Rich's Blog: My First Ever Weekend Of Sport

I took up korfball last year having played no sport for a decade. None. 

Getting out of bed early on a Saturday to spend most of my weekend running around was, frankly, ridiculous. But this weekend I did just that. My still-aching legs are proof that it wasn’t a dream.

On Saturday, I got up early and joined a happy band of City korfers on the trip to Bristol for the Bristol Thunder indoor tournament. However, no tiredness was in evidence as we won 10-2 in our first match against an energetic Bristol University side. We followed this with a 16-3 win against Bristol City 2 to top our group and secure some tough afternoon matches. 

I also shared glove tips with a girl who suffers similar finger troubles (see any of my other blog posts!). Honestly, this time next year everyone will be wearing them…

But even a pair of magic gloves wouldn’t have helped in our next match, against southwest regional champions Bristol Thunder and their team that includes several internationals. We managed to score two but were well beaten, to leave us looking at a best finish of 5th.

Sadly, that wasn’t to be as we suffered our most disappointing result of the day: a 5-4 loss to Cardiff Celts despite leading for most of the match. I know I learnt a big lesson: focus on the fundamentals and don’t try to rush things, especially when you’re in the lead.

We bounced back in our final match with a 7-6 win against Cardiff University, to finish 7th out of 14 overall, and headed home with aching bodies but heads high.

On Sunday, the bravest of us turned out at St Greg’s for the first weekend of the new OKA season for two matches against local rivals Isis. 

First, City 3 (aka ‘Team Awesome’) played Isis 2 and rushed into a three-goal lead, with a lead of 5-3 at half time, including a great debut goal from Theo.

The second half was more cagey with little ball-in-hoop action. I know I was feeling the effects of the Bristol tournament as my attacks could at best be called ‘glacial’. Even so, we kept calm, kept finding space, kept putting shots up — and kept missing them! But solid defence from Andy, Captain Blaze, Laura and Niall saw us to a 6-4 win.

And then City 1 played Isis 1. I know we won 12-6, but don’t know anything else about the match because I sloped off home to see my daughter. After a weekend of korfball, it was a relief to spend some time chasing around after something that isn’t purple and yellow.

- Rich Heap, web editor

Rich's Blog: Dragons Tournament Has Fired Me Up

Never let it be said that we at Oxford City are not intrepid. It is in this adventurous spirit that we made our way to our final outdoor tournament of the summer — just up the road, in Didcot.

Now, I must confess I’ve been feeling a bit down about my korfball in the last few weeks. This is partly because I aggravated one of my recurring finger injuries a couple of weeks ago; and partly because the prospect of stepping up to regional training is scary. Will I be able to hack it?

Thankfully, the Didcot Dragons tournament has gone some way to dispelling those doubts. We may not have rocked the Harwell Recreation Ground with our final position (I never found out), but it was a great chance for our newer players — me included — to get experience against strong opposition.

Here are the two main lessons I took from Didcot and my other two tournaments:

Players at higher level aren’t superhuman: International and regional players are usually taller or faster; definitely more experienced; and better at scoring than opponents I’m used to. That doesn’t mean they’re unplayable. Tournaments have helped shed some of this fear.

Get the right mindset: I don’t think of myself as sporty or competitive, and that’s probably one of my big problems. It turns out that I can be both if I want to be. My unusually angry and belligerent defensive showing against Bristol City was a highlight; and showed me the benefit of taking an irrational dislike to my opponent, at least while I’m on the pitch.

That doesn’t mean I think I’ve got this whole korfball thing sussed. I don’t. But, with effort in training in matches, it does give me the confidence that one day I might. And there are plenty of City matches to learn in this season, from League 2 to regional.

So after a tough few weeks, there’s only one way to greet the new season: bring it on!

Rich Heap, web editor

Rich's Blog: Oxford Tournament - A Genie's Story

It was a morning that made meteorologists of us all. While the rain hammered down we hunted for blue sky, discussed the wind direction, and felt dejected as the water breached our underwear. And we did all of this alongside 20 teams from the south and Midlands at the Oxford City 2014 summer tournament.

