We Do Adventure

Saturday was a very satisfying day. Sometimes in youth work it can be hard to see progress, or any kind of positives, from all your efforts; it was not one of those days. Instead it was day when I could choose which of many encouraging outcomes to reflect on. The uni hockey match in Mostar brought together young people from a mixture of ethnic and social backgrounds, although the teams were not defined by these factors. The teams, from Mostar and Jajce, were both mixed. It was exciting to see that after a hard fought game, that lacked nothing in passion and intensity, the teams were happy to hang out and mix together. Perhaps this was because the players are unified by an involvement in a sport almost unknown in this part of the world. I'd like to think the accepting atmosphere the coaches from both teams have created had something to do with it too. For my part it was nice to know I haven't been forgotten by the young people from Klub Novi Most in Mostar, and it was fun to sho...

Some footballers suffer what you could call ‘the curse of the classic goal’. What do I mean by that? They score a goal so timely and technically superb it sets a standard they will never again equal; it becomes a monument in whose shadow they play out the rest of their career. Tonight I’m reminded of David Platt and his stroke of brilliance in the last minute of extra time for England against Belgium back Italia 90. It’s fair to say he probably never matched that moment. I’m reminded by the blaring horns, revving engines and enthusiastic singing and chanting outside that undoubtedly means Bosnia Herzegovina have beaten Belgium twice within the last week, on what could quite possibly be the road to their first Fifa World Cup. Tonight’s 2-1 triumph added to a 4-2 victory on Saturday would itself provide a comfortable goal difference but given that they dispatched Estonia 7-0 they share the same goal difference as Spain, who top the group, although Bosnia Herzegovina have scored five more...

I’m a competitive person. At least, I am if I allow myself to be. I’m the sort of person who doesn’t really buy the ‘it’s the taking part that counts’ argument. I’m much more of the play-to-win persuasion. This creates a moral dilemma when working with young people. It wouldn’t be helpful to engage in a metaphoric fight to the death over Jenga, Playstation or table tennis. Unnecessarily demoralising for one thing; downright annoying would be another reason. At the same time, you can’t throw games really obviously because the opposition senses you’re not trying and gets upset by that. So there is a skill to be developed in throwing games convincingly. Working in another country adds another twist to this scenario. Language. Some young people have a smattering of English, some don’t. Tonight I managed a couple of successful table tennis game. I lost both! I did so convincingly while keeping an agreed score count in Bosnian. I even manage to pronounce my opponent the winner in local langu...