The GB women's U19 squad had the opportunity just before Christmas to travel to Lokeren in Belgium to be hosted by the Belgium Federation. A squad of 14 players travelled out to play two friendly international matches against the U19 Belgium squad providing invaluable exposure to international matches.
While in Belgium the team trained twice and worked on their attacking model, transition play and proactivity in defence, which were objectives in the games too.
Luke Jennings, head coach said "The first game was a 30-20 loss. We struggled to gather momentum against a high and open Belgium defence, which is not something our team are used to playing against in training and competitive environments in the UK. We made technical and tactical errors which meant it was very difficult for us to keep the score close."
"We reviewed the game and created some solutions for playing against open defences, which included improving our movement with and without the ball, as well as playing with two pivot players. We experienced a better degree of attacking success with this model, and in the second game the score was 29-23."
"On reflection, their is still work to do on individual offensive technique. Defensively, we performed within our capabilities and were proud of what we achieved. We have built a strong link with Belgium now and will seek further opportunities to collaborate in the future."
British Handball would like to extend their sincere gratitude to the Belgium Federation for accommodating our team, making us feel so welcome, hosting us in brilliant faciltiies and providing us a competitive environment in which to learn in.
