IMPACT TRAVELS TO SAN MARINO TOURNAMENT WITH EXCEL INTERNATIONAL SPORTS First Post Not only is this the first post in the U16 Boys Italy Trip Blog; it is my first post ever period. Thanks to Leanne Ostry for suggesting I put this together. (Stupid social media not allowing for the full power of my sarcasm). It seems like a long time ago that we started this adventure and now it is just about upon us. I have never been on a major trip and I know that some of the boys have never even flown before. I hope that everyone shares my goal of making this something that the boys talk about long into their adulthood. As much as the planning and fundraising has been a challenge, it is all part of the process and the experience that Kevin and I have envisioned for these boys for a number of years. Players have come and gone, but the main ideas have remained the same. We have strived to help them learn how to act when winning and how to act when losing (there being really no difference between the two). We have tried to teach work ethic and how to take responsibility. We have tried to help them understand how to support teammates in times of great loss. We have tried to help them cope with changes and be accepting of change. Not many teams could continue to function when bringing together various groups, but here we are more than a year later and on our way to Italy. We have tried to teach them how to work for some of the things they have received and hopefully we can also teach them how to give back. Oh yeah! We have tried to fit in some soccer skills in there too. I have said it before. I would not want to coach any other team. They drive me crazy sometimes and I often have my grumpy face on, but I enjoy every minute that I am on the field with these boys. Their work is paying off and things are turning around as far as results are concerned. Not many groups of boys would have the perseverance to have the high number in the "L" column that we do and still strive to get better. We all know the teams that "implode" at the first sign of difficulty. Not these boys and that is why I am proud to be taking them on this trip. I wish the full team was going, but we have a bright future with the team going forward and I look forward to continuing to work with them.
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Well, the day has finally come. I am sitting here at 4:00 in the morning waiting to actually get up and start moving. Last night was running around and checking to make sure that I have I everything. I am sure I don't, but as long as I have money, passports and clean underwear then I should be okay. Oh yeah! And my headphones. It is after all a sealed tube with 15 year olds for more than 13 hours. I am not going to lie, yesterday afternoon I started my "pre-game" nausea. I want this trip to go perfectly, but I know that nothing ever goes perfectly. It kind of feels like when you are driving to a new destination and the trip feels a lot longer because you are not quite sure where exactly it is, but you are filled with anticipation to get there. Maybe that is just me. There have been many trials and frustrations in getting to this point, but I think this something that the boys will talk about for years and years. I had friends who went to England and Ireland more than 25 years ago and they still talk about the trip. Funny enough, rarely is there any mention of the games played. We play an exhibition game on our second night against a local team. In the tournament we play two teams from Italy and one from Gibraltar. How cool is that! I am pretty sure that those teams are over there right now saying "Si gioca una squadra da Sant'Alberto, Canada. Ăˆ fantastico?" Maybe not. You can look it up. Well, just about time to get rolling here. A quick shower, a third check of my luggage and a swig of 'Pepto' and it is of to Italy. Arrivederci. (I was informed after my first post that 'Ciao' was more of a greeting.)
I Hate Planes Okay. So here we in the Frankfurt Airport. I have no concept of time and it is the first time I have ever craved a beer at 7:30 in the morning. Alright, that last part is not true at all. What is Tour Organized by: Excel International Sports www.eurosoccertours.net 410-489-2287
true is that I have never watched so much TV in one sitting. Although, I did watch a documentary about the brain and what each bump, crevasse and ridge in the brain means. Then I looked around at our boys and tried to predict what each of their brains looks like. Funny, most of my predictions were that they all have very smooth brains. I will leave that up to you to look up what that means. Leanne, I have to blog and you have homework. Tyson, however, now has a 'mush' brain. I have never seen anyone play FIFA on his IPad for 8 straight hours. Seriously, everything has gone smooth and the boys have been great. All that is left is to hope all of our luggage shows up. Oh yeah! Practice later today. I am sure it will a high intensity workout. Totsiens. (Oh yeah. German too.)
