos and that will be nice to the activities of the group.

all the players are with their ´families´ until game/time tomorrow.

more tomorrow //

2008-03-22T04:27:00.003-05:00

It is now Saturday morning and we are able to post pictures!!!

It was a long day with the children having two -1hour- training sessions and the premeirship game. All were extremely tired when we left the match at 11 pm. The children also experienced a seasons worth of weather in one day - rain, sunshine, and snow.

I will post more later today, for we are off to the matches.

2008-03-22T02:14:00.002-05:00

sat - 3-22-08

a quick short note as we are off to the tournament -
the weather today should be dry -- dmp and cold, but dry.
yesterday was a good day of soccer and alousy day of weather, but we all made it ok.
the game last night was exciting as the home team - Vitesse - was losing 1-3 at halftime and scored 2 second half goals to earn a draw. There was a banner in the stadium, in our section that Jan had done -St Louis USA greets Vitesse - we had pictures taken = and oh yes, we have the banner !!

more later

2008-03-21T02:58:00.002-05:00

3-21-08
9:00 am local time (3:00 am St. Louis time)

As we get ready for the first of many long, exciting days, we actually had a teaser of sunshine, followed quickly by the ominous dark clouds, suspicious of the possibility of rain.

we have 2 training sessions scheduled today on turf fields, so the weather will not affect that. Tonight, we go to Arhnem, nearby city, for the professional match, and that will be played as scheduled.

As I am sitting here right now, it has just started to rain and the sky looks very unforgiving -- more rain, for sure !!

I am hoping the players got caught up on their rest as theysettled nin with their 'new'best friends. The comments posted here regarding yesterday's report, indicate that all is well and we are off to a great start.

Hopefully, we will be able to post some photos. We took a group shot outside of Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam as we were awaiting our bus. Pictures were also taken when the host families arrived for pickup.

In the time it took me to type this far, the weather has gone completely bonkers. As I just looked up and it is now a slanting, rain, sleet and snow combunation, The good news is that we are 2 hours from our scheduled training time, plenty of time for the sun to show it's most welcomed face again.

Oh well, I better stop while I'm ahead. Who knows if I stay on here any longer and the weather keeps changing, we could have that last St. Louis snow.

more later after the match tomight.
thanks for the comments. The kids have been great to date !!!

2008-03-20T15:45:00.002-05:00

3-20-08

yes we have arrived to the land of tulips, windmills, bicycles wooden shoes = and RAIN !!

Our flight from Amsterdam was smooth and arrived 50 minutes early !!
we were taken by bus to our meeting point, Hotel de Oude Molen, in Groesbeekn The Netherlands for a meeting with our host Jan Pruijn and the host families. After a short meeting with Jan, a Dutch lunch of soup, kroketten and sandwiches of ham or cheese, the host families started arrivingg for introductions and meeting the players. It was great to see some of our 'dutchies'from last summer - Daan, Tim, Rody, and Tom - their parents - plus the mother of Jip and Michelle and Jordie.
The players were then taken to their dutch 'homes'to settle in for the next 4 days.

Rest was in order after the long trip - with training in the morning and afternoon tomorrow, follwed by the Vitsse - NAC game in the Eredivisie, the Dutch 1st division.

we will try to update this post as often as the schedule will allow and post pictures as we can.

the anticipation has been realized and the reality is now - we are here and ready for the busy days ahead.

Off to Holland

2008-03-10T12:05:00.000-05:00

March 10, 2008

CBC - Dutch Touch Off to Holland

Off to the land of tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, bicycles …… and oh yes, some very good soccer as well. The CBC – Dutch Touch International Soccer Program is sponsoring a soccer trip to Holland March 19 through March 28. The group will compete in an Easter Holiday Tournament, play a series of ‘friendlies’ with local Dutch teams, train with Dutch coaches and visit training sessions and attend matches of the professional and youth teams of Holland. In addition to the soccer, the players will stay in the homes of our new Dutch friends and experience the culture of Holland.
This is a continuation of the program that was initiated last summer when 12 young Dutch players and 3 fully licensed Dutch coaches attended a week long International Camp at CBC High School. Our players will stay in the homes of the players who came to St. Louis last summer -- a great way to strengthen new friendships.
The group of players going to Holland are: Austin Adams, Jimmy Bruenning, Nico Cruz, Greg Evens, Stephen Koeller, Clair Laufketter, Brian Murphy, Maxine Peat, Alex Severino, and Zac Vogt. Terry Michler and Tim Tettambel will accompany the group and Jan Pruijn will coordinate the activities in Holland.
The plans are in place for ’08 International Summer Camp to be held again at CBC High School from July 20 – 25. With enrollment limited and the interest in the camp very high, applications will fill quickly. If you are interested in attending, please see the advertisement on www.stlsoccer.net which also includes an application. Any questions, please contact Terry Michler at michlert@cbchs.org

2007-12-21T22:17:00.000-06:00

Dec. 21, 2007

First and foremost, best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I hope the holiday season finds everyone in good health and good spirits.

