Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Paige Hourigan's Thoughts on Holland


When Marcel Vos, Alex Klincharov, Kyle butters, William Matheson and I (Paige Hourigan) arrived in Holland Amsterdam to meet Michiel Schapers and Sven Groeneveld the coaches working with us for the next three months, we all looked tired from the 24 hours flying we had just done but all of us knew that these two people standing in front of us were going to be a huge part in helping us improve, learn and experience a lot while over here in Holland although our faces might not have expressed it.
I have represented NZ in many NZ teams and gained lots of experience from these tours but the tour to Holland that Marcel Vos and Tennis NZ made possible for us 4 will be the longest time the boys and I have been away from home.After 2 weeks here we are just starting to get into the routine of tennis training, fitness, and private, personalised fitness programs. It is just great having the opportunity to be able to train with different people from other countries and to be coached by the these top coaches who used to be great players themselves is phenomenal. We have no problem falling a sleep at night as the training is tough and the clay is physically tough work. 


I know Alex, Kyle, William and I are very grateful and thankful to have this opportunity and experience.We also did a mental seminar with Jackie Reardon who wrote the book MIndset which was lots of fun and it taught me to look at myself and coach myself instead of reacting to mistakes.
Amsterdam is of course different to NZ, one being that the cars drive on the different side of the road. I have been billeted with a lovely family that only lives 10 minutes bike ride from the courts. Bike riding each day is so much fun, but sometimes when I don’t take as much caution I am getting belled at by the bikes because I am on the wrong side of the road. Billeting by myself with a Dutch family has already given me more independence and I’m loving living as a Dutch girl in Amsterdam.
Thank you very much to Tennis NZ for making this tour to Holland possible. All four of us are enjoying and adjusting well to the Dutch culture. We are loving the tennis environment and they clay surface and all are looking forward to the weeks ahead of us for what new stuff is to be taught and learnt.


That is all for now.
Paige Hourigan



1 comment:

  1. great job Paige we are proud of you being part of our Academy and of your work ethics. look forward to see you after i return from the french open.
    sven

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