Update

Okay, time for an update. I had hoped to write again sooner, but this is the first chance I’ve had.It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me, lots of training. We train at least once everyday, but quite often twice a day. The quality of training is very good and so far I’m really enjoying playing and living in Norway.

A lot of people might wonder, how does a Canadian player end up playing North of the Arctic Circle in Norway? To be honest I never thought I would end up playing for a club this far North, but playing in Norway is something I’ve always been interested in. I was lucky enough to visit Norway with my family, when I was 6 and 15 years old. Both times we stayed with relatives close to a small town called Stjørdal. Since then, I have always thought about the possibility of coming to play here.

Following my season in England, I knew I needed a change. I wanted to try something new and that was when the opportunity to come to Norway came my way. I got invited to go on trial with 1^st Division team Ranheim FK, in Trondheim. I headed to Norway, right after my season in England finished and stayed with my relatives close to Trondheim. The trial with Ranheim went well and was a great experience, but I did not sign for the club. Following that I trained with a 3^rd Division team called Tangmoen Il in Stjørdal and they asked me to sign for them, but I wanted to look at other options first. So my cousin helped me put out a few phone calls to other clubs and I got invited to go to Byåsen FK, a 2^nd Division team in Trondheim to tryout. I was doing very well; but during my trial, I got invited to go to the town of Bodø, to tryout for the 2nd team of First Division club, FK Bodø/Glimt. I couldn't say no to the chance to tryout for a great club like Bodø/Glimt. It was a fantastic opportunity for me.

So the next week I jumped on a plane and headed to the North of Norway. I didn’t know what to expect when I first arrived, but to my surprise it all seemed pretty normal. After a week of training, they asked me to join their 2nd team for the remainder of the 2010 season. I have now been training with the club for almost 5 weeks and I’m really enjoying it. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to play a game yet for the club, because of some paperwork issues and my International Clearance hasn’t gone through yet from England. So now I’m just waiting for that and then hopefully I can start playing. There is only one more game before our summer break, so it looks like I might have to wait until August now to play.

I’m heading home to Canada next week, which I’m very excited for. It will be the first time I’ve been home in over 6 months and I will also be home for my 20^th Birthday (July 24^th). It should be great to see my family and friends and spend a bit of time at home. But for now, I'm hoping to have a good final week here before I head home.

Coming soon, I'll write more about Bodø and what life is like here. But for now, here is a photo of Aspmyra Stadion, Bodø/Glimt's stadium; this is where we train everyday. After a long week of training, we have tomorrow off and I'll be watching the 1st team's game there tomorrow vs Alta IF, in the Adeccoligaen.

Robbie.