We are very excited that our spring trip to Holland is shaping up rather well.
Our travel party is currently at 16 - that includes players, chaperones, coaches and others who want the soccer experience.

We recently met with our travel group and the interest and enthusiasm were well received. They are anxious to go and are looking forward to a great experience.

Please stay in touch and leave a message when you are able -- love to hear from you.

2007-11-14T17:12:00.000-06:00

November 14, 2007

Hello

I received a price from Jan today for the proposed trip to Holland in the spring.

It will be a 9 days trip with 8 nights !!

With the departure from St. Louis on March 19 and arrival back in St Louis March 28 it is a 10 DAYS tour !!

Cost: US$ 850.00 for the package , everything is included !! except airfare !!

At the moment

US Airways US 725
Delta US 850

Based on 4 days with a guest family , and 4 days in Hotel Spijker (Nijmegen) with meals
All the other costs , transportation to and from airport , tickets , rental for fields
Guest – Coaches fees , so all - included US$ 850,00

2007-11-09T08:28:00.000-06:00

SOCCER: CLASS 3 SECTIONALS
CBC rallies to defeat DeSmet; SLUH wins
By Joe Lyons
POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Nov. 09 2007

FENTON — For the second time in as many games, the CBC Cadets found themselves
trailing early in a state soccer playoff game. And, for the second time in as
many games, they rallied to victory.

"For years, I've been preaching the importance of that first goal because I
have the numbers to back it up,'' CBC coach Terry Michler said. "But I've also
found that the teams that can come back like this group has, that can fight the
way this team does, those teams tend to do pretty well at this point of the
season.''

In a Class 3 sectional match Thursday night at Anheuser-Busch Center, the
third-ranked Cadets spotted No. 4 DeSmet an early goal but came on strong from
there, coming away with a 3-1 victory.

In their district final last week, the Cadets were down 1-0 early but rallied
for a 3-2 overtime victory over Lafayette.

CBC (23-5-1) will meet second-ranked St. Louis University High (24-3-3) in the
quarterfinals Saturday at 8 p.m. SLUH eased by unranked Fort Zumwalt South 3-0
in the other Thursday sectional game.

SLUH has won two of three meetings with CBC this fall.

"These are the games you live for if you go to CBC or DeSmet or SLUH,'' Michler
said. "The atmosphere, the big crowd, this is what you play for.''

In Thursday's match, DeSmet (17-4-5) scored less than 5 minutes in. After a
strong run down the left side, Spartans standout Will Bruin delivered a pass to
fellow senior Jordan Beckles at the back post for the goal.

But DeSmet's lead lasted less than two minutes. In a scramble to gain
possession in the box, Spartans keeper Dan Billman tackled the Cadets' Jordan
Barnes. Brian Groark converted the penalty kick, evening the score at 1-1.

CBC took the lead with about 4 1/2 minutes to play in the half as Barnes won a
race to a loose ball at the top of the box and managed to chip the ball over
Billman and into the vacated net.

2007-11-01T08:03:00.000-05:00

SOCCER
Cadets capture title in Class 3, District 5
By Joe Lyons
POST-DISPATCH
Thursday, Nov. 01 2007

MANCHESTER — CBC's Jordan Barnes figured it was only a matter of time. At least
that's what he kept telling himself.

"As long as we kept creating chances, I knew, sooner or later, we'd get one,"
Barnes said.

With about 4 minutes to play in the second 15-minute overtime period, Barnes
poked in a pass from Nick Sanchez, lifting the Cadets to a 3-2 victory over
Lafayette on Wednesday in the Class 3 District 5 championship game at Parkway
South.

CBC, ranked third among Post-Dispatch large schools, improved to 22-5-1 and
advances to sectional action Nov. 8 at Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton.
Sixth-ranked Lafayette finished 19-5.

A year ago, the Lancers upset CBC for the district title, going on to a state
runner-up finish.

"I thought we deserved it, but in a game like this, you're just one play from
losing, too,'' CBC coach Terry Michler said.

On the deciding play, David Kemp passed to Sanchez, who spotted Barnes breaking
in from the right. It was Barnes' 22nd goal of the season.

Lafayette's Sean Butler got the Cadets' attention early, scoring on a 25-yard
rocket off the goal post. CBC junior Zach Hundelt answered, converting on a
pass from Barnes to make it 1-1. Midway through the half, Brian Groark put CBC
on top 2-1 with a free-kick blast off the cross bar and in.

But Butler responded with another long-range goal, tying the score at 2. CBC
had the better chances through the second half and overtime, but Lafayette
refused to go quietly.

"We did what we had to do to give ourselves a chance,'' Lafayette coach Tim
Walters said. "Our guys did what we asked them to do and they played hard.''

2007-10-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Oct. 23

Just received a nice email and photo from the vd Laan's about Jordie and Michelle.
It is very nice to receive this information and share it on the blog.
Please forward any information or photo(s) that you wpould like to share and I will post it.

thanks again, it's always great to hear from the dutchies.

