4 nations champions

Hola again,

How are you all? Sorry for the delay between posts. Internet wasn’t great at our last hotel. So as you may have seen, in the last few days we have had some great success in Mendoza. We have played 3 games, firstly beating USA 1-0, then drawing with the Argies 1-1 to get us into the final, then beating the Argies last night with a goal in extra time. What an exciting game it was. We had a really tough match against them the previous day so were all feeling very tired and sore. Cronky had played a blinder to keep us in it and we were very happy to draw with them which put us in over the Germans.

The game was as tough as we had expected but this time we were all over them in the first half. I only had a few saves to make and so we were looking good going into half time. Our only problem was that we had lost one of our defenders Anna who got hit on the hand. Turns out she had smashed her knuckle so today flew home for surgery. One of the other girls from perth has been called up and so will come to play the second leg of the tour here in Rosario. Anyway we didnt come out aswell in the second half and had 2 goals scored against us, both from Pc’s. Ash and Casey combined well to get one back but it was starting to look like it was all over. With less than 30 seconds to go we headed into the circle and just as the siren went the umpire blew a short corner for us. The Argies were going nuts of course but the umpire stuck to her guns. We had a secret weapon up our sleeves in Jodi Shultz who is a big Queensland girl who can drag flick. We hid this skill the whole time and chose to pull it out as a last chance effort to draw the game. It worked. Great goal and therefore extra time. We regrouped and decided that we didnt want to be out there any longer than necessary so said one chance and that has to be a goal. Within a minute we had another short corner. Secret weapon stepped up and bang..all over. Great effort by Jodes and our first gold medal as the new hockeyroos.

This afternoon we arrived in Rosario after a 2 hour flight and a 5 hour bus ride. Here we play all the teams again in another 4 nations tournament. Plan is to do it all again but with a few injury concerns it could be a bit difficult. Im looking forward to spending a bit of time wandering rosario again. It feels like only yesterday that we were here for the world cup.

I have attached a few photos so I hope you like them. Take care

Rach x




5th at World Cup


The World cup is almost over, with only the 3v4 and 1v2 final to go tonight. For us we have finished our tour in 5th place after beating Korea 2-1 in our final match. It has been a really great trip with plenty of highs and lows but I have enjoyed my time in Rosario and relished the chance to mingle with locals, learn more about the culture hear and also speak a bit of Spanish. The Argies certainly know how to put on a show and are so pationate about hockey, which is wonderful to see. Now we head home and after a weeks break start our preparation as a team for the Commonwealth Games. Should be great!

Two from Two

Two games down and the Hockeroos are in a great position at the world cup. Yesterday we beat India 6-3 and our first game was 2-1 against Japan.

Some really good performances in the chilly Argentinian conditions. Today we will all rest up for our big game against the Dutch tomorrow. Usual plan on a rest day is to sleep in, have a few meetings, see the physio if necessary, get the goalie gear washed of course and then start looking towards the next game. Keep an eye out as it should be a tight battle.
Rach

World Cup 2010

Hey All,

It is the eve of the World Cup. I am looking forward to both the challenge and the experience. I feel we are well prepared and ready.

We don’t play our first game until Monday, we play Japan. We are going out tomorrow to watch the first game (Argentina v’s South Africa), which should be a good start to the tournament.

Cheers

Toni Cronk

World Cup Rosario 2010

The Hockeyroos have arrived in Rosario and after a very long few days of travel we all can’t wait to get into the hockey. Our hotel is great and we have been for a bit of a walk around to suss out the area. This afternoon we have training and then tomorrow is our first game which is the ‘Audi Cup’ against Argentina. It is a one off game as a bit of a warm up before the World Cup. Ill be putting regular posts on here once the tournament starts so keep an eye out.

Belen Succi

The photo below of Maria Belen Succi, OBO sponsored player and goalkeeper for Las Leonas, the Argentinian Women’s National Team, appeared over the weekend in newspapers with wide circulation throughout Argentina. The photo can also be viewed on the Adidas site.

Belen Succi

Belen’s achievements include winning a bronze medal with the national women’s team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. You can view Belen’s profile at the Confederacion Argentina de Hockey website.

Commonwealth Games Preparation June

Many thanks to solubleduck who asked what sort of training and preparation is needs for the Commonwealth Games.

Well solubleduck, due to the Commonweatlh Games being directly after the World Cup in Argentina most of our preparation is focused around the World Cup which will lead us nicely into the Commonwealth Games.  Currently the Hockeyroos are on tour in Europe. This tour will include focused training sessions and also extra fitness work. As we get closer to the competition trainings will be tailored to more game scenario drills.

Our normal week includes roughly 6 on field sessions as well as a number of strength and conditioning sessions followed by recovery sessions each week.

Teams are always looking at ways to stay on top and ahead of the others. The world of women’s international competition is fiercely competitive these days. Teams need to be fit and resilient to be competitive.

Hope that goes someway to answer your question solubleduck.

Please keep the questions coming.

Cheers

Toni Cronk