Former NAU Soccer Star Andreassen Playing Professionally in Norway

OSLO, Norway – Former NAU women's soccer player and the current women's soccer CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-American of Year Kristi Andreassen just completed her first week in Oslo, Norway playing with professional women's soccer club Røa. Andreassen, who's family hails from Norway, will be sending updates stateside each week as she experiences the culture of her native land. Here is her first entry:

Picture: Kristi's first indoor practice with Røa in Oslo and the Røa football club logo.

Week 1 (January 13- 20)
After a 10-hour flight to London, a 2-hour layover at the Heathrow-London airport, and a 3-hour flight to Oslo, my dad and I finally made it! We were greeted with big smiles by my uncle. This is the start of a new and exciting experience! As usual, I was starving, but luckily there were Norwegian waffles waiting on the table for me to eat (my favorite!). My dad, uncle, my uncle's wife Hanne and I enjoyed the waffles and good conversation, and then, soon after, we all went to bed. The rest of my first week was super busy! There were many things that needed to be taken care of before my dad left including setting up a bank account, cell phone account, student ID, and public transportation card. We were also busy with soccer- one of my main reasons for moving to Norway.

I was super nervous for the first practice with the Røa football club, a professional women's team which just won the top series championship. It was very interesting. Soccer training here is very similar to soccer training at NAU. Soccer is a universal language! We used a lot of the same drills, but the main difference was speed. The girls on Røa are so skilled and pass the ball around very fast. I felt like I was chasing the whole time and tired pretty quickly. All of their passes are mostly played in one touch and two touches; rarely did anyone hold on to the ball for more than two touches. The passing patterns are more complicated than I have ever done and make you think while moving and playing the ball quickly. One of the hardest things at practice is the language barrier. Most Norwegians speak English but are too shy to use it, so everything at practice was in Norwegian. Luckily, a couple of the girls were kind enough to translate for me!

As the week went on, I improved and started to feel more comfortable with the team and coaches. I experienced playing outside during the cold and dark Norwegian winter and played on ice! Everyone was slipping throughout practice, but it was still very fun. The coach invited me to play for the first match, which was very exciting. I got to watch the team play from the bench and learned how the coach wants us to play. For the second half, I played center midfield with the opposing team because one of their girls got sick and they did not have any substitutes. Even though I did not get to play for my team or in my position, I was very happy to get some playing time and I still got to experience the pace of the game!

I also started school this week at the University of Oslo, where I am taking a course in Norwegian! The class is designed for immigrants who want to learn the language and even though I am not an immigrant (yes, I am a Norwegian citizen), I thought it would probably be a great class for me to take! I am really excited to learn, and hopefully I will be fluent in Norwegian soon. On top of soccer and school, I am looking forward to trying new things, especially new foods. One thing that I have tried is sushi. Yes, I have had sushi back home, but sushi there does not compare to sushi here! Sooooo good!!! I always hated shrimp, but not anymore. The shrimp here is different than back home and definitely better!

I have already experienced so much, and I am looking forward to experiencing more! A new blog will be posted about every week!

Bye for now!
Kristi

Carissa Gwerder: Sunny San Diego

Day 1, 9/17/10

At the painfully early hour of 6:30 a.m., our entire cross country team was loaded onto the bus to endure the eight hour drive to sunny San Diego for the Aztec Invite.  After a few hours of napping and half paying attention to the Disney movie playing, everyone began to liven up and enjoy the ride.  A quick stop in Yuma for lunch, along with bracelet making and different games to keep us occupied, made for a pleasant rest of the ride.  We arrived at Balboa Park and attempted to loosen up our legs to run the course.  It was refreshing to run and be able to take a breath and actually get some oxygen into our lungs.  By the time everyone was done running and showing off their Frisbee skills-or lack thereof-we all got back onto the bus to head to our hotel.  We went to our rooms, got organized, and then went to dinner as a team to an Italian restaurant, Sardinas.  Mountains of food later, and after the ultimate representation of carbo-loading, everyone was satisfied.  In all it was a busy day, but the team is prepared to compete to the best of their ability tomorrow.  Even though the races are pretty early in the morning, there is no doubt that we will all be ready.

Day 2, 9/18/10    

      Today began with a light breakfast and a quick trip to the course by 7:15 a.m.  The weather was a comfortable temperature and overcast. We all began to warm up and stretch as the nervousness slowly got more intense.  Parents and grandparents of the runners came to show their support, and some even brought their famous snacks, which were more than appreciated by everyone on the team.  The girls race kicked off at 8:45, and most improved on their times set in the past.  The boys team performed to best they could and got great results, a second place finish by just a single point.  Although it was a bit of an unfortunate way to acquire a second place trophy, the team couldn’t help but feel proud and be happy for them.  Once the medals and trophies were distributed, we all trekked down the sidewalk to board the bus yet again, but this time we were on our way to Mission Beach, and the sun came out just in time.  We were all free to soak in the rays and swim in the ocean.  Even though the water was pretty cold, it was still amazing to spend time on the beach.   After everyone relaxed on the beach and roamed the busy streets for lunch, we got on the bus for a long ride to head back to Flagstaff.  Spirits are high and the whole team had a great time in San Diego.

Dunn Deal: Postcards from the Battle on the Border

Hey guys I'm back to update y'all on why we've been up to for the past couple days. I missed a day so I thought I would do it all in one update. Friday was more of a relaxed laid back kind of day. We didn't have an all day excursion planned this time.  Some of the guys used this day to recover from the traveling so much the previous two days, and others used the day to get out and see what downtown Calgary had to offer during the day. 

I did a little of both. Gabe and Lu found a mall pretty close to the hotel while walking around. It was a pretty nice sized mall too! Everyone either woke up or returned to the hotel in time for our one hour film and then began getting ready for our game against Calgary. This would be the team we ultimately suffered our first lost to. They were a very tough team that night and played harder than us, but at the end of the night we left smiling because we knew that we would have another opportunity to show them the real us. 

Tonight that was exactly who they got. We came out with fire, intensity, and a chip on out shoulder which propelled us to a 17 point win over the University of Calgary. We were able to come away with the win to redeem ourselves for the performance we had the night prior. 

After the game we stopped at this drive thru place for burgers and shakes. The name of it seems to slip my memory but everything was delicious! There were so many shake flavors I couldn't count, and you were able to mix and match with up to 3! I think the sign said up to 4,500 possible combinations. I think I overheard Mitch saying he got a root beer float flavored shake. We'll have to let him tell y'all how that tasted! 

Tonight was our last night in Calgary so a few of the guys with the exception if myself, Danny, Gabe, and Gaellan went out to the downtown. We have one more game tomorrow at 10 a.m. then we are coming home back to the states! It's around 2:30 a.m. right now and I have a wake up call at 7 a.m. so I think I'm going to end right here. 

I wanted to give a special shootout to the guy who works at the pizza/wing joint around the corner. He always had interesting conversation and made us feel extremely welcome here in Calgary, and I'm speaking on behalf of the entire team! 

Well I gotta be up in a few hours and in the words of Cam Jones "that's tuff." So I'm gonna get some shut eye. Goodnight guys. Until the next update.. Stay tuned!

Michael Dunn joined the Northern Arizona men’s basketball program in 2009 after starring at Chandler High School. He was a three-year letter winner that helped his team beat top-seeded Highland in the 5A State Championships, the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 in  state history. He saw action in seven games for the Lumberjacks in his  first season.