It’s that time again. Easter and the Regio Cup are over. Whitsun is just around the corner and with it the Whitsun tournament of the U14 Regio selection. West has set its sights on Paris, Central is heading to Frankfurt and Regio East has the venerable cathedral city on its schedule.

The aim is to bring around 36 players of (pre-)teenage age to Cologne so that they can put their skills and what they have learned to the test against selected German teams and then bring them all home safe and sound. Doesn’t sound too complicated. And the weather promises pure sunshine too. It will certainly be fun for the girls and boys.

We’re due to set off on Friday. Before that, the things for/with the young man have to be packed. Thank goodness the team manager (“Herby”) has prepared a packing list that you can use as a guide. Putting things together at the last minute – it’s easy to forget something … Oh yes, and fill out the ID and registration form with all kinds of information. Hm, pdf doesn’t seem to be fillable … so print it out, fill it in by hand, scan it and email it back to Herby. Then put my son to bed so that he’s at the station on time in the morning. Where’s the timetable again? But before that, we quickly practise putting up and taking down the tent with our son so that he can do it on his own in Cologne. We realize that his older brother didn’t clean the tent the last time he used it – so we have to clean it. Set up, take down, pack up. Sleeping mat or yoga mat? The sleeping mat wins because the yoga mat is too heavy. But now off to bed with the son.

7 a.m. at the station, done and on time, and even son 1 is chauffeured to the KSA beforehand. The other Höfner aren’t there yet, so I quickly go to the Bretzel King to get breakfast for my son. Now it’s time to hurry to platform 3 with bag and baggage.

There we meet the team manager of the U14 girls: Myrna – also with bag and baggage and her daughter. She (not the daughter) has organized the trip for the RegioOst: Who gets on when, where and how. Who is in charge from where. Which train/bus connection to where and how to change to which platform. Simple. Oh yes: also making sure that everyone actually shows up at the specified time and place – because it is well known that some people only half take note of the advance information. No matter: despite “a few logistical challenges”, in the end everyone found their seats on the train from Pfäffikon SZ/Olten/Zurich/Basel to Cologne. And after an entertaining journey – entertaining for the boys and girls at least, as the noise level was a little higher than on other train journeys for some of the supervisors and other passengers – the group reached the cathedral city. A quick head count to make sure that everyone had got off the train (with all their belongings) and that no one had got lost. Then the obligatory photo in front of the city’s time-honored building and then it’s off to the campsite – by streetcar.

Getting there is one thing. Setting up tents for and with more than 30 juniors is another adventure. And that at over 30 degrees in the afternoon. But here too: the energetic and prudent support of the moms and dads who had come along made camping – well, almost glamping. The large blue communal tent with the Swiss flag made a particular impression and clearly showed every other team on the campsite that this was where the Swiss delegation was staying.

Before going to bed, a short test match was also scheduled. Boys against girls. A close 2:1 shows how strong our girls are. By the way, it was thanks to Milan, a former GC player who was doing his FSJ in Cologne and had volunteered as a substitute coach for Whitsun, that the boys didn’t arrive in Cologne without a coach. The real coach of the U14 Regio Ost Boys had to coach the women’s team of RWW in Rome (see article “Promotion”).

So it will be exciting, as Milan doesn’t know the boys and vice versa.

The first matchday was therefore eagerly awaited. The expectation (at least on the part of the GF) was to do reasonably well and not lose by double digits. But things turned out differently – the girls went ahead and beat RW Köln 4:0 and ESV München 1:0. The girls were also able to hold their own against the strong team from Hanover with a 1:1 draw. This set the tone for the boys and they did the same as the girls: with a 4-0 win against SW Köln 2 and a 1-0 win against THC Braunschweig, the boys showed off their skills. After a successful match day, the evening was accordingly exuberant and the one or other song interlude accompanied not only our players / supervisors / coaches to sleep.

After the successful first match day, expectations for the second match day were correspondingly high. And the girls delivered: with a 1:0 win against SW Köln and a 0:1 defeat against MTV Braunschweig, the girls secured their place in the final. The boys opened the second day with a draw against DHC Hannover and then had to accept a 0:2 defeat against Cologne (SWK 1) and Berlin (Rotation Prenzlauerberg), both of whom were strong in terms of play and physicality; they thus made it into the small final. Unfortunately, both the girls and the boys lost their final matches. Overall, however, both teams put in a very good performance, strengthened as a team and gained good experience at international level.

After the games, it was time to pack up the tents and belongings, get to the streetcar and catch the train to Basel. The success of this “safe return journey” was also demonstrated by the fact that only one of the players had lost his Swiss Hockey shirt – all the others were returned to their parents safe and sound and on time.

“The best goals were the bright spots, where we played simple field hockey over many periods of the game. We were able to keep up with very good teams for a very long time and didn’t go down,” concluded Herby, the boys’ team manager. “All in all, it really was a great long Whitsun weekend. The good organization of the hosts (SW Cologne), the great weather (no rain, as has often happened at Whitsun), the good atmosphere not only in the Swiss team, but also hanging out with the other German teams makes this an event that our girls and boys will remember for a long time,” adds Myrna, Team Manager of the girls.

Looking back, all that remains is to say a big thank you to everyone who made this Whitsun adventure possible:

• Myrna Gunning – Team Manager of the Regio East U14 Girls
• Herbert (Herby) Koller – Team Manager Regio East U14 Boys
• Adrian Berger – Coach Regio Ost U14 Girls
• Diana Berger – she drove to Cologne especially by car and carried the “bulky baggage” for the team
• Ralf Korinth – also volunteered to help out the Swiss delegation as a referee
• Milan Lohm – he volunteered to coach the U14 boys at short notice and led the team on site

Of course, you could have had a nice and relaxed Whitsun weekend. But you decided to offer the girls and boys a great experience. On behalf of all the parents and juniors: A thousand thanks for your selfless commitment.

This thank you naturally also goes to all the helpers from the other U14 RegioTeams, who also sacrificed their free time for the juniors.