Stephanie Labbe: My life in Piteå!
Piteå "downtown"
Since returning last week from Holland, where I had met up with my Swedish club, Piteå, I have finally had the chance to settle back into my little niche here. It is so great to be with my team and bonding and hanging out with them. It is hard being away for so long, as you gain a lot with one team, but then miss out on some with another. Sometimes I feel like I am living a double life! Either way, its been great to be back, and play some friendly games in our gear up for the start of the season!
This past weekend, we played two games, the first against a Norwegian club, Trondheim, in which we won 3-1. We played well and created many chances offensively. The second game was against Umeå IK. It was a hard-fought game both ways, ending in a 3-3 tie. PKs were done to ultimately give Umeå the win on the sixth shooter. It was a tough loss, but some really positive things coming out of the game for us! (more…)
Maria Karlsson: Baptism, FA Cup, and visitors
The last week has gone really fast with a lot of fun on the schedule. Since I came to Doncaster in January, March 13 has been the day that I’ve been waiting for. It was the day for our first competitive game, and moreover, Chelsea away in the FA Cup. It was a massive game for us, and it’s always special to start the competitive season after a tough preseason. It’s now where the fun begins. (more…)
Lisa-Marie Woods sums up her Algarve experience
In my last blog, I got as far as to tell you abut our good start with beating Finland 2-1 in the Algarve Cup. Well, it would come to show that the rest of the matches did not carry the same good feeling. The second team we played in Portugal was the USA. The USA came out aggressive and so did we. None of the teams could really settle any play in the first 20 minutes, and it went back and forth between the teams. Then after 20 minutes, it was downhill for Norway and a good climb uphill for the US. They took more and more over and won 2-0 in the end. Well deserved if you ask me. The US played up to their potential and came off as a very solid team, while as we have a ways to go before our potential is reached. Hate to loose, but (we) lost against a better team. (more…)
Stephanie Labbe: From Cyprus Cup to Sweden
Living out of a bag is really starting to get old! Its been six and a half years since I last lived at home, and I have attempted throughout the years to keep my life packed into 3-4 bags. Not ideal. But that’s the price I have to pay for having the job I have, and doing what I love. Speaking of doing what I love, a lot has happened in the past week and a half since I last blogged. We (Canadian National Team) made it to the Cyprus Cup final, meeting Holland. The last time we met Holland was in December in the Brazil Four Nations Tournament. (more…)
Maria Karlsson: Sisters
After this weekend I feel that the subject for the blog is clear. My sister Sofia, who is two years younger then me, came to Doncaster to visit, and it was such a nice time. I have two sisters, Anna who is three years older than me, and Sofia. They are my sisters and also my best friends. It has been lovely to have ‘Fia’ here in Doncaster. It’s hard to imagine that it’s the same sister that I would wrestle and once furiously shoved into the brand new glass shower door when we were kids. Fia’ and I fought and Anna was the mature older sister who cried because we always teased each
other. I think it was the winning instinct which was born then, and I can now imagine how hard it must been for ‘Fia’ to always be the loser when we played football in our basement when we were young. They were tough games, but in one way or another I always won with one goal. Anna and ‘Fia’ are both living in my home town Gothenburg. That’s good for me, who sometimes lives out of a suitcase in their apartments, is like a second home for me. I feel that I can talk with them about everything, even if sometimes they don’t want to hear all I have to say. (more…)
Stephanie Labbe delivers music video and more from Cyprus
Can the Canadian Women’s Team Dance?!?! My vote is yes … without a doubt. Some of our moves may be a little less, um, coordinated, but there is definitely some hidden talent on this team! About a week ago, Carmelina received a little dance/singing video from a few of the USA players who are in Portugal for the Algarve. They of course wanted a response. So, the Canadians we are, of course we not only had to respond, but we took it up a “few” notches and blew their video out of the water, not that it was a competition. But I think we may have turned it into one! (more…)
Norway’s Lisa-Marie Woods checks in from Algarve Cup
Away with the national team
I must say that after all the days of snow and playing in the cold, I was happy to leave and play in the Algarve Cup with the Norwegian national team. The weather has been great with about 18 degrees Celsius and sun. It is so lovely to play in T-shirt and shorts again. But OK, enough talk about the weather, as that is not the interesting stuff. After arriving here, we have had a lot of good trainings as well as a game against Finland. (more…)
Maria Karlsson: Team spirit and teamwork
Teams spirit and teamwork. These two words mean a lot to me. I really believe in team spirit and teamwork and the cliché that a team never is stronger than the weakest link. Do I think like that because I’m usually not the player who determines games by scoring the winning goal? Did I choose to play a team game like football for that reason? How true is this cliché? (more…)
When in Rome
Shopping=my weakness. OK, I have many weaknesses, like chocolate, candy, new clothes, and possibly even watches. Unfortunately for my bank account, on our day off in Rome, I indulged in some of these weaknesses. “When in Rome, right?” After many hard days of testing, training, and workouts, we were rewarded with a day off. Some girls on the team stayed back to do some rehab/treatments for injuries and knocks, and some of us went into the city to explore a little, and of course shop. We are girls, what do you expect right? (more…)
Maria Karlsson: Adapt to a smile
One thing that I’ve come to think about after a couple of weeks here in England is how good people adapt to new settings and faces, simply new conditions. And that’s exactly how I feel here in Doncaster. I know that it’s not usual to live at a hotel for one year. But when you know going to do it, it’s just to adapt. And I think we all do it very well! But one thing that I still think will be very hard to adapt to is the left traffic in this country. According to Google, there are only four countries in Europe that drive on the “wrong” side. Why don’t they drive like the rest of us? I am happy when I pass over a cross walk and they have written “look right” or “look left” on the street. That information (and my friends) has saved me a lot of times. (more…)
Lisa-Marie Woods: Settled in at Fortuna
I feel like I have been in Denmark and playing for Fortuna for a while now, when in reality it has only been about two weeks. I take that as a good sign as that means that I have settled in well with the team both on and off the field. Any player that goes abroad to play with a new team knows that this kind of settlement early is really important. It allows you to lower your guard, just be yourself and have fun with playing and getting better.
