Where in the World is Shannon Taylor??
Former Syracuse University field hockey standout Shannon Taylor, who led the country in goals and points per game last season, is trying to transfer her game to the European competition.
She is currently staying in the city of Braunschweig, Germany where she is playing field hockey for the first women’s team of Eintracht Braunschweig. Shannon will be playing and coaching has she set her sights on a spot on the U.S. National Team.
Follow her on her blog where she will be telling us weekly about her experiences in Germany.
POST NO. 6
3-2
We lost our first game of the season, 2-1, in the last two minutes of the game. We dominated the whole game but came up short.
The next weekend rolls around and we come up with two wins! Our first game was against Harvesterhude Hamburg and the German National Team goalie. We played a great game, but at the end of regulation, the game was tied. Therefore we had to take penalties. This rule is the first time it is being used in Germany. The player has a 1v1 against the goalie for the eight seconds. The player starts on the 25- yard line and then has eight seconds to score a goal. A player may take as many shots as she wants until the whistle blows. Six players are signed up to take one. But, if there is a winner after the first three, then it’s over. If it is tied after three from each team, they go into sudden death. It is an interesting rule and it keeps the game entertaining. We won in penalties and received two points.
The next day, Lynn Farquhar, the Syracuse assistant coach was here!! She saw a good game, which we won 1-0. After the game she met some of my teammates and coaches. Then we ate at the field and watched our men’s team play. After their game, I took Lynn on a ride on my wonderful form of transportation, the moped! Then we toured the city and ate dinner at my host family’s restaurant. It was a quick visit from her but it was definitely great to see her!
The following weekend we came out with only two points. We lost our first game, 2-0, against Alster Hamburg, the number one team in the league. The next day we had a re-match against the team we lost to in the finals of the tournament in Worms. We ended up going to penalties, but we came out with the win! Overall the season has gone well. We need to win the rest of our games, which I think we will. We have four games left to play.
Tschüß
POST NO. 5
Getting ready to play
This past weekend was the opening tournament in Worms, Germany. There are ten teams in the first league and eight of those teams were at this tournament. The teams were split into brackets and you play three games within your bracket. Then your record will decide what place you are playing for. In our bracket we won two games and tied one. This was enough to put us in the finals. We ended up losing in the finals 3-1 to a team from Hamburg. It was an ok game but the tournament overall was good for our team.
Depending on how well you did in the tournament you were able to earn money for your team. So we finished second out of the eight teams and earned $1,000 Euros. We finished with a record of 2-1-1. In Germany the season is divided into two halves. They start the season in August and play until October. Then they go inside until February and start back with the second half of the season in April. Currently the team is in last place with three points because of the first half of the season. They were short on players and lost games in the last five minutes due to no subs. But for the second part of the season we are a whole new team and we are ready to move up in the league! Taking second place in this tournament showed that Eintracht Braunschweig is a completely new team and mean business. Haha. We beat the German Champions from last season. So, it should be a good season taking it one game at a time.
The club, Eintracht, is sponsored by TK. Therefore, while we were in Worms, we were able to visit the actual TK Company. We took a tour and saw how the sticks come in, where they go, all the clothes, the equipment, accessories and even a USA Field Hockey shirt! We roamed around the store looking at apparel and tried out all the new sticks. All the different sticks were crazy. It is amazing the difference of sticks that are available over here than there is in the United States.
During Easter Weekend there was not a whole lot to do. Everything closes in the city. There happen to be a basketball game that we attended. It was the New Yorker Phantoms against Alba Berlin. This league is a level above college but below the NBA. So, all the American players who are unable to go to the NBA come overseas and play. The New Yorker Phantoms have nine players from the USA. So it’s pretty cool to see them play. Check out the pictures!
Tschüβ (bye)
POST NO. 4
German Champions 2nd teams
Photos of Post No. 4
Photos of Post No. 4
So it has been a while since I have written and I feel like so much has happened. First, another American player is over here playing with Eintracht. Her name is Jessica Javelet and it is great to have another English speaker over here. But, we are enjoying being able to learn Deutsch and play together with the team.
Secondly, the indoor season has finally come to an end. Two weekends ago, there was a playoff game that would determine whether or not the second division team would move up a division. It was a tough game in the beginning, but in the end we won 11-3. It was a big deal for the team. Everyone was really excited and we had a lot of fans there cheering us on. There was a small celebration afterwards to celebrate the victory.