Hello Terry,

Here is the team picture of Michelle and Jordie. I think you can find those 2 in the back line, isn’t it??
Jordie will take part of the National Skill Championship in Papendal(Arnhem) this Sunday. He must play against 17 other boys of 13 & 14 years old and the most important thing will be to make the most skills and moves. The final winner will travel to Manchester United for 2 days and participate at a training with Manchester United!! They are trying to let Cristiano Ronaldo take place at this training!!!

So cross your fingers at Sunday for Jordie(it’s also his birthday, so it would be a nice present!!) and let’s hope he will win….

Michelle will leave to Valencia(Spain) at Saturday and will come back next Friday. It’s an exchange from the school.

Best regards, Anja vd Laan
Michelle Jordie

2007-10-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

http://prepcasts.ezstream.net/play/index.cfm?fuseaction=embstay&id=69663

to view the full game CBC vs DeSmet (10-9-07). follow the link above.

2007-10-10T21:56:00.001-05:00

Wednesday, Oct 10 --

SOCCER
Cadets hand Spartans first defeat
By Joe Lyons
POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Oct. 10 2007

TOWN AND COUNTRY — CBC's Derek Besant scored in the sixth round of penalty
kicks, lifting the host Cadets to a 3-2 victory over DeSmet in Metro Catholic
Conference soccer action Tuesday evening.

It was the first loss of the season for the Spartans (12-1-5, 1-1), who are
ranked No. 1 locally by the Post-Dispatch and nationally by the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America. CBC, ranked third among Post-Dispatch large
schools, is 17-3-1 and 2-0.

CBC outscored DeSmet 4-3 in penalty kicks. DeSmet keeper Dan Billman stopped
the first two CBC shooters, but the Cadets' Andrew Duncan responded, coming up
with saves against the Spartans' fourth and fifth shooters. DeSmet's shot in
the sixth round went wide.

Nick Sanchez, Jordan Barnes and Gino Valenti were CBC's other scorers in
penalty kicks; for DeSmet, Will Bruin, John Mathis and Justin Klenke were
successful.

The Spartans, who defeated CBC 2-0 in the CBC Tournament early this season,
grabbed the lead midway through the opening half Tuesday as Steve Seithel
intercepted a pass in the CBC backfield and scored on a 30-yard blast to the
far corner.

The Cadets pulled even later in the half as Barnes converted a through pass
from Charlie Backus. Barnes put CBC on top 2-1 with just under 16 minutes to
play as the Cadets took advantage of a turnover near midfield.

But DeSmet managed to pull even with less than 4 minutes to play in regulation
as Jordan Beckles scored after the Cadets were unable clear the ball from their
box.

DeSmet had the best chance in overtime. With about a minute left, Beckles
pushed a pass across the field to a wide-open Seithel, but Duncan stopped the
low shot.

CBC will travel to Jefferson City this weekend for the Art Firley Shootout.
DeSmet returns to action Saturday, hosting second-ranked St. Louis University
High at 2 p.m.

2007-09-30T19:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Sept. 30

Glad to report that we have already received ressponse for the spring trip to Holland. We have 10 responses wanting to know more informaation. Jan is currently in Canada on a soccer project for the next 2 weeks and after that he will put together a plan for the trip. Once I receive that, i will post the details on the blog.

Terry

2007-09-27T22:14:00.001-05:00

Thursday, September 27, 2007 5:39 PM
Subject: Holland ?? anyone ??

Hello everyone !!

Jan has stopped in St Louis for a brief visit and we met to discuss a possible trip to Holland .

The dates are March 17 thru March 25, 2008.

The invitation is for boys born in ’94.

There is a tournament in Holland during that time and there will be training as well with Dutch players.

All of the particular details will be worked out shortly.

We are looking to bring 12 players from St. Louis to join with Dutch players and participate in the tournament.

If interested, please respond.

Terry Michler

Jan Pruijn

2007-09-26T10:03:00.000-05:00

Rememeber Matt Clarkin from camp ---
here he is in action for CBC vs SLUH in the CYC Tournamnet Championship game.
Matt has done well so far this season playing on the varsity team.

2007-09-23T17:38:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Sept. 23

Solid SLUH outlasts CBC in title game
By Joe Lyons
POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Sep. 23 2007

FENTON — Jack Twellman saw the opening and took the shot. And what a shot it
was.

Twellman's 35-yard blast, into the upper-right corner of the net, highlighted a
solid effort as St. Louis University High knocked off CBC 2-0 on Saturday in
the title match of the 53rd annual CYC-Bob Guelker Memorial Soccer Tournament
at Anheuser-Busch Center.

SLUH, ranked fourth among Post-Dispatch large schools, improved to 12-1-1 and
avenged a 3-2 loss to the Cadets in defending their CYC-Guelker title.
Third-ranked CBC is 11-2-1.

Has Twellman ever hit a ball better? "Probably not," he said "I knew I hit it
well, but it's not like I was placing it. ... Coach tells us to aim for the
middle because the ball probably won't end up there anyway.''

The shot came with about 14 minutes to play and was the SLUH senior's second
goal of the match. In the first half, he converted a penalty kick to put the
Junior Billikens on top.

