Team Building

      Things are going great here in Finland and today was the day that we received our wireless internet connection.  I don't have a computer here, so I am fortunate that Ben (the player I brought with me from Trinity) is allowing me to use his computer for the blog.  We are in the midst of having two practices a day, so that is keeping our days full of activity.  I am probably working on football related things for about 10 hours a day at this point.  That doesn't leave much time for other things, so I haven't done much exploring yet in the area.   The team is making progress and we had a very intense practice this evening.  We need this sort of intensity because we open up play next weekend against the defending Maple League champion from Finland called the Porvoo Butchers.  Today was a beautiful day and we are already getting lots of daylight.  It gets dark around 9:30 or 10:00 and the light woke me up this morning around 4 am.

      I am also happy that today marks the first day in nearly 14 months that I will be living my life without the blood thinner coumadin.  I took my last remaining pills last night, so I am hopeful that I won't have to go back on them anytime soon.  Many of you know that my injury in March of 2008 from playing a church league basketball game was a real life changer for me.  I ruptured my achilles tendon and then developed a series of life-threatening blood clots all thorough that leg that placed my life in danger.  I had to endure 3 surgeries to place filters near my heart to protect me from a pulmonary embolism.  There were nearly two months of twice daily shots in the stomach to help thin my blood,  many days of chronic pain in the leg, regular blood tests, and the list could go on and on.  I am happy to say that I am getting better.  I still have some residual clotting and some pain in the leg on a daily basis, but I have learned to cope with it.  The whole ordeal has been a big challenge for me to overcome, but I feel that I am finally making some progress.  Thanks to all of you who helped, encouraged, and prayed for me during this time.  

      I had my second trip to the Finnish grocery store today and it went much better than the first.  I had to ask for help to identify meats in the store.   I learned the Finnish word for beef is naudan and the word for butter is voi.  Our lunch today in the cafeteria was the best yet.  We had a smoked chicken dinner with rice that was excellent.  There was also swedish pound cake, which has a similar texture to pancakes, and you place whipped cream and berries on top.  What a treat!  People from Finland were a little upset today as the American hockey team defeated the Finnish squad last night.  I didn't get to watch it, but some Finns in the cafeteria were asking me about it today.  Well, I am happy to report that the countdown to see my children and wife is now down to 12 days.  I will be counting the hours before too long!   Here are a few pictures from today.

Crocodile player Eric Snyder-- Eric is a very versatile and talented player with excellent speed.  We are looking for big things from him this year on both sides of the ball.

This is me just after the afternoon practice.  The field in Seinajoki is set in a very pristine area and is surrounded by many trees.

Players are stretching before the evening practice.  Notice the soccer goals in the distance.

Finishing up the pre-practice stretch.

Getting ready for practice.

Lights out.