I must confess that I went into the day nervous. Partly, at the prospect of playing for City 1; but mainly at having to chaperone my collection of injuries through a full day.

Thankfully, I managed to set aside my first worry by scoring in our opening match, a 5-2 win versus Supernova. But as the rain got harder, so did our opponents. Our next two matches were a narrow loss against Gloucester Lions and a scrappy 0-0 against Southampton Spartans. We finished the morning with a 3-1 win against Abingdon 2, with me playing half the game at walking pace due to my tweaked hamstring — and to little detriment to the quality of my play.

After a quick lunch I carried on playing into the afternoon, despite the medical advice of most of my teammates. It seemed rude to stop now the sun had finally turned up.

And I’m glad I did as I got my second goal of the day in a 7-1 win against Oxford Uni; helped City 2 to win 3-1 against Supernova; and contributed a few assists throughout the day. I also learnt I need more practice at marking people who are taller than me.

We followed the korfball with a chilli-and-alcohol-fuelled fairy tales social where, to further ignore medical wisdom, I spent four hours dancing while dressed (or half-dressed?) as a genie. Which leads me on to a smattering of unofficial awards:

The Chessboxing Award for Brain and Brawn: Chessboxing is well-known for fusing the two contrasting disciplines of chess and boxing, and on Saturday we discovered something similar: korfematics. This is where you switch between playing korfball and working out complex mathematical calculations, to determine who is playing on which pitch and who the hell is refereeing. Only one winner: Taissa.

The “More Height, More Power” Award for Constructive Criticism: This goes to everyone who helped Jim on his return by reminding him of all those catchphrases he’s been barking from the sidelines. Ps. Great to see you back in action, Jim.

The Anton du Beke Award for Dance Commitment: Rich M brought the rhythm with dance moves based on korfball shots, dynamic stretches, and household chores. This climaxed with a dramatic ‘lift’ during What a Feeling from the the film Flashdance, appropriately-titled given that he ripped his shorts in the process. And who was his dance partner? Let’s just say the damage was done by a genie’s lamp.

Thanks to Taissa, Fi and Simon for a great day; to Mike for DJing from afar; and to everyone who came and made it a success despite the rain. See you again in 2015.

Rich Heap, web editor

Rich's Blog: A Tale Of Four City Teams

Watch TV nowadays and it’s clear that everyone is on a ‘journey’.

From The X Factor to The Great British Bake Off, we’re surrounded by tales of people who overcome the odds to make an ignorable single or a nice pithivier. We strive, 
we prevail, and we end by blubbing with joy. This is how things work nowadays.

It is with these heartwarming tales in mind that I wanted to think about the ‘journey’ that City has been on since I joined a year ago — and how we plan to build on this.

There are two reasons I decided to end my decade-long stand-off with competitive sport. First, I was getting too unfit to run after my daughter; and second, I wanted to make some friends. Taking up korfball provided the perfect solution.

Back then, the final standings in Oxfordshire League 1 in 2012/13 showed City 1 in rock bottom, which was great. Clearly this was a club that would match my own lack of sporting prowess! As it turned out, City was going through a transition period and  things improved during the 2013/14 season.

City 1 ended up fourth in League 1, while City 2 came second in League 1. I’m also impressed with the number of new people who've come along and stuck around.

And the upshot is that we’re now looking to build on this.

In 2014/15, we’re going to be entering a City 3 team in League 2 alongside City 2, to provide game time for our growing number of players. There was a lot of feedback towards the end of last season that people wanted to play more, so we’ve entered this extra team to open up those opportunities.

We’ve also entered the regional league as Oxford City, to give more of our players the opportunity to step up to playing a higher standard of korfball. This is alongside entering City 1 in League 1. It’s going to be a busy season, but a fun one.

So what does this mean for you? 

Well, if you’re already a City player then you’ll be getting more last-minute texts and emails asking ‘Can you play?’ The correct response is: ‘Yes, of course. I'd love to!'

And, if you aren't currently a City player, it means that you really should be! We're on the lookout for more people keen to come along to training and get involved with the club. You'll have fun learning a new sport and make good friends in the process.

