The Orange U17 finished a training internship in London from 22 to 25 February 2017. The team of national coach Barry Schep did a lot of promotion of the korfball on English soil. The first day started with a delay, but then the course was set to the Bromley club, where a clinic and a training were completed. Led by korfball promoter Bill Berry, Bromley is working hard on the road and during the youth clinics there were quite a few talent present. The Thursday was used for visiting some tourist attractions, such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Eye and the famous streets and squares. For the selection, a visit to the big shop Niketown London was of course a must and some gentlemen were photographed with Rio Ferdinand, former football player of Manchester United and the English team. Because of the strong wind a few trains fell out and it was a chaos at Victoria Station.
First games
In the evening were the first two games against England's selections under 17 and under 19. In both matches, the English could still follow the first half, but as often the difference in quality over a whole match turned out to be great. The Dutch U17 booked a regular and big win. The next day the annual highlight was on the program: the clinics at the schools. Balgowan Primary School was the first location where incredibly enthusiastic children received the Dutch as heroes. A very special experience for the young Dutch selection. The second school that was visited was the Highfield Primary School. At this school the enthusiasm was even greater, during the demonstration contest the children encouraged the players loudly. This was followed by photo shootings, signatures and a lunch at the school, with the Icelandic primal cry - known from the European Football Championship in France - with a Jacco Boonstra standing on the table as declarant!
In the afternoon the selection moved to the very modern Sports Center Crystal Palace. There was trained, together with the national selection of England under 19. A very difficult and tiring day. In the evening a dinner. On Saturday, the final day, the international matches against England were scheduled. In the first game, Dutch U17 was far too strong and won amply against England U17. Stephanie van Geffen was top scorer with six hits. Stan Postma and Jimmy Swikkers scored four goals. Against England U19 it went up in the starting phase, but at 4-5, the Netherlands was able to make it a run to 4-9 and this five-point lead was retained until the half-time (7-12). After the break, the Netherlands went further, partly due to the scoring drift of Annelotte Roozenboom, who scored no less than eight times. Annick van der Kooij crowned her good performance with four hits. Bonne Bus and Marvin Piepers were the most accurate in the men, with three goals each.
This ended the training internship. The selection, for the first time several days together in the new composition, grew rapidly towards each other and profiled in an excellent way during the activities. The conclusion: U17 is, and in England many knives are busy getting the korfball to a higher level. Bill Berry and Corinne Buckland were a fantastic host and hostess for the selection of U17 during the trip.
