Here is a short recap of some video I shot on my iPhone during my first week getting setup in Auckland New Zealand. In the first week I managed to get a cell phone, a car, insurance, find a furnished apartment and a roommate! I’ll be moving in with Ziggy, my Swedish teammate for the Swarm. Our first game is in Christchurch vs the Canterbury Red Devils on May 21st, can’t wait!
My buddies and I watching the Australia Kangaroos vs the New Zealand Kiwi’s Rugby League test. This is the Haka “dance” that the Kiwi’s do to intimidate their opponents. It’s pretty flippin’ scary.
When I was 13 years old, my dad took me on a month long vacation to New Zealand. The country was so beautiful I knew the minute I left, that one day I’d be back. Many years later I found out New Zealand had a semi-pro hockey league called the NZIHL (www.NZIHL.com). The league consists of 6 teams in every major city throughout the island. The teams are made up of both national and international players. The import players are mainly pro or semi-pro European players looking for a competitive league to stay in shape during the offseason. Import players are also US & Canadian players who are just looking for a summer adventure abroad. After a few emails back and forth with the commissioner of this league and the Head Coach, I’ve been “recruited” to play the 2011 NZIHL season with the Botany Swarm, 1 of the 2 Auckland based teams (the other is the Auckland Admirals).
After much deliberation, I decided to take a break from my life here in St. Louis and follow my dream of playing semi-pro hockey in New Zealand. The schedule is very similar to collegiate hockey: practice 2x/week, games and travel on the weekends. The season runs May-September, during which time I’ll be staying in Auckland with a Swedish import player for a roommate. My plane leaves April 26th from STL>LA>NZ. I’m very excited for this amazing opportunity and can’t wait for the season to start. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
A beautiful video tribute of New Zealand done by my old college roomate Colin Wright. Colin currently runs a bunch of websites (one being www.ExileLifestyle.com) and you can find him on twitter @ColinIsMyName.