Time For Night Night Well that was one heck of a first day. I can't believe that we went through 3 airports and everything went perfectly. Luggage was there upon arrival and we were able to meet our guide and the rest of our group who came early without a hitch. So we got on our tour bus and headed for our tour of Milan. It took all of 10 minutes to realize that Kevin and I were not going to make use of our international driving permits. How more guys on scooters are not killed each day is anyone's guess. We started with a quick tour of the fortress and castle. Lacked a little of the awe inspiring history of the whole thing now that cats inhabit the old moats. Still pretty cool though. Good walk through the streets and to the Galleria. Versace, Gucci (who makes a fantastic watch), Prada and a bunch of other stores that don't sell Adidas were there. Only one member of our group spun on the Turin bull's balls for luck. (Yup, more homework). Then out to Duomo di Milan. A huge church made of marble. Again, there was a little lost as you looked across the courtyard to see the NBA Jam 3v3 tournament being set up next to the McDonald's. Very cool just the same. Along our walk there was an awesome statue of Leonardo, but I couldn't find the other three turtles anywhere. It was the short version of the tour which was good because it was well over 30 degrees C. Attention spans were running low after little sleep as well. Free time was spent finding our first Italian meal. I had a fantastic pasta AND a piece of pizza. OH! MY! GOD! I could have eaten ten more plates. We separated a bit which simply led to Zachary and getting lost. We did see some neat things, but also discovered that neither of us has any sense of direction in this city. "Look kids. Big Ben. Parliament." Sorry for the vague movie reference. First bit of bad news on the trip. One of us was pick pocketed. Lost a bunch of cash, but the real pain came in sorting things out with the credit cards. I must say our companion has handled it very well. I would still be in the court yard swearing, having a tantrum and really just handling it in a less than heroic fashion. Having heard about all the pick pocketers, I have kept everything nice and close in my "murse". I know what you are thinking, but it is very European and I don't stand out at all. That is what I am telling myself at least.
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On the bus to the first hotel. Yes. I said first hotel. We have been travelling for what seems like three weeks and are only getting to the hotel. There just long enough to drop off bags and then load up to go practice. This coach is a jerk. Windy road through AlbaVilla to our practice pitch. Not sure how the bus got through some if the roads, but it was worth it. We pull into the parking lot and a man emerges from the cafe to open the gate to a spectacular field that had three mountains as its backdrop. Not going to lie, I had a little moment. Yes, I was tired and I usually am emotional (or wuss as my wife refers to), but it kind of summed up from me the reason we are on this trip. I cannot believe that after the day/night we had, the boys were able to still muster up a fantastic hour and a half of practice. Perfect end to the day. Hotel for more pasta as a late supper and now......... Night Night.
My Lunch With George Today was our day in Como, little town on Lake Como, a beautiful area that houses many hillside, lakefront villas that used to be homes for such people as Napoleon and other such prominent figures throughout history. Now it is home to even more important figures such as George Clooney. He likes the area so much that he has two properties. I imagine he had the same feeling I had in the Rolex store. "$20000 for a watch! I would be stupid to not buy 2." The older part of Como is located behind a great stone wall. The most interesting part of the walk was not the shops etc. that lined the "roads", but looking down the little nooks and crannies. A playground popped up in the middle of nowhere, arched walkways, and various other examples of beautiful architecture. I love just walking and looking and I could not help to think that there have been very few buildings that I have seen that would have been demolished back home years ago because they were too old.
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We ended up at an open market just outside the wall. A neat spectacle, but not exactly what we were expecting. We went looking for fruits and vegetables and ended up finding the biggest garage sale on the planet. Part of our group found a one man band and they said it was the highlight of the day. Sorry I missed that. Lunch was a simple bowl of spaghetti that will cause me to never have spaghetti at home again. It was a perfect portion for lunch, but I could have eaten 10 plates. We ate outside under an umbrella, to the side of a market behind an ancient stone wall. I can't make this stuff up. The group met back at the square beside the lake after lunch and we made our way the train. I am using the word train loosely as it was more of a cable car that went up one of the "pre-Alps" at about a 45 degree angle. After six minutes, BAM, another little town. It was crazy with tiny little roads and huge villas. We did a pretty demanding hike up to Volta's lighthouse. Yup, the electricity guy. At the top of the lighthouse the view was amazing. You could see most of the lake, including the villas and the hotels that had pools built IN the lake. Back to the bus and on to our first game. Again we pull up to a small stadium. A small boy dancing Gangham Style greeted us and I think we realized that this team was just as excited to have us there as we were to be there. Although older, the dressing rooms were huge and had training tables in them. Not that anyone was about to give massages, but it was cool just the same. It was pretty clear that before the game, the boys were scared (not that they would admit it). As the game moved along in the 30 plus degree heat, it was clear that we could play with them. Good thing they had a trough with hoses next to the player benches. Overall, a few mistakes by us on the back end and not finishing up front resulted in a 3-2 loss. The soccer was a great learning experience and confidence booster, but the experience was priceless. Pre-game pictures, the player walk out and introduction, and the exchanging of gifts gave it the feel of a pro game. Of course we were not sure about some things so we quickly adapted into the 'monkey see monkey do' tactic for the ceremony. I can't wait to see the picture of both teams mixed together in a single team picture. Back to the hotel for supper and bed. Early morning and drive to San Marino for tournament check in. We are a couple of days in and I am starting to really notice a few things. First are the 'roads'. I use quotes because back home most people would be complaining that their alley is too narrow. I would be nervous driving my truck and our driver is taking the bus through these streets Vin Diesel style. I also have no idea how they know where they are going. If I was in a cab, I would be ticked thinking that he was just taking me for a ride. Hardly any lights and small traffic circles everywhere. I am very much enjoying the bus rides from a pure entertainment point of view. Second are the fields. Every field I have seem has had lighting. Even a field that looked like my backyard ten days past mowing day had lights. Most were immaculate with fences just past the sidelines. The boys never chased a ball out of bounds once.