2007-09-21T11:30:00.001-05:00

Friday, Sept. 21

Hello Terry,

We would like you to open the next webpage to see which title Michelle got from the soccer club JVCCuijk. She has been appointed to “ Talent of the year”.
Every year there is the election of the sportsman, sportswoman, sportsteam and the promise of the future. And the last year they made Michelle talent of the year; the most talented youth-player of the last year. Isn’t that wonderful?!
I will translate the article for you.

http://www.langsdemaas.nl/0001kort%20nieuws/berichtenxml/070917vanderlaan.html

JVC chooses Michelle van der Laan to Talent of the year
At the annual member meeting Michelle has been chosen to talent of the year.
The president of the club, Ingrid Kloosterman, took extended time to speech about Michelle. The title was handed over by Ellen van Eldik, the coach of the girlsteam from the KNVB, district under 17.
Michelle started to play soccer at the age of 8, but she also was a fanatic gymnast and she decided to proceed her gymnastic-career. So she stopped playing soccer. In 2004 she nevertheless choose to play soccer again and so she stopped with the gymnastic training and turned back to JVCCuijk.
The last season she was the only girl to play in a boysteam(C2) and she took part at the districtsselection girls under 15 KNVB. She even played with her mothers team and was an important player.
Michelle has played 2 selection games for the girlsteam district under 17 and is now waiting for the results of it.
She played them very well.

Best regards to all of you!!
Michelle, Anja and the rest of the family

2007-09-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, sept. 18

News from Holland (email from Thea and pictures of Jip)

Hello Terry,

All is well here.

Thank you for keeping the blog up to date. We still check it regularly. It is nice to read how every one is doing.

We still talk about St. Louis a lot. And of course we always talk about soccer.

I think Jip has learned a lot from you, about soccer, about friendship and about life.

Good luck to you and greetings to everyone.

From Thea, Tony Jip and Max

thea.sonnemans@chello.nl

2007-09-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

Monday, Sept. 17

Hi Terry

Just want to say hello to everybody.

The soccer season has not been started very good for us
We lost the first 2 matches, but last Saturday we won our first game.
The new team must get more a “real” team and this takes time.

I send a picture from our team C1 “v.v. De Bataven” Gendt.
You can follow our results and program on http://www.debataven.nl/batavenc1

Tim and I received a invitation from the KNVB to play
the 2 selection games on 27 September and 2 October….wish us good luck :)

We will inform you about the results.

Greetings to all

Daan Basten

2007-09-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Sept. 16
Big win for CBC soccer --
article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

SOCCER
CBC scores two late goals to upset No. 1 Chaminade
By Joe Lyons
POST-DISPATCH
Sunday, Sep. 16 2007

CREVE COEUR — As Chaminade soccer coach Mike Gauvain pointed out, the Red
Devils got what they deserved Saturday afternoon.

"You have to play the full 80 minutes, and we didn't do that,'' Gauvain said
after visiting CBC struck for two late goals for a 2-1 victory in the Metro
Catholic Conference opener for both squads. "We spent the last 10 minutes
trying to protect a 1-0 lead, and CBC took advantage. Somehow, some way, they
managed to put a couple of balls into the net.''

Chaminade, ranked No. 1 among Post-Dispatch large schools, also entered the
match ranked No. 1 nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of
America and by Student Sports.

CBC, 8-1 and ranked third among area teams, was a goal down with about 4
minutes to play when senior captain Dan Olwig scored off a corner kick. Less
than two minutes later, the Cadets' Nick Sanchez notched the game winner.

"I got into the box, cut the ball back on the defender and hit it as hard as I
could,'' Sanchez, a junior, said.

The shot hit a Chaminade player, went high in the air and then off the post
before crossing the goal line.

"It feels incredible,'' Sanchez said. "We didn't play our game in the first
half, but I thought we worked harder and played better after halftime.''

Chaminade (7-1) controlled play early, taking the lead on a goal in the final
minute of the opening half. The Red Devils' Ryan Bauer dribbled to the end line
before delivering the ball into the box for senior Peter Hyde, who scored with
a low shot.

CBC coach Terry Michler called it an improbable victory.

"We cheated ourselves by letting them control the first half,'' he said. "But
we kept ourselves in the game and managed to pull it out.''

Both teams will compete next week in the 53rd annual CYC/Bob Guelker Memorial
Tournament at Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton, with a rematch possible in
Friday's semifinals.

2007-09-12T09:52:00.000-05:00

Wed - Sept 12
an email from Michelle

Hello Terry!

