Catching up with Danny on the Balkan Hockey Caravan

Day 3 began with a 1.5 hour journey south to Novia Sad. After saying a big thank you, and goodbye to Bojan, from Subotica, I was greeted by the local coach and 4 young assistant coaches who all spoke good English. I taught the kids some new and fun elimination skills, before playing a competitive volley game and crossbar challenge. We then played some conditioned games before breaking for lunch. After lunch I was shown round the stunning city, and taken to the fortress over-looking the River Danube and the city.
In the afternoon I introduced the kids to some new receiving and shooting skills, and ended with a tournament and 8v8 game. The kids were very enthusiastic throughout the day, and tried to put the new skills they had learnt into practice as much as possible.
A big thank you to Natasa, Bojana and all the other local coaches from Novi Sad!
onwards to Day 4 – My first of 5 sessions in Belgrade started day 4 of the caravan. We had use of a good quality pitch, and just over 30 kids in attendance. We worked on some elimination skills and tricks, including through the legs drags and squeezes, and ended with some fun games.
Before lunch I was shown round Belgrade by my hosts Mia and Laki – it was a great experience to see some of the city, including the meeting of the 2 rivers in the city (the Danube, and the Sava), and the Belgrade Fortress that overlooks the city. Following lunch we then had a short drive north to Pancevo for my 2nd session of the day.
Although the numbers were small, due to a lot of kids being in holiday, we had a great session. The low numbers allowed me to work individually with the kids on some basic ball carrying and dribbling techniques. We finished the session with a game that involved flicking the ball into a spare tyre that was used for American football training!
I now have 2 full days working with the 30 plus kids in Belgrade to conclude the caravan.
More soon….. thanks Danny!