Argentina Field Hockey Tour

19 July 2015Jim Ganley

Over the March Break, the Field Hockey team travelled to Argentina for a two week tour. Here are some of their adventures. Game 1 – Alex S After we travelled for 36 hours and made a difficult adjustment to the heat, our billets created a fun and great learning environment to play against their tough team. Our first game took place the day after a training session with their Olympic coach and the St. Matthews’ College students. Considering the heat, the opposing team agreed to play in quarters of 10 minutes, with 5 minute breaks in between. We held off the team for the first quarter, but then gave up a couple of goals. Considering this was our goalie’s first game, everyone was incredibly impressed by her agility and courage! Not only was this Brylee’s first game in net, it was our team’s first game playing together as a whole. St. Matthew’s had been playing together since primary school. As the game progressed, we began our journey to becoming a united team. For this game our Captains were Kaela S and Delaney M, who managed to keep the team’s spirits up through the thirty-degree weather. As the game came to a close, the St. Matthews coached offered us an extra quarter to play just for more experience and we decided to accept; we were in Argentina to play! Finally, however, heat exhaustion overtook us and our team collapsed in the change room post-game. The St. Matthews girls were tough competition but the game was a fantastic way to kick off our field hockey tour. Game 2 – Bryn C After an 8 hour bus ride, we finally arrived at our new destination, San Antonio de Areco. We were immediately given our billets and were whisked off to pool parties and get togethers, followed by a BBQ dinner at the school. The following day we had a morning practice and tried to familiarize ourselves with the grass field we were playing on before the tough match against Colegio San Antonio. The field was small so we played 7 aside – a game that was new to us. It was somewhat challenging getting used to both the long grass and a new system; however, we adjusted to our new situation, worked very hard as a team and managed to finish the game strongly and with smiles on our face. Although the final score was not in our favor, we met some wonderful people and made some lasting memories. Game 3 – Mitali P 35 degrees Celsius. This was the weather we were playing in all tour, but for this game, and this game only, it clouded over. You wouldn’t think it possible, but we were thanking our lucky stars that we didn’t have to play in the blazing heat again. The game was one of our best. Led by Captains Emily L ’16 and Mitali P ’16, our forwards were taking as many opportunities as they could to shot on the net, our defense were blocking shots left and right, and our midfield were supporting the whole team. To top it all off, we had a delicious barbecue after and bonded with our opponents. We had a great game against Duendes and we hope we get a chance to play their club again, maybe this time in the clouds of Canada. Game 4 – Brooke M After the previous day’s ten-hour bus journey, our team of 12 was ecstatic to run our legs around for our fourth game. We arrived in the afternoon at Club Los Cincuenta and were relieved to find the weather to be warm but not unbearable for a change. Our Captains of the game had been chosen carefully: Kaela on the field, always working hard, and Brianne for support from the sides. From the very first whistle we played our hardest. After our previous game, the team had really begun to work together; we had learned so much about the game and each other by this point. Our passes were stronger, our voices louder and there was a general growth in our confidence, trust, and skill. The opposing team lent us four players as subs, and the girls were friendly and excited to play with us, despite the language barrier. Their energy was contagious. The game was divided into ten-minute quarters to allow everyone to play relentlessly with the promise of frequent water breaks, much needed in the South American heat. Our team scored first but the score was quickly evened. The game ended on a 1-1 tie and we all rushed in excitement to our goalie Brylee, who, although inexperienced, made some amazing saves and never gave up. At the end of the game the other girls insisted we teach them our team’s pre-game cheer and in return they taught us theirs. Before we left the club, many of our girls traded our Brentwood tour shirts in exchange for club jersey (which we all wore back to the hotel in pride despite the sweaty odor). We were lucky to play with Club Los 50: it was one of the many great experiences on our Argentinian adventure. Game 5 – Bryn C Our 5th and final game was against St. John’s School in Buenos Aires which had a beautiful turf. The heat was 35 plus and we didn’t have any subs for the game. Luckily, St. John’s gave us a few of their players who were more than eager to play for Brentwood. We were down 2-0 and earned a penalty corner when the final whistle blew. Determined to finish on a good note, we executed our penalty corner to perfection and scored on our final play of the tour. After a luncheon, we said some very sad goodbyes to our last billets, and continued on back to our hotel in Buenos Aires for our last night. The Argentina Experience – Bryn C Filled with many empanadas, 35 degrees weather, tough matches, attempts at Spanish and “Netflix Nights”, the excitement on this trip truly never ended. Throughout each hello and goodbye, we made lifelong friends and memories. Argentina was a trip to remember and we all are so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience this amazing country and culture. Our Field Hockey team consisted of 12 amazing and talented girls from Grades 8-11. At the start of the trip, many of us were somewhat strangers to one another, but we quickly became a close-knit group of sisters. Starting off the trip, we had a private practice with St. Matthew’s School led by Mr. Sergio Cachito Vigil, former Head Coach of the Argentine Women’s Team which won the Silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Gold at the 2002 World Cup, and Bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Beijing. This was a highlight of the trip for our star-struck coach, Mrs. Martin. Working with him not only helped us as individuals but also helped us work together as a team, and we learnt many new techniques. We all played our hardest, brought out great endurance, worked together as a team and were proud of many outcomes. The teams we played were very skilled and the girls were so kind to all of us. On and off the field, they were all so eager to get to know us and wanted to know lots about Canada. Having this opportunity to play at a high level of field hockey and the chance to get to know these compassionate girls was a highlight of the trip for everyone. After 3 of the 5 games we played, we were introduced to a billet, a player of our opposing team, and the girl whose home we would be invited into for a stay of two nights. At first, many of us were nervous since most of us had never done anything like this before. The nervousness was quickly replaced with excitement and by the end of our first billeting experience we couldn’t wait to do it again. We all really did feel a part of the family whose house we would share and they were all so inviting and made us feel at home. Through this experience, many close friendships were made with the girls, and we will carry these friendships onwards for a lifetime. We all hope they will come stay with us in Canada soon, so we can introduce them to our culture and let them be a part of our at-home lives, as they did for us. With many new beginnings, come many sad endings. Saying goodbyes to our opponents, billets, and friends was hard for all of us, but the experience was something we are all so grateful to have had. A huge thank you to our awesome coaches, Mrs. Alanna Martin, and Mrs. Sarah Hall, who guided us through this experience, and led us to great outcomes. They were hard-working coaches on the field, and compassionate mothers off of it. We can definitely say this Spring Break was one to remember. Ciao for now Argentina, we hope to see you again soon!

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