The following weekend led to a tournament in Heidelberg. At first, we were under the impression that it was just for fun, but when it came time to play, it was more than just fun. Watching the men play and seeing how serious they were playing the games, it became clear that the tournament was not just for fun. All second division teams from the men and women’s teams were there. There was a lot of hockey to watch and it was a very fun weekend. My team, Eintracht, had only five field players and a goalie. So we played all six games without any substitutes, but walked away as the German Champions of Indoor Hockey in the Second Division. We received a blue triangular flag that said we were German Champions (Deutscher-Hallenhockey-Meister). It was so crazy. I was named MVP of the Tournament and JJ was named the top goal scorer. We both received an iPod shuffle. It was such an awesome experience and it put a good end to a great indoor season. The second division team has never won a championship before so it was exciting to be a part of the first one.
The outdoor season has finally begun! It is so great to be outside on the turf again although it still is a bit cold. Not as cold as Syracuse but still cold. It feels like forever since I have stepped on the turf. Actually it has been forever, about three months. It is nice to finally be able to hit a ball and be able to run around outside. The team usually practices four days a week and each practice involves a bit of running in the beginning and then hockey for the rest of the time. The practices are about two hours long so it really isn’t that bad to be outside, even though on some days it never stops raining for the entirety of the practice. Right now the team is trying to get a feel for how everyone plays and moves together before we really get into tactics and formations. So things are great here and hopefully the weather starts to get warmer and stops raining!
POST NO. 3
Hockey Hockey Hockey
This past week has been full of playing hockey and training. Every Wednesday night and sometimes Thursday nights I practice with the men’s team. The ages on the team range from 17-40, which is awesome. The team is awesome and I enjoy practicing with them and have been learning so much from them. The game is much faster and you must learn to play that way and speed up your game or they will run you over.
This weekend the team played in a HUGE game against Hannover. Hannover and Braunschweig are rival cities and do not like each other at all! The game this weekend was for the regional championship and whoever won moved to next weekend for the finals to determine who moves up a division. There was a fan bus available to ride on with the team. It was great. The game was very intense but Braunschweig pulled it out in the second half only due to Hannover receiving two yellow cards at the same time which left them with three players on the field. At the end of regulation Braunschweig came out with the win and captured the regional championship to move on to the finals next weekend.
Sunday rolled around and it was time for me to play with my indoor team. I am currently playing indoor with the second division team of Braunschweig. The first team I am playing with outside was finished their indoor season when I got here. So, thankfully the second team allowed me to play with them. I have been playing with them this whole time I have been here. We have two games every weekend that are usually on Sundays. This past Sunday we needed to win both games to move up to the next division. And we did! The girls were very happy to move up to the next division and it was great to play with them. They are awesome girls and really took me in as a player. This past week and weekend was an awesome experience and I really enjoyed being around the teams and playing hockey!
POST NO. 2
The second weekend I was here I got the opportunity to go to
Overall Berlin is an awesome city that contains so much history. I love learning about these things and the culture. I am able to see what we learn in our history classes first hand and it just makes the history come alive in my mind. It was a remarkable experience.
POST NO. 1
Hello from Germany! I have been here about three weeks now and it has been wonderful. My trip started off with me over packing which is usual for me. I had two big suitcases and big bag so my parents helped me carry it in to the Airport. But, when I got to Germany I was stuck carrying them by myself, which really didn’t work out so well. I fought my way through the language barrier and two random people helped me carry them through the gate to where my coach and two team mates awaited.
My first week consisted mostly of getting to know the girls on the team, my host family and the people associated with the club. I toured through the city of Braunschweig with my coach. There are tons of shopping opportunities, lots of old buildings and tons of history. My teammates here are very nice and speak English well. My coach does a very good job with taking care of me and making sure things are going well. The family I am staying with is awesome. They are from Turkey so they speak Turkish and German. There are two daughters that speak English well and are my translators. The family is very well-known around Braunschweig and with Eintracht Hockey. They own two restaurants, Bossanova and Tandure. They both are very good places to eat and very well-known around the town.
The first weekend here I watched the team play indoor. On Saturday they played at home and there was a huge crowd there to watch them play. Attached is a picture. The crowd isn’t usually this big but for some reason on this day it was. The next day we traveled to Hamburg for a game. We toured the city a bit then came home.So far Germany is excellent. I am enjoying learning about the culture, meeting new people, living a new way of life and learning more about hockey.
