The Handball Challenge: Match One, Cranfield Vs Brentwood

My travel to and from the University of Essex Sports Centre pretty well mirrored my performance in my match for The Handball Challenge; I got lost due to an unclear path and was disorientated at the end.

The Handball Challenge:

• 7 matches before the Olympics starts (I've joined Brentwood Handball Club to play in their season).

Much like other team sports, the worth of your labours in training amount to nothing until they're tested on the field of play, or in this case the colourfully lined indoor court.

Baptisms of fire vary in heat like a curry without the English translation on the menu; you're not sure what you've let yourself in for until it's all too late, in this instance I was the oik left gulping down Cobra like a man who'd not seen liquids in weeks.

The play was quicker than my brain but I now know that with a third of the match down (20 minutes), we were only trailing 3-5 and were well in with a fighting chance against a Cranfield University side that was well stocked with apparent fans of Rap and Metal music.



Cranfield break through to apply early pressure (The Everyman Olympian, Far Right)


Then disaster selected Mark and struck him with a bitch slap to the ankle, we were now substitute-less and yours truly would be seeing out the rest of the game. Coach Kuller Rabaca called a time-out to give us a breather and make us aware of the situation.

Whether it was the news that hit us hardest or our opponents more collective reaction to this game-changer I'm not in a position to say but when the ref blew for half time we'd slipped ten points adrift with no further reply, the score now 3-15.



Our great goalie David draws on this childhood days of watching Karate Kid


Hans-Jorg took us aside for a rest and a pep talk, we needed to focus, maintain shape and move the ball quicker to the attacking players in the second half.

Sean and George mustered a tiring defence as best they could (each also netting 1 and 2 goals respectively in the match), while Chris lead an aggressive and physical attack that yielded 4 goals and riled their defensive triangle.

Collectively we were sharper in the back 30 and reduced their scoring opportunities, though their agile yet short front men continued to pose a threat, George and Big Phil were able to disrupt them while they looked genuinely unsettled by Chris' counter attacking ability.



George limes high to save us after Cranfield launch another well-oiled attack


7-22 The final score of a match which we'd lost due to their blistering opening half while we still getting used to each other, a heavy loss then but there were some positives to build on.

You can find out more about Brentwood Handball Club and the sport here.

Piecing myself back together

I'm here at the home of the famous St. Leger horse race, the original British classic (first run in 1776), to visit friends and also to get myself a long overdue body MOT.

Doncaster may not be the prettiest of UK towns but it's a little harsh of Google, that when searching for things this place is famous for the auto feed predicting your search stops you at 'Doncaster is...' with the suggestion: '...a sh**hole'.

My mate Chris had set me up with a physio appointment for silly o'clock on the Saturday morning, and generously drove us to the Bennetthorpe area for my examination with physio Mark Laurens of much respected injury rehabilitation clinic, Back On Track.

I had four complaints which I needed to get help with:

• Ankle pain caused by running.
• Check whether my ribs have now healed properly (since they were cracked 3 times during The Judo Challenge).
• Pain around my right shoulder blade when running.
• Tight calves first thing in the morning.

We talked through each of my issues one at a time and Mark even listened to my theories before checking areas for pain, talking me through the causes and suggesting exercises, posture changes and even exercise equipment that I could use to help cure my ailments.

I'd definitely recommend Mark's physio practice Back On Track if you're in the Doncaster area.

The morning finished with a four mile fat burning run with Chris, a former captain of Doncaster Phoenix Rugby Club, which included a section around Doncaster's famous racecourse.