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Third is the fashion. For being in and around Milan (one of the fashion capitals of the world), I was not overly impressed. Expensive, no color and well, not stuff I would wear and I am nothing if not fashion savvy (I am sure I just made my wife snort milk out her nose). Other things include no recycling, lots of graffiti, the smoking (there was a Camel smoke box in the middle of the airport for goodness sake), and no pepper on the tables (I love pepper). That's it for now. Oh yeah. George was busy, but I am totally sure he is going to call.
Found The Pepper -- Almost Not much exciting today. Up early and on to the bus. It is about a five hour drive to the San Marino/Rimini area where the tournament is being held. We also found out this morning that we were picking up three players and a coach from a local team to give a ride to the tournament. Apparently they were meeting up with a team from the US who needed extra players. That would be a cool experience. About 20 minutes into the trip, we stopped to pick them up. Now picture fourteen grade 10 boys all sitting at the back of the bus, heads buried in their screen of choice and on walks three 16 year old girls. Heads popped up, but only to take a shy little peek above their seats. Team 'nerd' lives on. We had lunch at a truck stop. Now put away all notions you have about truck stops. Fresh pasta and sauce, freshly made sandwiches, cheese and salad buffet. The works and delicious. Back on the bus. It did not seem like a long drive because of everything to look at. We had to head to San Marino to register. What we pulled up to was a huge complex right beside two stadiums. One of which could only be described as a newer and better version of Clarke Stadium. Sorry non-Edmonton area people. Normally tournament registration is walk up, hand in your roster Tour Organized by: Excel International Sports www.eurosoccertours.net 410-489-2287
and pick up whatever little knick-knack the tournament is given away. I was taken to a coach/manager only section of the building. Here we went through each players passport and matched it to the tournament 'Supercard'. I signed a bunch of papers and looked at a thousand more. Very official. As we boarded the bus to go to Rimini and our hotel, the boys had to pass a bus with a team of similarly aged girls milling about. Very few even noticed. Well, that is not entirely true. They noticed, but quickly put their heads down and got on our bus. However, a few boys turned into quite the ladies men as the girls pulled away in the opposite direction. Mom's have nothing to worry about at the player disco on Thursday. Can you say 'Junior High Sock Hop'? To the hotel. I am simply going to start this part by saying Kevin and I got ripped off. The hotel is great. We went into our ground floor room which was small (as expected), but very clean. It had everything we needed. However, we went up to our sons' room and our perspective suddenly changed. Top floor, private large patio overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Not a lot of time to look around because it was back on the bus to practice. We stopped and saw the field for our first game; more on that later. We had a good practice and the back to the hotel for supper. Again, an amazing meal. The people are incredibly accommodating. They found out that I was vegetarian and could not eat two of the courses that were served. I did not mind as there was a huge salad bar with plenty to eat. Nope. The lady running the show had none of it and practically force fed me some (again fabulous) pasta that she had the chefs whip up. This was followed by a "whatever you want, we will make." There was a pepper mill on our table (none of the others it seemed), but it took 50 turns per grain of pepper. So close.
After supper the boys went down to the beach to play some beach soccer. They cannot get enough I guess. The beach is incredible. Different people own different parts of the beach. Each section has about 100 umbrellas. You rent the umbrella and 2 chairs for the day. Our hotel is at section 134 and we are not close to the end. You get the picture. Along the edge there of restaurants, wash houses, playgrounds, beach volleyball courts inside netting, a few mini rides, a carousel at one end, bocce ball courts, ping pong tables venders and on and on. The boys went after supper when it was now basically deserted. They must have played for a couple of hours until it was dark. As they were playing, another team came down the walkway. They were a bit older. This team was all dressed in their team gear, walked in twos, went to the water for a few minutes, sat in the deck chairs to listen to the coach for a while, got up and left in twos. I have talked to the boys about wearing their gear when out together to functions, but I watched them play sand soccer and realized what they are really going to remember about this trip. It certainly isn't going to be a grumpy old man talking to them about tactics. It is going to be the amazing shot that bounced off a deck chair and in for a goal.