This is Michelle, how are you doing? I’m fine. I really loved the time in America. I want to come back next year, but I’ve seen that it’s not possible, because next year it is for children between ’94 and ’95. That’s not so nice for me.
Like Irene said, we all are going to school now, it is the normal life again, but we will NEVER forget the time in America. I still have the wonderful pictures from America, and they are between my bed. Every evening I look at them, and then I think of you all guys. It was a very nice time, I would love it to come back one time, or maybe twice! Haha, and then the families. Were we stayed. I will thank all of them, that we could stay with them. I guess the other 11 Dutchies loved it there. I still miss you all, maybe the camp can be in Holland in 2009. That would be great!!
The competition from our own team has begun already, we won one game with 5-0, and we lost one game with 2-1. That’s not so good, but the first half we were worse. The second we were better, but they didn’t gave it away. I have also played a selection game for the Girls team under 17 for my district. I played very well, but I still have to play one more. But when I play the same as before, and how I played in America, I think I will be in the district-team under 17.
When we have a training with our own team, sometimes I put the clothes from America on; Orange, blue, white, or white, blue, orange: DUTCH TOUCH. 

After we came back from America, me and my family, (Jordie also) went to Italy. It was nice wetter, and we just played soccer, and swim. Here (ITEM) a picture from me and my brothers, (from left to right; Julian, Me, Jordie and Jannick) at the swimming pool. Can you please thank Tim Tettambel? My brother and I stayed with him, we liked it very much,

Thank you, thank you, thank you,

Xxxxx Michelle, and greetz from Jordie and my mum and dad.

2007-09-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

2007-09-10T14:06:00.000-05:00

Hello Terry,
A little note from Holland, last Saturday I was at Harry's house. Theo and his wife were also there. We had a fine evening and talked a lot of our stay with you.
We all did enjoy it very much.
Terry could you put the picture on the blog site for me, it do not work by me.
And will you also put on the following text.

Dear everyone,
Back in Holland we miss you all, we like to come back to you next year, if it is possible.
We all had a wonderful time with you and we loved the weather, here in Holland it rains a lot and it is only 16 degrees Celsius. Cold and wet.
All the children are now at school and have to go back to the normal life, but they will not forget the wonderful time in America.
Thank you for every thing.
Many greetings from Theo and Harry and from me (see the picture).

Irene

2007-09-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Sept. 9

We finally got some rain !!!!!!!
and the temperatures dropped -- hurrah !!
It looks like we will have nice weather for awhile now --

My team is now 5-1-0 and won a Tournamnet Championship this past week.
We played our 3 big rivals and had 2 wins and 1 loss, but manged to win the tournament with the best record.

This week we have another 3 games with a big game on Saturday.
The team is playing well and should have a successful season.

I hope everyone is enjoying success with your team and your personal performance.

Feel free to leave comments.
Still waiting to see Ajax on Tv --

Terry

2007-09-02T12:27:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Sept 2

Daniella

thanks for the comments.
I am sure that Tom will do well with NEC and it is a great opportunity for him to express himself and to develop his talents.
Please keep me posted on his season.

Ajax has lost some key players, but I'm sure they will do well.
I am looking forward to watching them when they appear on TV in the US on Setanta Sports.

My team finished the first week with 3 wins and now we must get ready for a tough 3 game week against 3 of our biggest rivals. Hopefully, at the end of this week, I can report more good news from my team.

Jan is planning to return the US in late September and will stop in St Louis for 2 days. We have a game when he will be here, so he will be able top see us play.

Good luck with school, NEC and the travel.

Stay in touch

Terry

2007-08-30T21:29:00.000-05:00

8-30-07
Thursday

I am happy to report that my season with CBC High School opened with a 3-0 win on Monday (8-27). This weekend, (8-30,9-1) we play out of town teams from Indiana and Wisconsin. Then the following week we host our Tournament - the 30 something year of it -- feauturing the best teams in the area.

The heat may be starting to break, but we still desperately need rain.

I watched the Eredivisie game of PSV - NEC on Setatnta Sports -- big win for PSV.
Hopefully, soon Ajax will be featured.

I recently went to the NEC website and saw Stefan and Tom Menting listed with the
C-2 team. I will follow that team this year.

Please send indo on what you and your team is doing.
Love to hear from everyone when you get a chance.

terry

2007-08-19T21:18:00.000-05:00

Sunday, aug 19

Hello here a mail from Srefan Reynders.
How are you??
Everything allright with you all?
Iäm doing great with NEC.
I want to come next year to St Louis,it was great in St Louis.
I"ll send you some pictures from me from NEC and with a player from Vitesse.
Bye,greetings from Stefan

I am trying to download some pictures, when I figure it out, they will be here.
Hopefully soon !!!

Terry

2007-08-15T08:53:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, Aug 15

Just received a translation of an article from an interview with Jordie and Michelle vd Laan that appeared in a dutch paper.
It is so nice to hear such positive responses to our camp experience this summer.