Since I last wrote we have had two other friendly games. First game was against Gøteborg from Sweden, and then the second game was against a boys/junior. team. We won the first game, 2-1, and drew the second game, 1-1. We have performed better and better in each game, and we are starting to show some real potential. We do still have our work set out for us, but I am really happy about the development I have seen. My own form is also getting better and better, and it is easier and easier to play alongside my new teammates. That is a relief for me personally. Thanks to Fortuna for making this “easy” for me! (more…)
Stephanie Labbe talks Valentine’s Day, fitness testing, and foam rollers
Happy Valentines Day!
Typically on Valentine’s Day I would want to wake up to a nice box of chocolates, or candy, or maybe even flowers and a card … but not this year, not today. OK, I wont lie, I did get some chocolates and candy and a card, but that’s a secret … OK, not anymore, but it was! This year for Valentine’s Day, I woke up with my Canadian team to weigh-ins, fat testing, strength testing, and fitness testing. (more…)
Allie Long: ‘That reversed smashed car feeling is only temporary’
The beginning of preseason is just around the corner. Being physically fit is an imperative aspect of being a professional athlete. The winter time would be a perfect excuse not to work out for an average person, but typically at this point in my life this excuse doesn’t
work for me. My injury that I got in December while in camp with the U-23 National Team set me back somewhat, which has led me to the belief that the treadmill might be the worst and best invention ever created and simultaneously my best friend and absolute worst enemy. As I am sitting in my room usually ready to go to the gym two hours before I actually leave to go to the gym, I sit and think: two hours, yes, TWO HOURS, before I am ready to go, this new feeling in my stomach and my brain starts to kick in. I never felt it before, but It’s the feeling like you just reversed into someone’s car, you heard a smash but do not want to go out and see the damage that has been done. That feeling is the same feeling I get when I think of getting in my car to go to the gym. At this point, I mentally talk myself in to going, “Come on Allie, you will thank yourself for the hard work you put in after it’s over.” Yes, it works for about two seconds until, “But damn, it is the most pain I felt in a really long time.” (more…)
Maria Karlsson settling into Doncaster, preparing for first FA Cup match
People who know me well, know that I like organization and structure in my life, so this last week has been heaven for me! Now I have a national insurance number, an English bank account, and last but not least, an English phone number. Feels good! I feel that I’m more and more beginning to get routines here in Doncaster. (more…)
First weekend with my new team, Fortuna Hjørring, Danish champions
After December 2010, I was out of contract and looking for a new club. It took me some time to find the right team for me, but now I have found it and it seems to just what I am looking for. With it being the World Cup this year, I had to make sure that whatever team I decided on had to be very professional both on and off the field so my focus can be on training and getting fit for the World Cup. (more…)
Some Words From Up North, Eh!
Since arriving home from China, getting back on my proper sleep pattern has been a challenge to say the least. From late afternoon naps, to 3 a.m. Skype sessions with teammates, to 5 a.m. mornings wide awake, I have now managed to get myself back on a decent sleep schedule. It took a while, but by forcing myself out of the house during the day it has come around … almost all the way. Just in time for me to fly off to Sweden and go through it all over again! (more…)
Allie Long’s got game … and she challenges FIFA
As for my very first blog writing for the infamous Our Game Magazine, it is clear to me that I should open my career with a banging first blog. As for that, I really hope the owner of FIFA subscribes to Our Game in hopes of reading this, and when I say FIFA, I am referring to the video game. As I watch the beautiful game of soccer being controlled by two people in unidentified locations via Xbox LIVE, I wonder why no one is playing with a women’s soccer team. (more…)
Maria Karlsson: ‘My first week in Doncaster … ‘
I’ve now been in Doncaster for more than a week. It has been days full of new impressions and meetings with new people. I’ve switched from a house in Sweden to a hotel room in Doncaster, my family and friends to a new team with new teammates, snow to bare ground, Swedish to English and so on … a totally new situation and I really like it! (more…)
