Am Montag ist unser indischer Gast Nitin in seine Heimat zurückgekehrt. Eine schöne Zeit mit ihm liegt hinter uns, drei Monate, an die wir uns gerne immer wieder erinnern werden. Nitin hat einige seiner Eindrücke für uns aufgeschrieben und grüßt alle blau-weissen Hockeyfreunde auf diesem Wege noch einmal ganz herzlich.
I NANDANOORI CHANDRASEKHER NITINKUMAR from INDIA living in MUMBAI was invited to BERLIN for the purpose of hockey in the hockey club TC 1899 BLAU-WEISS because of my hockey skills could help the team in the Bundesliga. So my journey to Germany started on 8th August early at 4am morning and I reached Berlin at 8th afternoon at 1:30.The first day at Berlin was very different for me. New people, new culture and new rules and regulation. At the airport my friend and father Christian came to receive me. He was tall and very tall!!!! In his car he and me we drove to the house were I met my beautiful mum Catrin and my brothers Julius and Lasse, so had good evening in Berlin and was very lucky to be living with a wonderful family.
So started the next day with kids hockey camp of different ages and it was great. I found out that kids here in Germany start training in a very young age when they are just 5 or 6 years of age and I found it very amazing as well as shocking because in India it's totally different. Children there pick up their hockey sticks at a age of 9 or 10 years to be accurate. It's really great that the children here get coaching camps which are not to be found in India with many of the trainers training kids. Many of them are from the 1st men’s and women’s team and with some international players also who have joined the team like Richard Petherick who was here last season. It’s a great step and opportunity for the young kids to become a great player in future. It was a fantastic day with the kids and the team-mates of my team who were training them. I saw new things here: that the kids when playing in the practice session loose a game they start crying. This shows how much the kids are dedicated to the sport and how much they are trying to win it. The camp got over at 4 pm.
Then in the evening was my 1st training at men’s 1st teams training. I was very curious to see and train the German style of hockey because I always saw in the tournaments the German team was well constructed in every position on the ground from the forward line to the defence. So it was my time to learn it and it was really difficult because in India the training is I can't say the similar but has some part of the German drills. But the drills which we do in India we do in a slow tempo and here it is in a very high. I trained good, then later on the game was very fast here, it was a bit difficult for me to cope up with but I was trying hard to give the best so that I be in the 1st team of Blau-Weiss.
As days passed the team became very friendly to me like I was a part of everything in the team even in the jokes which they made. They used to translate it to me in English so that I could also enjoy it hahahahahahha... amazing but nice. The another good thing about the German hockey and players is the seniors of the team don’t behave like with attitude that they are senior or something in fact they also be like a normal member of the team and enjoy with each and everyone in the team. 
It was my 2nd month in Germany and my German family were very close to me now and I could share my feelings with them. They are really great love my German family. Christian took me for sight seeing in Berlin. Many places he showed me and I enjoyed with him a lot. On the ground I got better and better every week. The training changed my strength and was making my game more mature thanks to my coach Safi Khalil. He is a very different coach who I have come up before, very friendly and a nice person off the field.
I am really looking forward to learn a lot here in Germany because it will help me a lot in the future to be in my dream team, the Senior India team, when I return home. It would help my team as well because my training here could change my fitness strength maturity in the game which can help my team win games!!!
I really hope that and pray that I get a chance to come here in TC BLAU-WEISS every season because it has become a very important part of my life now and want to be here cause I am in love with GERMANY!!!! Hope to see you again, yours sincerely Nitin.
I really hope that and pray that I get a chance to come here in TC BLAU-WEISS every season because it has become a very important part of my life now and want to be here cause I am in love with GERMANY!!!! Hope to see you again, yours sincerely Nitin.
