Jared Eiby (Qld) In Camp with the Pararoos

It takes a while to get used to regular international travel but rookie to the Pararoos, Jared Eiby handled it like seasoned professional.

It takes a while to get used to regular international travel, but rookie to the Pararoos, Jared Eiby handled it like seasoned professional.

The long wait, the interrupted sleep, airplane food, handling of numerous bags of gear and equipment and the constant banter by some of the more experienced players in the squad is not easy to take the first time.

“We kept getting continual good luck messages from the Qantas staff on the flight which was really special,” said Eiby.

Arriving in Amsterdam after 35 hours travel was tough, but being told, by physio, Ed Davidson, that we couldn-t sleep until later that night was almost torture.

“We have to get you guys onto local time as soon as possible,” Ed said.

“It was really difficult to keep my eyes open during the team meeting that evening and as I looked around the other players seemed to be having the same problem," said Eiby.

Lights out at 10:00pm, breakfast at 8:00am and after a short bus trip, on the park for the first jet lagged training session at 9:30am.

“I heard the players talking and joking about the fitness session that they faced last year in camp and it worried me. Fortunately Head Coach, Paul Brown, had decided to forgo this for a light PNF stretching and ball work session. He said that the idea was to build the intensity day by day then taper for the game," added Eiby.

Eiby has been working with Pararoo Goalkeeper Coach Darryl Darke in camp.

Darryl has been working on decision making, playing the ball out, low diving and mobility across the goal.

The Pararoos are in camp at Hof Van Saksen in a remote area of Drenthe, acclimatising before the 2011 World Championships.

The schedule for the days at Hof Van Saksen are pretty rigid: 8:00am Breakfast, depart for training, 9:00am-10:30am training session, lunch, recovery and massage, 4:30-6:00pm training session, dinner, physio, team meeting, lights out.

The first training of the tour was quite light with Kai Lammert running a ball work and combination session drill. The players said their legs felt heavy, but it was a good session to get the blood running.

“In the afternoon session Brownie put on a session that involved decision making, movement and cut back passes. It was hard work!" said Eiby.

Spirits are high in camp, players have smiles on their faces and are enjoying their football. They work hard and there is a camaraderie that is quite special having played together for quite some time now. There is definitely a sense of calm confidence in the squad.

“After the second session, our Dutch Coordinator took us to a local tourist attraction. Apparently it was a thousand year old cemetery that dated back to a thousand years BC. It looked like a bunch of rocks, but apparently had great historical significance," concluded Eiby.

The Pararoos start their World Championship campaign against Spain on the 18th of June.