I will attach the translation:

Eat lots of hotdogs
During the last week of July 2 Soccertalents from Cuijk took place at the International Soccerweek at the CBC HighSchool in St. Louis, USA. Michelle(15) and Jordie(13) van der Laan found out what it looked like to live like a real professional soccerplayer in a strange country.
Michelle and Jordie will be playing in the C1 selection of JVC Cuijk next year. They also play for the districtsselection of the KNVB in their own age-category. And besides the soccergames they get coursetraining by Theo Joosten 1 time a week.
“Because of these coursetraining it all began”, Michelle says, aiming at the trip to the USA. “Theo Joosten maintains narrow contacts with Jan Pruijn, soccertrainer and initiator of the CBC Dutch Touch Soccercamp”, completes Jordie. Also by their many presences and commitment, their talent was revealed and so brother and sister received an invitation to take part at the trainingperiod in St. Louis.
With a group of another 10 kids from the environment of Nijmegen, Michelle and Jordie set of to the airport at Dusseldorf and went to America.
All the children were categorized in American host familys. Daily they went to the Highschool campus, to train or play soccermatches several times a day at the art grass with a group of 80 soccertalents.
“Meanwhile we had lunch or diner and we could eat as much hotdogs as we want”, Jordie says so. Furthermore on the program were a reading, a soccer movie, an excursion, a barbeque and a swimmingparty at the swimmingpool. “With a gymnastic jump I won the diving contest”, Michelle lets know with her 6 years of gymnastic background.
“But the most beautiful thing was to be between al the Americans in such a great and strange country, with the different language, and see how life goes there”, Michelle says. Jordie agrees with his sister. “It’s also a good thing to be at your own feet and to make your own decisions”, they both continue. “And we have met so many new people, like Sara and Austin…”
“What kept me up, was that technically the Dutchies were more improved than the Americans, but fysically they were stronger than us…”, decides Michelle, while they both were lying down more and more as a result of the jetlag…

Thanks to the family vd Laan for sending this to me.
Stay in touch

Terry

2007-08-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Aug 14

Hope all is well and that the new seasons are starting for everyone.
I have heard from a number of the families and the players are busy training with their teams. The season is also starting here in the States, so the local players are also trianing and prpeparing for games.

Please keep this blog open with responses and comments and information.

Jordie and Michelle are doing an article for their newspaper and will send me a translation and I will then post it here.

I am starting week 2 training my team and the training is improving, even though the weather is still brutally hot.

Anxious for the Eredivisie to begin -- I get a weekly game on Setanta.

Keep us posted on what's going on

best of luck to all

Terry

2007-08-12T15:10:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Aug 12

The heat continues to be the topic in St Louis -- today the temperature is currently (3:00pm) at 102 f -- no relief in sight as the forecast for next week is similar to last week.

We will temperatures around 100, with no chance of rain.
The heat certainly affects the training as we must modify our training schedule and the performance of the players is also affected.

I received a response last week from Theo Bastan, Daan's dad and I will attach it below. Congratulations and best of luck to Daan and Tim.

Daan and Tim got a telephone call from the KNVB coach that they have been selected for the inter-regional soccer team under 14 years from the KNVB.
Evenso they have to play very good
in the next cupgames, because there will be scouts from the proffesional clubs to look at them.

So a busy and exiting time is coming up.

We also wish Stefan and Tom Menting good luck as they have started training with NEC.

Please keep us posted on their progress as well as anyone else who continues to follow this blog.

Terry

2007-08-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

Thursday, Aug 9

This is a translation of an article written by daan and Tim for their Gemeente Nieuws about the camp experience. Thanks to Theo Bastan for sending this to us:

In the week of the 30th of July Tim Buurman and Daan Basten, who both play in the C1 team
of the Bataven and who both are national Dutch voetballers (under 13, eastern region) came
back from an unforgetable journey which they made to St Louis MO, America. Organisator
Jan Pruijn (old player from the Bataven) invited both lads with ten other Dutch players in the
age catergorie of 13 to 15 years to join him in the “CBC Dutch Touch” International Soccer
Camp in St Louis.
Since Febuary there had been several meetings giving everybody the chance to get to know
each other and to recieve information about this special journey.
On the 20th of July the day had finaly come and a group of twelve soccer players and three
trainers took off for a ten day trip from Dusseldorf airport heading for the USA.
They flew via Detroit to St Louis where they recieved a warm welcome from Jan Pruijn and
all the guest families. Tim and Daan were staying with Nancy and Joe Robinson and their six
children, who were all very exited about having the “Dutchies”
The first day the boys stayed at home, rested and tried to aclimatise to what in their eyes was
“The Big America”, everything was bigger, the house the car and even the televisions were
bigger than at home!
On Sunday July 22nd the soccer began at last with a four versus four tournament.
This all took place at CBC High School in St. Louis where Tim Tettambel, Terry Michler
with their staff and with the Duch trainers Jan Pruijn, Harry Jansen and Theo Derks, and
about seventy players were about to start on this great soccer happening. With the
temperature well up in the 30’s and with a high humitity it took some getting used to for the
Dutchies. In the evening the boys were all collected by their guest parents and enjoyed a well
earned rest.
On Monday 23rd of July the routine of the football camp began as it would for the rest of the
week. After pancakes at home for breakfast, they would be taken to Highschool for training
and then a four against four game, lunch at school, more training and then eight against eight,
diner and then in the evening eleven against eleven games. The teams were often mixed and
the language wasn’t a barrier when it came down to playing soccer together.
It was tough and very tireing for the boys having to play in such extreem temperatures, and by
wednesday they were pleased to have the day off, and visited the Arch, sailed on the
Missisippi completing their day with a barbeque with water melon and a nice cold dive in the
swimming pool.
Thursday was the day that the Dutch players were to give a demonstation training, under the
leidership of Jan Pruijn and watched by the sixty American players.
Friday was the last day, they played some soccer and in the evening they watched a real
American baseball game in a big stadium.
Tim and Daan had a great time with their American family, in the evenings they would play
baseball, soccer and basketball with the children and neighbourhood childen, after which they
would sit on the veranda and teach them Dutch words.
Their Guest family were as a real “Guest” family and everyday there would be e-mail contact
with Holland, the boys were espiecally well looked after with much warmth and care.
All in all it was an experience that Tim and Daan never will forget, and their contact with
America is one for always and who knows one day they may return.