Let's make next season even better than this one. Blubbing with pride: optional.

Rich Heap, web editor

City on Tour 2014: Leicester and Bristol

We aren’t due to fire up the City tour bus again until our next summer tournament,  in Milton Keynes on 12th July. But, if you’re feeling starved of tourno action, fear not. Here are Dan’s round-ups (lightly edited!) of the first two legs of City’s summer tour:

 

Saturday 31st May: Leicester tournament

Our trip to Leicester was a great success. We had a number of players making their tournament debuts and our pre-season fitness coach Karl Sieber playing alongside us, highlighting in person the benefits of being able to leap like a salmon.  

 

The highlight was a 9-1 victory against Milton Keynes Lakers, probably one of our highest ever scorelines in a 20-minute game. Our next game was an 8-2 loss against a very strong national league team with three England internationals. A result that at first felt disappointing was put into perspective when they went on to win the tournament extremely convincingly, and beat a fellow national side in the semi finals 10-0. And Mike certainly left an impression on them!

 

We were scoring for fun at times, with Dan bagging five in one match and, if you counted the goals she scored while playing for Abingdon, Ruth probably did too. Special mention to Andy for scoring two great long shots during the tournament.

 

After our morning results, we entered the ‘middle eight’ section of the draw in the afternoon, and went on to achieve a very respectable 12th position. The Australian party in the evening was good fun, though Jo may have regretted her vegemite sandwich costume when she heard the lyric: “Give me a vegemite sandwich."

 

Saturday 14th July: Bristol tournament

 

City 1

A City 1 side with a mix of the very experienced (Karl) and very inexperienced (Niall), started the day with a flyer, winning 6-0 against Exeter. Next up were Horfield 2, and we came away with a 2-1 win in a tight match where our shots didn’t seem to quite drop. Next up were Cardiff Raptors, and another tight match was in store. The end score was 3-3, and a draw was probably a fair result on the balance of play.

 

A quick tactical switch later, with Niall and Dan pairing up, and Dave W switching into the other division with Karl, paid dividends, with a great 4-3 win against the hosts, Bristol City.  And our final match in the morning was against super-team Mauritians, which was made up of ex-Nottingham, England and Wales players. They were very talented, and we were cruelly denied in the last minute. The 3-4 loss left us second in our group, and put us through to the Top 8 for the afternoon.

 

The quarter final was against Manchester Warriors, who topped their group. Inspired by the poor refereeing in the previous game, we ran our socks off and defended well, with Niall in particular standing out with excellent interceptions.  Indeed, from what I could see in my division, as the tournament went on Niall and Fi in particular were getting stronger and stronger in both attack and defence, against quality opposition.

 

The semi-final was against our old foes Mauritians. Having run them so close in the group stage we were feeling confident, and put simply, we were awesome. In a game that summed up our all-action defence and rapidly improving attack, we ran out 5-1 winners thanks to a cheeky double from Niall, and goals from Dan (2) and Karl (1).

 

OXFORD CITY FINALISTS!!!!! We went on to lose to a truly excellent Bristol Thunder side, with all of their first team playing and a number of current internationals on show.  Yes, it was one-sided, but we didn’t care as we’d got to the final — and we got the biggest cheer of the day when we scored! City 1 player of the day was Niall, who had so many stand-out moments in defence, and it was awesome seeing him on the scoresheet so often.

 

City 2

City 2 found things tough going in the morning, losing all five of their matches despite playing well at times. The main problem was shots not quite dropping and coming up against high quality opposition in the shape of Bristol Thunder, Horfield 1 and hosts Bristol City. This meant we ended up in the bottom eight division in the afternoon.  

 

After a close 1-0 loss to start the afternoon, the result of the day was a close fought 3-2 win against Exeter Uni, a match that featured a great debut competitive goal for Becca (despite her head injury!). Despite finishing with a defeat to Horsham, the win against Exeter meant City 2 finished 18th out of 22 teams. City 2 player of the day was Mike, with his four goals in all competitions, and all-round enthusiasm. Though he did lose kudos for coming off worse (bleeding knee) in a one-on-one situation with a lady half his size.

