This is gonna be a quick and dirty run down of the last two days, as everyone is asleep and I am exhausted. Tuesday morning we split up. The parents traveled via coach to Windsor Castle while the boys had a Pro Training from the Tottenham coaches and then played Tottenham's U12s. Parents were not allowed to watch, so we enjoyed a day of sightseeing at the castle. One of my favorite rooms in the castle was the doll house and doll exhibit. (Craig Carlson skipped this section, and I will be hassling him for months to come.) I loved the castle and the history, as much as I loved spending time with my fellow soccer parents. An interesting story: Teenagers are teenagers in any country...a school group of French teenagers were "teasing" one of the guards, and one kid went so far as to step on the guards shoe. The guard gave him a push and a belly bump, and the bystanders could tell he was angry. A member of the military quickly came to his aid, berated the French boy and proceeded to throw the entire school group from the tour. Again, doesn't matter where you're from, there is always one who wants to show off for his friends. this time he was caught and reduced to tears.
We wandered for 5 hours and then boarded the coach to pick up our boys from the Tottenham game. The boys boarded the bus and happily announced they had tied 3-3. They were on an adrenaline high, laughing and talking as we headed for our next stop. Bolton is about 4 hours away, and 5 and a half by coach. We started our journey at about 7:30 and arrived in Bolton at 1 am. The idea was that the boys would sleep on the bus, so they wouldn't have to travel the same day as their game against Manchester United. Sounded great on paper, however the boys were too amped from the Hotspurs game. There was a movie on the bus (the title of which will be disclosed at a later date) and the boys DID NOT SLEEP! I resorted to trying the Quaker Game.... You know, a contest who could be quiet the longest....They weren't having it. Our hotel is connected to Bolton's Stadium. All the families got views of the car park, while one family was mistakenly put in some kind of suite, with a beautiful 3 picture window view of the pitch. (soccer field) Let me just say, I am enjoying the view! It is like a box seat with glass windows to a sporting event. If only there was a game while we were here.
Wednesday, we slept in and left at 11 for a Stadium tour of Old Trafford. This is the stadium of MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB. Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest and most valuable clubs in any sport, with an estimated value of 897 million pounds or 1.8 billion dollars. This tour was a highlight for our boys, especially bc the boys were scheduled to play the Man United Academy team at 7 pm that night. After the tour, guess where we ended up? The Mega store....where again, the boys handled, admired and begged for various Manchester United paraphernalia. After emptying our wallets we boarded the bus back to the hotel to prepare for the game. We had an early pasta lunch at 4:30 (lotta carbs over here)and then headed for the Man U Academy. We were told that although we were allowed to watch, there would be no photos taken. We arrived, sent the boys to the changing room and then went upstairs to the second floor "parent's lounge." They have a concession stand, and serve tea, coffee and biscuits while the parents wait for the players to finish practice. All of it was free of charge and is a perk of the club. When the game started I stood next to my new BFF Debbie, who is the mom of Jacob, the goalie on the Man U team. She was so warm and friendly, but better yet hilarious! She told me they get 2 to 3 new kits (uniforms) a year. Their kit includes complete uniforms, warm up, soccer duffel bag, and cleats. All of this, like the tea and biscuits are free of charge. I asked her, what happens if the kid's foot grows and they need new cleats in 3 months...? You just put your order in, and new cleats magically appear! The only downside may be that you don't get to pick your cleats. While our boys wear bright pink, orange, or neon yellow...their boys all wear a uniform traditional cleat.
The game in a nutshell: our boys put in a 100% effort and it showed. While we were often on the defensive, our defense was so strong and solid that we only conceded one goal. One of our players made a beautiful penalty kick and tied it up 1-1. Debbie, the Man U mom, told me that this was the best competition she had seen. She said that usually they "smash" the other teams they play. At the start of the second half, the ref told Owen that he had been refing here for 7 years, and had NEVER seen them lose on this field. Well, they didn't lose they tied and our boys were so proud of themselves. Debbie, looked at me at the end of the game, and said, "That was a good result! " I agreed, a tie was fun for all. Manchester, were stellar hosts both on and off the field. The parents and coaches were complementary and the mood on the bus for the ride home was that of pure joy! (Incidentally the Manchester Moms want to come to Santa Barbara, and I think we can make that happen) The boys represented SBSC, Santa Barbara, and the USA and did so with sportsmanship and pride. Tomorrow the boys have a Pro training at Everton, and then a game against Sheffield. Again, apologies for the sterile blog--I can only say that I'm just so tired. Tired, but happy.....
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