Hi all,
This time I am writing from my bed in the Netherlands!
I did want to be home by now, but I did not want that to mean that we became 12th and are out of the first league...
After the first half of the season we were the 10th team in the standings but the second half did not go as well. We only won 2 games and could not keep our safe spot or earn a chance to defend the 11th spot.
Besides all that it turned out quite a bit of team drama went on throughout the season and I guess it is always a bit harder to keep peace when you loose a lot of games... it defenitely was not the most professional season in that way. A tough fight as the new team in the league at the start the season, but I honestly believe we could have done better than this 12th spot with the quality of players in the team.
Ogaki Minamo will play in the second division next year again to try and fight for a new chance in the first division in 2020. Unfortunately I can't be part of that as I returned home to prepare for the Olympic Qualification of 2019 with the Dutch National Team.
As October ends my 2018 season also comes to an end. I took a week off, okay, maybe 5 days... to clean, pack, travel, adjust a bit of the jetlag and to settle down at home again. As this was the craziest year in my career so far, I am happy to be home now and get back to studying for a bit, and a 100% focus on my own progress for the winter season.
Thursday I get to fly to Malta with 5 other Olympia members to be part of an European Gender Equality program. Something I am really excited about and I am very happy to get a chance to be part of that. I'll share my experiences with you after!
My chance to play in Japan came earlier than I expected, and has had and will have a different role in my journey than I thought it would have. Whenever you take a chance, you always choose to not take another one. Make sure you pick the ones that fit your dreams and your journey and adjust accordingly. It's you, be you, stay you.
On to a new season, with again new experiences and hopefully a year full of surprises and special moments.
On to Malta to start it in softball style!
Eva