Old Coach Vladimir

We were so excited to see our friend Coach Vladimir again in Kungur. We met "old coach" on our very first scouting visit to Kungur back in 2005. Vladmir has been coaching in the city since the Soviet days, in fact for over 40 years, and had coached most of the players we played in our games at one time or another. On our last visit, he was coaching a team that loved hockey but could not afford gear. Out of his meager pension, Coach had purchased skates, gloves and sticks for his boys - talk about dedication! He is now retired after having both eye surgery and heart surgery this year. But he still loves the game and braved the cold weather to come out and watch our games 2 nights in a row. Spending time with Vladamir and getting to introduce him to our team made our trip to Kungur complete.

A little Tour in Kungur

Hello everyone, it's Matt again, filling you in on the events of our week.

This week's outreach was in the town of Kungur. It is an old town south of Perm, which is famous for it's ice caves in the winter

The team was promptly introduced to a pleasant surprise, beds! We stayed in a hotel in the middle of the town, and the whole team was very glad to be sleeping in beds, and not on the floor.

We also didn't have as many practices to run this week as well. We ran two practices all week. I personally was lost and clueless for both practices, because there were no goalies to coach. But from what I saw, the team did very well and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Although we had few practices, they were compensated for by the amount of games. Four of the five days in Kungur ended with a game. Every night was a little bit different. One night, we were mixed in with the team who we just practiced with, another, we were playing against a talented men's team from the area. The team looked in excellent form from my perspective, and I feel that the team thoroughly enjoyed the challenges our opponents presented.

There were also quite a few school visits this week, and like the week before, one meeting ended in a basketball match. Although they were shy, the students appreciated being able to practice their English and enjoyed our visits.

For the whole team, the week was a very enjoyable one. We got to make new friends (like 'the cookie lady') and we also were able to see an old friend (coach Vladimir from two years ago). We will be enjoying a weekend of rest now, and we will stay in the Perm base for the remainder of our stay here.

So from myself and on behalf of the rest of the team, 'Бока' until next time.

Outdoor football match with School #6 in Chernushka.

Ch-Ch-Chernushka!

Hello fellow internet users, YWAM Hockey's resident goalkeeper Matt will be providing you with a fun-filled, action-packed summary of our week in Chernushka, Russia.

The team spent most of it's time in one of three places...

1) The church. This is where we spent most of our down time, and where the majority of the
team slept at night. Krista however stayed in a flat with Inga, the host extraordinaire.

2) The rink. Here, we spent our time either running practices with the local team (who are currently without a coach), or we were playing games against teams from Chernushka and the surrounding area. One interesting thing about this rink is the dressing rooms are ex-bomb shelters. So if any kind of air attack ever occurred in Chernushka, the rink would be the place to be.

3) The host's house. Two words can sufficiantly describe our time at Andrei's house: 'Yum yum'. Andrei and Galia (a cook of legendary proportions) were incredible hosts, opening up their house and serving our team day after day. Not only did they provide us with great meals (and introducing us to 'shashlick'), but they also allowed the team to use their banya, which after a long and tiring day, is pure bliss.

YWAM hockey also ventured into some new territory in Chernushka, visiting some local schools this week. We visited the 'Chernushka Gymnasium', and a cadet school as well.

We got invited to play some basketball and soccer with the students at the Gymnasium. What we didn't know is we were playing organized games against the school's respective teams, with crowds of students watching. I can distinctly remember walking into the school, looking to my right and seeing a poster on the bulletin board saying something about 'Canada vs. Russia'. It was just then that I knew those games would be something special.

So that is how our week went. We are taking a few days to rest at the base in Perm, and then we will be off to Kungur on Monday.

Hello to everyone back home, this is Brian. I've been asked to say a few words about our most recent excursion. This past week we had the opportunity to a large town called Salikamsk. It's about a four hour drive north of Perm. Throughout the week we ran multiple practices a day and spoke in several different schools. At night we were split up and stayed with different people throughout the community. Alex, Dare, Matt, and myself stayed with a young couple named Andre and Dasha. They were the highlight of my week. Both were so kind and hospitable to us. They drove us around, took us to the pool, cooked for us (even at 11:30 at night), and made us feel at home. I think that everyone enjoyed their time in Salikamsk and look is looking forward to moving on to our next destination, Chernuska and then Kungur. Thank you everyone for your prayers. I love you ma!

We had a great 5 days in Solikamsk. The weather was awesome - not too cold - and we were in the indoor rink. We were welcomed into the homes of families from the community which was really cool. It was so nice to be welcomed back into the rink by the coaches and sports authority, into the schools and college again, and also Pastor Pasha's church. The time flew by as our day started at 7:45 with the van pick up and usually ended around 9 or 10 at night.

English Class
It was fun visiting English classes this week. We were invited to 4 schools and a college to simply talk with the students giving them practice with native English speakers. We were impressed with how well they could communicate with us. It seems that mostly lovely young ladies are interested in learning English in this community which was no hardship for our guys :)
Matthew and Dare are missing from this picture as they were speaking at another school at the same time.

Krista and Lara
Krista was pretty excited to find another female player here in Solikamsk. Young 12 year old Lara was a treat to coach ... always working hard ... big smile on her face ... gritty ... just like our Krista. Coach Glen was very impressed.

Coaching in Solikamsk
Our team had a great time running practices for the young players. Coach Sergei kept us very busy with numerous teams from age 5 - 12. We considered it a great privilege that the coaches turned their teams over to us for 2 - 4 practices a day for our 4 days at the rink. Our team did a great job.