When we started this adventure almost 12 months ago, we did not know if it would survive the first few weeks, if we would have full squads for all matches or not but we were happy to give it a shot.
We received tremendous help from the federation and from our sponsor AKITA to kick start. Also we were lucky between Ulf and myself to have contacts for the backbone of a team. We had few free agents, transfers from London, some of us were feeling like Michael Jordan coming out of retirement (more like the second come back, particularly regarding aches and arthrosis), some of us had Michael Jordan's hair cut. For some others, it was to be their first experience at competitive handball. For many, some diplomacy with the WAGs would be required. Our main concern to know if we would be able to compete was the lack of a goalkeeper and we found ourselves blessed to obtain not one but two great goalies. By far the best pair in the division.
With the season closed, I have no hesitations in describing this year as a tremendous success. Not for its sports' results but really for the bonding, the fun shared and our ability to put a little european flag in the Hong Kong handball scene. We have sometime been mad at ourselves but not at each other, we have lost and came back stronger. We have smiled whinged, laughed, sweat and sometimes drank together.
We have suffered setbacks, cancelled trainings because some of us could not join, lost our training time slot, succumbed in one match against the heat, few of us sustained injuries (Markus aka Rolf, don't show us you little finger ever again please), we have probably received more 2 minutes than the whole of the other team together, but we enjoyed ourselves and sometimes, I say sometimes, it really looked like handball what we did out there.
I believe Norbert summarised perfectly what we are about in when he told me in the middle of the season that he never played handball for fun before, he tought before that Handball had to be serious with full training and never understood guys playing for fun, now he does and he loves it! Of course we want to win like on the first day but also the fact we are closer to a veteran team than to anything else helps us having perspective.
If we look back at the league, some matches were more interesting than others, we finished on the highest number of points (joint), best attack (admittedly by one goal only), best defense (comfortably), best goal difference obviously. When we won, it was never by less than 6 goals. But that is not what matters, what I see is that everyone contributed. As the season went through we got more and more contribution from the bench, we became more and more solid as a whole and everyone should feel proud that they brought something.
Very soon we are going to get into the preparation of a new season. That would be a division higher in second division and of course we will once again aim promotion and do our best. Matches will be more difficult but we will have the benefit of one year experience.
We will lose some players as some will have to go back to europe but hopefully we will also get more. The recruitment season is open, if you are coming in Hong Kong and want to play Handball AKITA is the team to contact! By the end of the year, we had a decent enough roster to be able to consider good training sessions but we still have a lot of room to expand it further so come an join us.
Thanks to everyone for this year, and I really mean everyone, players, family, friends, the other team, the federation and its officials, etc.
