SquashTalk>Columns>Team Kneipp > The Time Flies

There are elements of being a professional athlete that are wonderful, like regularly experiencing different countries, people and cultures. When it’s two degrees in your home town of Amsterdam, a trip to sunny Doha is very welcome. There’s other aspect of being a professional athlete that you can’t wait to leave behind. Training when you really don’t want to, and travelling half way round the world for a tournament after a brilliant couple of months of training then having a bad day are two examples that spring to mind.

Jonathon Power gave Joe Kneipp a bad day in the first round in Qatar.  Photo © 2005 Fritz Borchert

The constant travelling is an aspect of being a pro athlete that can be either extremely enjoyable or the most annoying thing. You learn little tricks that make the experience better for you. I never view the monitor on the plane that tells you where the plane is relative to its departure and arrival destination and how many hours to go. For me this is the grown-up version of ‘Are we there yet?’ and I enjoy the movie / book / game / rest / food on the plane much more if I think about that time as an experience to be enjoyed itself, and not simply something you have to do before you get to the main destination.

For the next couple of months the tournament calendar is so busy with major events in different parts of the world it will be a new experience. To give you an idea, my itinerary from mid November to late January reads:

1. Leave Amsterdam by car for a Bundesliga match in Germany.
2. Train to Frankfurt
3. Flight to Dubai
4. Flight to Doha

Joe in a comtemplative moment .  Photo © 2005 Fritz Borchert

Qatar Classic

5. Flight to Dubai
6. Flight to Hong Kong

World Open

7. Flight to Dubai
8. Flight to Islamabad

World Team Championships

9. Flight to Dubai
10. Flight to Bahrain

Saudi International Tournament

11. Flight to Dubai
12. Flight to Melbourne
13. Flight to Cairns

(Christmas and New Years with family)

14. Flight to Melbourne

World Doubles Championships
Australian Open

15. Flight to Los Angeles
16. Flight to Chicago

Windy City Open

17. Flight to Amsterdam
18. Happy reunion with my own bed.

I’ll let you know in February if it was fun.

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