Wednesday morning we had George from the Beit Jala Lions as our host who kindly took us to Bethlehem, there we visited the birthplace of Jesus and then round the local markets. It was an amazing morning and George, a devoted Christian, proved a great host with a wealth of knowledge, making it an amazing experience for us all.

Back to the hotel for a long afternoons coaching. Half the group were travelling to Southern West Bank to train coaches and two groups of young people how to play Street 20. Myself and the other half of our group were travelling to the local stadium to train up the Beit Jala Lions in basic rugby skills, games and the principles of coaching. We had a great afternoon despite the poor weather and it finished in a physical game of rugby with some superb performances from Stew and Perry, whilst the game took its toll on others resulting in some injuries such as really bad cramp!! I'm pleased to say Bassey is back on his feet and making a full recovery!!
Weds night we met up with the Lions and sharing more rugby stories over the Tottenham Hotspurs game. The party carried on long into the night and we are all looking forward to a long day ahead and what will be an amazing experience for all of us.

Today, Thursday was really one of the greatest days ever and one I will always remember.

Firstly we went with the lions to a local school as this will be the first of many rugby coaching sessions in West Bank. The Lions coaches will now be delivering weekly sessions to children in three local schools, many of whom have never even seen a rugby ball!! This will be a great challenge especially as all the coaches are players taking time out from work and have had no formal training. However with the lions determination and passion for game I have every faith they are at the beginning of a long and successful journey.

At the schools we buddied up and ran two session to groups of approx 30 - 40 young people. We gave a great rugby demo (if I say so myself with the introduction of Wasps legend Andy Sellins at fly half) whilst the Lions introduced themselves and the game. They then quickly got into small fun games where the Lions coaches got to practice their delivery for the first time with the young people.

After a quick falafel sandwich we were off to meet two groups of young people from Sumoa and Jatar in Southern West Bank. There we all jumped on a coach to cross the border into Israel to compete in a Street 20 competition. For most it was the first time these young people have crossed into Israel and the expression on their faces said it all.

On arrival in Yeoman we met four more groups of young people all excited about meeting up and competing in a Street 20 competition. Organised by the Peres Center for peace, we had for the first time, groups mixing from both Arab and Hebrew backgrounds as well as combining young people from both Palestine and Israel. 

Split into six teams young people competed in cricket matches and whilst waiting to play they took part in various conflict resolution activities. It was a truly amazing day and even though the language barrier made sorting out the batting order a tough job we had a lot of fun and felt privileged to be part of it. An album will be added at a later date as we captured many great photos throughout the day!

Posted: 18.02.11 09:39