Stephan The Man

Song of The Week Pet Shop Boys-Opportunities

Stephan — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 20:51:31 +0000

This week’s song of the week is Opportunities by the Pet Shop Boys. I know some of you out there are thinking that is some cheezy music…this might be a bit of an oldy but its a goodie I also like the theme to this song….I do wish someone comes along in my life and says “I’ve got the brain, you’ve got the looks, lets make lots of money”…….or would I prefer the other way around? Not sure if one is more insulting than the other….anyway it still remains a dream of mine.
In the meantime sit back and sing along to this 80’s classic.
Enjoy!

Song of The Week Nabiha-Never Played the Bass

Stephan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:05:59 +0000

This week’s song of the week is Never Played the Bass by Nabiha. I have already posted one of her songs before “The Enemy”, which was a remake of a song in an old Ukranian Opera…..which until this day I still cannot believe. Anyways, moving on..this song (as far as I know) is Opera free and has a catchy beat. This Danish artist is spunky and cool and deserves the attention she is getting from my website

Click on play….listen, and most of all,
Enjoy

Song of the Week Cake-Never There

Stephan — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:16:00 +0000

This week’s song of the week is Never There by Cake. This is a cool song from back in my high school days. Funny it seems like I am posting alot of those lately. Also this band reminds of one of my good friends from high school. The band and this song embodies many of his charictaristics, a little bit of cool mixed with a little bit of trendy and just all around good. I like the easy beat and the way you can listen to it at anytime and it fits.

Play this badboy while chilling in your living room or you can listen to it while cruising on the highway. Your choice.

Matthew this one is for you.
Enjoy

Song Of The Week Nights in White Satin-Moody Blues

Stephan — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:30:30 +0000

This week’s song of the week is Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues. This song takes me back to my junior days when my coach and friends were driving to provincial tournaments in and around Toronto from Ottawa. For some reason the first time I heard this song it got stuck in my head and I never forgot it. I can really picture those days so clearly when breaking away from our home city and heading off to playing unknown players from different cities or provinces. It was all so exciting and new back then. Even though the lyrics of this song have nothing to do with my memory….the song itself does. Those were some great days.
I hope this song can also bring you to a place like that when listening to it….
Enjoy

Somebody Find Me A Healer

Stephan — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:56:42 +0000

2012 has yet to be kind to me when it comes to staying injury free. When last we spoke I was heading off to Uganda to see if I could get one more result for the Olympic qualifying. The conditions in Uganda were less than optimal. We ended up playing in a church with an ultra low ceiling and cement floors. I played my first round against a Kenyan and won. My second round was against a talented Iranian player. I lost the first set18-21 and then won the second set 21-16 but in the third set I ended up pulling a muscle in my leg and was forced to retire. That was a real shame, flying all the way there only to get injured. But I was not done yet. I waited one week to heal and started practicing again in order to be ready for the Iranian International. I made sure to fly a few days early in order to be able to acclamatise to the altitude and time difference. Then in my first practice in Tehran I ended up pulling my calf! Ridiculous. So I basically flew home a few days after I arrived without really playing. So up until now it seems that “All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again!” ….yes the story of Humpty Dumpty.

I have decide to take one month off in order to let my body heal. I believe that this has been a long and physicaly tough year, my body needs time to rest. I am spending time at the physiotherapy clinic and slowly getting back on court. I hope to be ready for the Polish International which will be starting on the 22nd of March.

I look forward to training and competing injury free and reaching that ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games.

I will keep you posted.

Song Of The Week Madcon-Beggin

Stephan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:01:08 +0000

This week’s song of the week is Beggin by Madcon. I have been searching for this song for as long as it has been out. I would constantly hear it on the radio or at a Cafe restaurant but could never hear the lyrics or who the artist was. I would ask every waiter/waitress if they knew the song but nobody would know what I was talking about. Until……a savior came along for christmas and revealed this enigmatic song so that I can enjoy it all year long

This newly prized posession of mine is now being revealed on my website for all to enjoy.

