August 11-25, 2003

For the 2003-2004 Season I was playing in the North of France. After talking to some fellow volleyers, I wanted to try and play in Portugal the following year. I talked to Jon Walsh and TK, and we decided that I would have a better chance of playing in Portugal for the 2004-2005 season if I could train with some clubs towards the end of the Portuguese season. The timing was perfect as 2 weeks before Portugal's season ended; I had a little break from volley in France. So I talked to Walsh, bought a ticket, and flew out to Portugal for 12 days.

There are 3 clubs that I really wanted to play for and my goal was to train with at least 2 of these clubs during the 12 days. It worked out perfectly. Upon arriving in Lisbon, I immediately flew out to the Azores to train with Jon Walsh's team at that time: Antigos Alunos (AAA). I trained with the club for 3 days and learned what playing on a competitive Portuguese team would be like (the team finished the regular season in 5th place). Although it’s funny because European volley took on a whole new meaning with this club: the 2003-2004 team comprised 4 Canadians, 1 American, and practices and pre-game speeches were in English!

"Brian Nordberg chilling in the Azores…"

On Friday I flew with the team to Porto to watch their Saturday match. I met and stayed with some rad American NCAA volley girls in Porto Sunday and Monday night. Castelo de Maia, Porto, had 5 girls who played in the states! Cool if you get home sick, but I personally think that it takes a little away from the whole Euro volley experience. Tim Kelly and Jo Fielder were also in Porto for the weekend so we all got to hang out and have some fun down by the beach.

"Brian and TK hanging out down in Old Oporto"

The next team I trained with was Gufaeis. I was stoked because the girls that I recently met drove me to the gym to train. We got a little lost, and must have asked 10-15 people how to get to this gym. After driving around the area for 40 minutes, we asked some policemen and had a police escort to the gym! Classic Euro and all apart of the experience! Gufaeis was in the second division at that time, but they were in A1 the year before and had a good chance of moving back up for next year (and they ended up winning the league and moving back to A1). I only trained with the team for 1 two-hour session, but I felt like I was one of the stronger players in the gym and am definitely looking to play with a more competitive club.

For Tuesday I made plans to train with Cameron Mount's and Zelimir Koljesar's team in Guimaraes. I was lucky enough to have one of the girls drive me 45 minutes North East to the city (thanks Gretchen). I only trained with the club for one day, but we conditioned/lifted from 10-12 and volleyed from 4-6. It was nice to have a double day as my team in France didn't even know the meaning of the word. Guimaraes finished the regular season in third, so out of my entire trip, this was probably the most competitive team that I trained with. Guimaraes has numerous Portuguese national team players and some Brazilian bombers.

Tuesday night I slept over at Cameron’s place, and on Wednesday I jumped on a train and headed down to Lisbon to train with Benfica. I trained with the club from 5-7 and the two-hour practice consisted of 6 on 6. The volley was solid and I was pretty impressed with some of their Brazilian players. Benfica had a double day on Thursday with weights/3 on 3 from 10-12 and a full practice from 5-7. The practice consisted of another scrimmage and was rather competitive considering the team is currently playing out for 7th and 8th place. Friday I was on a plane back to France. All in all, I had a great time in Portugal. Played some solid volley, networked with numerous clubs, and met a lot of awesome people. If you have the time, I strongly suggest a little "tour" like this to check out new areas and show yourself off a little.