Soccer on the Beach

Two weekends ago, before I left for New Zealand, a couple of my friends and I played a game of soccer on the beach.  It was fairly cloudy out and we were watching a game on tv; we decided we didn't want to stay inside all day, so we headed to Bondi to have a little fun.  There was a group of eight of us and only four of us had played soccer either when we were little or competitively.  We started by explaining the rules and setting up a few make-shift goals in the sand.  With four to a team, we had two play striker and two play fullback, with one designated to run back and play goalie.

The four that hadn't played had a difficult time with accuracy when it came to kicking the ball, so we were running all around the beach because we didn't establish sidelines.  We also decided that goals weren't counted if the ball was above chin-level so people who had previously played wouldn't launch one across the field and score easily.

It ended up being a very entertaining and competitive experience.  I realized that soccer is a fairly easy to teach, but that doesn't mean a person will pick it up quickly.  Also, no matter how good or bad a person is at a game, they can still be very competitive, even in a situation with friends.  My team ended up winning the game 10-8; we decided about halfway through that instead of having halves, we would just play to 10.  It was a great way to have a little outdoor, recreational fun during the weekend while playing a little futbol.

Mojo Surf Camp

This past weekend I went up north for surf camp.  I have learned to surf once before in Hawaii but it was about seven years ago, so I wasn’t sure how it would go when I tried it again.  We were up at Crescent Head, about six hours north of Sydney at a beautiful, secluded beach.  Before our first surf, the guys went over some of the rules about being safe in the water and with the board.  We weren’t supposed to have the board in front of us in the water, because if a wave came it could smack us in the face, knock out teeth, or completely knock us out.  We also learned more about rips and how they can actually help surfers, on boards, get out past the breakers.

Once we were in the water, the instructors had us start on smaller waves to get used to the balancing.  I learned very quickly that if your feet aren’t flat on the board and in the middle of the board, you will fall into the water.  The whole first session, I couldn’t seem to get the hang of it.  After we came back from lunch, someone told me if I tried to push up by holding the rails of the board I would make it wobble and make it more difficult for myself; I then tried pushing up in the middle of the board and stood up without a problem.  After that, the rest of the trip was a blast.  

Rugby League Game

After already having experienced a Rugby Union game, I was excited to watch a League game this past Sunday.  It was Redfern vs. Moore Park and most of the men on the teams were aboriginal.  It wasn't a professional rugby game, but it seemed to be either club or semi-professional.

The first thing I noticed about the teams was how big they appeared to be.  Compared to the Union game I was at last weekend, for the majority, these guys seemed much taller and much bigger.  I also think that I may like League a little better than Union because I think I understand it better.  I understand how many players are on the field, and how much tries are worth, but the part I like the most are the 6 downs.  It kind of reminds me of football back in the US, so for me it's a lot easier to follow; the change of possessions, when they kick it down the field is more logical to me.

The other things that I noticed about the atmosphere of the game were that the guys seemed a lot older and that there were a lot of families there.  It seemed like most of the men on both teams were dads and a lot of the kids had on jerseys with their dad's number on it.  I thought the kids were really cute and I loved that all of the men had people there supporting them and cheering them on, especially with how hard they were getting hit on the field!

Rugby Union Game

This past weekend I went with some friends to the Waratahs v. Chiefs Rugby Union game.  I have never been to a rugby game, and I've only seen it on tv a few times.  I have tried to understand the rules but I kept confusing League and Union and I didn't know the terms very well.  Luckily, one of my friends played Union in the States in high school so he was able to explain the scoring and some of the positions to me and I was somewhat able to follow the game. 

We ended up cheering for the Waratahs because a few of my friends were fans.  They won 23-16 so it was an exciting atmosphere in the stadium.  Near the end of the game, we thought the Chiefs were going to take the win because they were only down four with a few minutes left in the game.  They seemed to be coming back.  However, there was a penalty call and the Waratahs kicked a goal that brought the lead to seven.

One of the things that did surprise me was the crowd at the game.  Sydney Football Stadium is a huge arena and I thought that because it was a Friday night it would be crowded.  I don’t think the stadium was even half-full.  For as popular as rugby is, I wasn’t sure why there were so few people.  Even though it wasn’t very crowded, my group had a lot of fun cheering and enjoying the game.