The One Month Summary :)

Stephan — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:54:41 +0000

Shame on me. Yes I said it, Shame…on…me. Just because I go back home to Ottawa for christmas and stuff my face with Beaver tails and poutine, does not mean it gives me the right to slack on my webpage. So my punishment will be to find the equivalent to Beaver tails here in Copenhagen and stuff my face some more But no more slacking!
But I must say there has been a lot going on this past month. I made a quarter finals at the Canadian International in Moncton,losing to Carl Baxter, the Ottawa home grown Englishman. I then competed in the Toronto Open and had some very tough matches to get myself into the finals. All of that hard to work to lose to a young Indonesian player 19-21 in the third. That really rubbed me the wrong way.

When I got back to Copenhagen, I was preparing for the Swedish International and slightly tweaked something while training. I played a Team match a few days before and got my first win as #1 men’s singles in the Liga. However, I did not feel confident that my “injury” was fully healed and pulled out of Sweden to prepare for Uganda next week.

In the meantime our team here in Copenhagen had another team match, we are trying to stay in the Liga since we are one of the bottom teams. We played vs Team Aarhus our arch rivals, and gave a good beating…..well not really-we narrowly won 4-2, but it felt good to take it. My match was another barn burner (since it seems its the only way I know how to play). I made a huge comeback in the second set only to let this Dane beat me 18 in the third. Once again my body is broken. But not my spirit!

I will be flying to Uganda on tuesday and hopefully humpty dumpty will be put back together and take the title. It will be the Bonanza in Uganda

Here is the link and stay tuned!
DRAW

Song of The Week I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Stephan — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:06:34 +0000

This week’s song of the week is I’ll be home for Christmas by Michael Buble. I believe that this is a very appropriate song since every year for Christmas I come back home to Ottawa to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. Its an important time of year for me to come back to my roots and spend these important holidays with the people I care about. I hope everyone out there is able to do the same.

This version by Buble is a very nice one and quite fitting since he is also Canadian

Merry Christmas everyone

Canadian International Quarters Finals

Stephan — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:35:27 +0000

Well my tournaments this year have finally come to an end. My quarter finals in Moncton, Canada was another good result for my Olympic qualification however I wanted to end the year with a bang. My match with Carl Baxter (England) was a very good one. I have been able to play up to my level these last few tournaments and it’s a good moral booster for the new year. The first set against Baxter was definitly my best one, I was able to control the shuttle and him very well. I had good variation of playing to the backline as well as to the net. It was very important to always bring him in to the net…..and then push him away from the net. Sounds simple but it takes patience, timing and control. I took the first set 21-17. In the second set I was missing one important ingredient in order to repeat the success I had in the first……control. There was a draft going from my side of the court to the other, which made it difficult to lift. This meant that pushing Carl to the back line was very difficult and I made too many errors as well as him playing some great rallies. I lost the second set 21-9. In the 3rd set I knew what I had to do. Play the same way as the first set until 11 points and then when we switch sides, hold the net as much as possible and work hard to keep the shuttle down. I played well enough to get myself into striking position…..10-11….however my errors started to creep up again and I kept giving him too much of a lead….12-15…..13-16…..15-18 and finally 15-21.
We played a great match….the crowd was great and I can’t say thank you enough for showing me so much support. I wish I could have gone all the way for them, next year……next year.

Also I have to say thank you and congratulations to a fantastic tournament organization and another wonderful experience in Moncton. They always treat me well and make me want to come back, I hope the other international players felt the same.
My last comment will have to be about the massive poster that they put up for me in the tournament hall….AWESOME hehe…..nothing like walking into a place and having your face on the wall
Above is a picture of me and my girlfriend beside my poster

Canadian International Challenge

Stephan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:55:55 +0000

After almost 8 months of competing I am back in my home country and very close to being in my home city This week I am in Moncton, Canada, for the Canadian International Challenge. It will be my 3rd year in a row in Moncton and its always a pleasure attending this well organized tournament. I feel that this tournament really does all it can to promote the competition and athletes through various media outlets. They also do a very good job attending the players needs such as having a physio on site, proper warm up courts, athletes lounge etc….Knowing that tournaments are trying to promote the athletes as well as take care of them always makes me want to come back.

I have already played two matches so far in this tournament and will be playing my quarter finals tonight against an old friend from home Carl Baxter who now plays for England. This quarter finals is one more result for my Olympic qualifying but I am looking for more points from this tournament….why not try and go all the way!
The qualification race is very close and from now on every point counts. It will be VERY exciting to see who will have qualified come May 3rd 2012.

I will give more reports when the tournament is over. To follow the results you can click on the link below
DRAW