thanks

terry

2007-08-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

As we swelter in the St louis heat (heat index over 100 f)and the forecast for the temperature to be 102f the next few days, it's time to think of better things.

the 2008 version of the cbc- dutch touch International Camp will be held the week of July 20-25 at CBC. We have confirmed the dates with the school and are good to go.

We expect a lot of interest as this year was very successful and generated a lot of interest. We will accept players born '94 and '95 and those who attended this summer will have first chance to attend.

Rain would be nice, but does not seem possible. So it is more of the same.
due to the excessive heat, our training schedule has been modified and we get much less done. Everyone has the same problem and in time the heat will decrease and we can get on with things as usual.

Will trade sun for rain for a few days --

Terry

2007-08-05T09:59:00.001-05:00

Sunday, Aug 5

Glad to report that Harry and Theo are safely home, without any delays !!
I already miss their constant barrage of humor and the quick one-line responses.
Not only were they very good with the soccer, they were a blast to be around.
Theo has groups from Kenya coming into Holland Tuesday for soccer games, so not time to relax.

Today, I am watching the Charity Shield game - Man U vs Chelsea -- both teams are playing for keeps and seem to be in mid-season form. Next week the Premiership starts and the rest of Europe will be starting soon also. Plenty of great soccer to watch and enjoy.

Our weather here is going to be very hot and dry for the next week. We will have temperatures in the 100s f with heat index above that. It will be very uncomfortable and I can already foresee some training cancelled due to the excessive heat.

Hope everyone is back to their normal routines and looking forward to their own club seasons. Please keep us posted on what you are doing as I will keep this blog open for as long as possible.

Enjoy

Terry

2007-08-04T08:48:00.000-05:00

Saturday, Aug. 4

Well, it is officially over now that the last of the dutchies (Harry and Theo) have left and yes, it does seem like the storm has lifted. It was such an emotionally charged experience that the letdown hits hard. It has taken a few days to get back to normal, but it has also been a time to plan for next summer as well.

The reaction that we have received from the locals and the dutchies has been very positive and that makes us want to do even better next year. We have set the week of July 20-25 for the 2008 camp at CBC. I already have heard from people wanting to register NOW for the camp.

Great news from Tim about rcovering Jip's camera from the Hilton Hotel. The pictures will be a lasting memory with every picture there is a story. It was very nice of Tim to put the pictures from the host families and Irene together on the memory stick for everyone.

It rained and stormed briefly last night -- finally !!
However, it is going to be a very hot week with the temperatures up to 98 f, that plus the humidity will make it very uncomfortable. We were lucky with the weather for our week, even though it was hot, it could have been even hotter.

I am anxiously awaiting the beginning of the European soccer season as I am able to watch many of the Leagues -- English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, German.
Maybe someday we will see some of the dutchies in the Eredivisie.

Have a nice day, enjoy the weekend

Terry

2007-08-03T12:09:00.000-05:00

Friday, Aug 3

Today we take Harry and Theo to the airport for their return trip home.
What a pleasure it was to spend 2 weeks with them, to learn from them and to enjoy their company. They could do comedy as 2 man act -- they are funny and play off of each other very well.
I thoroughly enjoyed talking soccer with them and sharing information. Watching them work with the young boys and mostly girls in the 2nd week was very interesting. They have the ability to relate to players at whatever level they may be and their patience and willingness to help them improve was truly outstanding.

I would love to welcome them back anytime in the future and I will pass this along to Jan as well.

I wish them a good, safe flight home and thank them sincerely for their time spent in St Louis, and for the new friendship that we created. Once again, I am fortunate to have met new dutch soccer friends and expanded my knowledge as a coach.

I learned something everyday from Jan, Harry and Theo and I thank them for that.

Terry

2007-08-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

Thursday, Aug 2, 2:00 pm

Just read a nice response from the Robinson's about the wonderful experience they enjoyed in hosting Daan and Tim.
I can say without any question of a doubt, that this was the biggest win-win situation that any of us have ever experienced.
I read the nice, grateful comments of the Dutch parents, and I read the appreciative st Louis parents and I have spoken with the players enough to know, that everyone had the time of their lives and we will always remember this as a special event in our lives.