 

Dan Hibbs, chairman

Rich’s Blog: City Storms to Silver Against Thunder

The Oxford City summer roadshow continued on Saturday as we sent a couple of teams to the Bristol City tournament — and City 1 finished as runners up.

Personally, the day didn’t start well. I found a package of books that the postman had hidden on Friday, and so had stayed outside during the night's huge thunderstorm. Still, I packed a now-crinkly book and hit the road with Ruth and Dave W at 7.15am.

For City 2, things didn’t get much better during the morning as we spent the first half of the day losing. We were making space and getting into good positions, but our shooting was awry. We eventually finished 18th out of 22 after grinding out a 3-2 win against Exeter Uni in the middle of the afternoon.

Things were going much better for City 1, who made it to the final. We lost in the end to a tough Bristol Thunder side, but there’s no shame in coming second to a team that won the western regional league in 2013/14. Plus, it’s only polite to let a team win in their own city! But all in all it was a good day - helped by the balmy summer weather - and meant those of us in City 2 could join in the celebrations.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a tournament without a few unofficial awards...

The “How Many Fingers?” Award for Most Dramatic Head Injury: On most days, Dan’s collision with the post during the semi-final would have walked away with this award. In a suitable dazed fashion, of course. But even he couldn’t match the five-minute delay after Becca Bleeze not-so-gratefully received an elbow in the face.

The ‘Doctor, Doctor…’ Award for Services to Medicine: Becca had been on the floor for a few minutes but was now talking and sitting up. She was getting better. But this wasn’t enough for ‘Dr’ Mike, who gleefully unloaded half a bottle of water into her face. Medical benefit: none discernible.

The Cliff Richard Award for Summer Holiday Fashion: Dan has nominated me for next year’s fashion award for a ‘Brit abroad’ outfit that looked more summer holiday than sports tournament. You can copy this look with these items: floppy hat, sandals, loose-fitting linen shirt, not-rubbed-in suncream, Test Match on the radio, and a crinkly copy of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.

If you’ve got any other award nominations then post them on our Facebook page. Thanks to everyone for a great tournament; and, personally, thanks to Gemma for lending me a sleeping bag and Ruth for driving me.

Next for the City tour bus: Milton Keynes. All together now: “We’re all going on a…”

Rich Heap, web editor

Rich's Blog: Sunshine, Shorts... And A Bit Of Sport

In the last week I’ve started inflicting my dazzlingly white legs on the unsuspecting public. That means two things: I have no fashion shame and… summer is here!

For us korfballers, the arrival of summer means tournament season. 

We kicked off our tour of the summer tournaments on Saturday in Leicester. I didn’t manage to get there as I’m on holiday in the Isle of Wight, where I’m resting up after our late-night friendly against Oxford Uni last week. Thanks to Uni for arranging, and helping me to reinforce my status as City’s most accident-prone player.

But anyway, summer tournaments…

Over the next few months we’ll be playing — and partying — in places including Bristol, Milton Keynes and Nottingham. We’ll also be hosting our own tournament on 2nd August, which will, of course, be the best!

Now, if you’re thinking of having a go at korfball then don’t let the phrase ‘tournament season’ put you off. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s the most intense part of our year. It isn’t.

Our main competitive season runs from autumn until spring, and this is the time of year when we’re at our most relaxed. Yes, we’re getting ready for the 2014/15 season, but we’re also out enjoying the sunshine. Tournaments are a fun way for players new and old to learn a lot in a short time, and fit in some fun nights out.

So come along. There’s more info on our site, and a good intro to korfball went up a few days ago on the BBC Sport’s Get Inspired page. It says: “The sport is accessible to anyone, whether young or old, male or female, beginner or international athlete.”

On which note, if there are any international athletes who want to give korfball a try then City would love to see you. First four sessions free!

Just don’t think you’ll become our most accident-prone player. I won’t give that up without a fight. A fight in which I'll probably become concussed.

Rich Heap, web editor