Family nerdiness and successes

We continue to be extremely one-track - perhaps even predictable. Jakob has long been a volleyball nerd with Axel, it is well known. But now Ingrid is in her second season as coach for a group of young boys which she does with panache, in addition to dominating the right side in the women's division 2. Ingrid's training group is constantly increasing and they are developing strongly. Linkoping's bright volleyball future is probably ahead on the boys' side. On the girls' side, it is absolutely so - no doubt - because there, the former SM Gold Medalist (Sara) has gone all-in with the little brats (well - 11 year olds) with Cajsa in the lead. As is well known, performance is not the most important thing in youth volleyball - that's why we are delighted by the number of children and the really pleasant atmosphere in the halls.

The family moved closer to town two years ago and are more than happy with the location of their home in relation to Linkoping's all-too-few sports halls. But it's great fun to come down to all the matches - those we play as well as those we are not involved in. We are janitors and handle keys and host board meetings. All in a delightful melting pot. We are super happy.

All of this is successes as good as any. Ingrid's team made their debut in U16 and Sara and Cajsa in Mikasa challenge with really nice performances. But perhaps most notably... the Mikasa Challenge was crowned with a victory after Axel played the tournament for many many years. When it was finally time to play the toughest class, we couldn't help but cheer when the Linkoping team was able to lift the trophy and can now be called the best in Sweden in the Mikasa challenge. The week before, they had landed a nice silver medal in U16 against the same team they later beat in Mikasa. The spring was intense and continued with an intense tournament schedule and even U18 and JSM were played with nice results that give a taste for the future. Individually, Axel's luck was crowned with the opportunity to play for the U17 national team in Denmark on a north European tour. Since the selection camp had only given him the signal that the final selection would come by email in September, we don't think a 15-year-old has ever checked his email as many times as Axel did until the message came on the last day of the month. A nice second place in his national team debut after a loss to Denmark in the final gave him a taste for more and a significant boost in motivation.

At the beginning of the year, the nerdiness reached its biggest flop and defeat when we were to go on the Champions League in Poland with the two best teams of the year. However, Axel and Jakob were unable to go on the trip due to illness, and the team ended up in last place with two losses. But the team's spirit is still high and they will definitely be back in the Champions League next year.

So, it has been a lot of fun this year, with a little bit of everything. And now it is time for a well-deserved Christmas break before we start preparing for next year's adventures.. A way of living.