Let's hope that we can continue to communicate and exchange mail and share stories even if we are far apart in distance. I want to know how the dutchies are doing and I will be interested to hear from them during their season to know how it is going.
We can also share our stories with them and keep this linof communication open for ................... !!!!!

Thanks to Daan's family for telling me they will translate their story of the trip and we will share it will friends here.

Tim is putting together a 'story book' of the trip, so please send your story(stories) so that we can all enjoy them.

Tim was telling me last night that when his dutchies arrived, they were going to go a coffee house and talk -- the dutchies looked very suspicious of Tim because in Holland, the coffee house is a place to buy and smoke marijuana and hashish, where here it really is a coffee shop to drink voffee and to talk.

that's the first shared story -- let's hear some more !!!

Go Ajax -- hup holland !!!!

Terry

2007-08-02T09:41:00.001-05:00

Thursday, Aug 2

Just read a nice response from Daan's family saying how much Daan enjoyed his time in the States and his host family. Als it was mentioned that Daan and tim will write an article for their soccer club magazine about their trip to the States --I would like an English version of that , if possible.

we are already having people in St Louis asking about can they sign up now for the camp next summer -- it is the talk of the town !!!

It is still sunny and very hot here and we need some rain !!

I start team training on Monday, Aug.6 for my CBC High School team and that season goes through the end of November.

I just spoke with Jan and he is relaxing on holiday with his family at the beach.

Harry and Theo have their last training session today and then they are off tomorrow to return home. I have really enjoyed them and learned a lot fromm them.

thanks again

Terry

2007-08-01T12:52:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone

by now everyone has settled back home and it is business as usual.

I will keep this blog open for a period of time to allow for messages back and forth.
Feel free to use this as I will check it and post messages regularly for awhile.

I would like to know how everyone is doing now that you are all home.

friday, harry and theo also go home -- then we will have no dutchies until next summer --

Go Ajax !!! maybe that will get a reaction or 2 --

hup holland

Terry

2007-07-31T16:21:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, July 31

We are glad to report that all the dutchies have made it home safely and that Northwest Airlines is still cancelling flights.

The weather in St Louis is just like last week, sunny and hot and dry !!!!
I hope that in Holland the weather is n ice for everyone.
The last of the dutchies to arrive home will need some time to rest up from the tiring ordeal of 2 days of delays at the airport.

Harry and Theo are busy training teams in the evening at CBC from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm and today they also had a 9:30 to 11:30 am session as well.

bye for now

Terry

2007-07-30T22:20:00.000-05:00

Monday, july 30 10:20 pm Str Louis (5:20 am Amsterdam)

30 minutes from now the plane shouild be landing and the dutchies will all be home, back with their families. The long ordeal of getting home is all but over, and now the stories of the trip will begin to be told.

Best of luck to all and thanks

terry

2007-07-30T17:58:00.000-05:00

Monday, July 30 6:00 pm

No news from Jan --
that means the dutchies are getting closer to home by the minute --
good for them and their families.

I can imagine how excited all of you will be when that plane touches down in Amsterdam and the drive home home will be full of stories.

Thanks again -- it was a great experience shared by all

Terry

2007-07-30T13:28:00.000-05:00

1:29 pm Monday , july 30

from Jan in Detroit

terry,

flight is still on time ,boarding 03.15 , and departure
04.10 !!

If you don't get a call from me , then everything is on
schedule and ON TIME !!!

Regards Jan from DTW

2007-07-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

Monday, July 30 -- 11:00 am

There are NOW no more dutchies in St. Louis !!!!!!

they have arrived in Detroit --
I will attach Jan's email to me:

Hello terry ,

we just arrived in detroit !!
boys and girl are behaving well !!

flight is still on the schedule and on time !!!

so hopefully we will arrive in amsterdam on scheduled
arrival time 05.55 AM

pass this email on to Tim as well

enjoy the day , and I'll keep you updated !!

Jan

good news for all

Terry

2007-07-29T23:46:00.000-05:00

Sunday, July 29, 11:40 pm

just got home after spending time with the dutchies at the Hilton Hotel and having a late dinner with them. They were all in good spirtits after play time at CBC and a swim in the Hotel pool.

Jan is holding up quite well as he is doubling up as a travel agent and trying to find flights that will get them home as soon as possible.
Let's hope for the best tomorrow and that they get on their morning flight.

time to go to bed and get some rest --

terry

2007-07-29T19:00:00.000-05:00

Sunday, July 29 - 7 pm

another day of disappointment for the remaining 6 dutchies and Jan --
Northwest airline failed to confirm the tickets they gave them and when they showed up on Sunday to fly home, they did not have tickets !!!

Again, after trying everyway possible, they were forced again to stay over in St Louis at the Hilton Hotel near the airport.

We took the group back to CBC to play soccer and basketball in the gym and just to let them play -- they seem ok now, but were obviously disappointed.

The plan now is to leave St Louis Monday at 8:30 am and arrive Amsterdam on Tuesday at 5:55 am -- let's hope that this plan works .

Glad to hear that the first group of dutchies are safely home, and resting up I would imagine.

stay in touch

Terry