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Walking along the street as the boys played was a thing to see. Vendors open to all hours. Selling shirts, wallets, hats, etc. Some vendors were right on the beach. They were only there at night. We found out later that these were the 'less than legal' vendors. The streets were packed with people. I kid you not when I say it is a packed Vegas at night here. We found out the night before was (the Night of Pink). Everyone had to wear pink. There were still remnants of streamers, flags, signs, and apparel in the shops. All pink. I never really caught the why in the whole thing, but I can imagine it was quite the spectacle. A few things we have learned today: the drivers are crazy, cross walks are meaningless and getting across the street is a real life version of frogger. Side to side, back and forth. Also, switch down means lights on and up means off. Makes me feel like Homer when he was in Australia and got homesick because the toilets flush the opposite direction. (Not really true by the way -- today's homework). First game tomorrow. The search for pepper continues.
First Game Today we had our first game. However, not until 3:00. It was mostly a free time morning for the team so they were a little scattered around. Some explored the beach, while others took the time to go shopping. After lunch we took the tournament shuttle bus to Spontricciollo Field. We are at the mercy of the shuttle schedule so we were there very early. This is our first grass field and it is spectacular. Flat pitch and closely cut grass. It is so nice that we were not allowed to even warm up on the field. We had to walk up a hill behind the pitch to a, let's just say less than spectacular field to warm up. The boys were quite nervous before the game. We talked about why and it boiled down to they were scared of getting blown out because the other team was from Italy. I said that even if that happens, we have lost badly before, but now we get to do it in Italy. Again we went through all of the pre-game ceremonies and then kick-off. We played very well in the first half. We should’ve scored, as we had 3 glorious chances, but they scored on the two opportunities they had. The second half was not at the same level of skill as the first and each team scored a goal. Official result was a 3-1 loss. Unofficial result was the fact that the boys realized that they could play with these teams and probably even let one slip away. Unfortunately, we had to hang around in the heat for an hour or so waiting for the shuttle. Oh well. The ₏2 Heineken did not go unnoticed.
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An hour or so of down time and then it was supper. Again, the meals have been fantastic. Again, no pepper. The salad I had was made from a very peppery flavored lettuce. It's not the same. Off to the opening ceremonies. We had about a half hour bus ride with two other teams. One happened to be the team we play tomorrow. The ceremony was Olympic style having the teams march into a stadium under their Country flag. All of the teams gathered in the parking lot and it was very interesting to watch. The Brazilian team was there for a good time. Singing and jumping around. A team from Russia got off the bus and 2 players immediately lit up their cigarettes. Some of our boys thought that was quite something. The girls team from Finland had team cut-offs. They were quite popular. The boys marched in and the crowd cheered. Then we were not exactly sure what to do. After some confusion we ended up at the top of the stands. A guy talk for a bit; game show host style. The next act was four putting on a pretty cool soccer ball juggling routine. Just further proof of how little skill I have. Next was three ladies doing what I can only describe as what happens when you do not make the Cirque de Soliel. Much of the crowd was lost during this (what seemed like) 6 hour performance. Too bad for those who left because the fireworks display was amazing. Twelve solid minutes of non-stop fireworks. I don't just mean one or two up in the air at a time. The sky was lit up for twelve solid minutes. Back on the bus for the ride back and in the hotel after midnight. See you at 6:15 wake up call.
Double Game Day Got up at 6:00 today to get ready. Was not overly impressed to hear we had a few players go down for pizza last night. Nothing like staying up and filling your belly with cheese before an early morning two game day. In a nifty little quirk, we rode the shuttle with the team that we were about to play. The shuttle was late again, but we are growing accustomed to Italian Time. The boys played hard after a little bit of a "discussion", but in the end we were defeated 1-0. This team we played beat the team we played yesterday 3-1. Good result. Not as many chances for us, but we were not totally outplayed. I would not be surprised to see this team in the semis. Nice group of boys, coaches and fans. Shuttle was on time for return trip with the team who just beat us. We dispersed for lunch and back at it this afternoon. Again we are at the field a little early. It is another grass field. Not as nice as the previous two games, but still a better facility than we are used to. It is wicked hot again and I had some trouble keeping the boys occupied. Three different warm-ups and talks in the dressing finally got us to game time. It did not start well. A miscalculation spotted them an early goal. Then it became quite clear that this was an Italian team and an Italian ref. Imagine Greg Louganis versus a sniper rifle. A garbage penalty made it 2-0. However, we were beginning to win the midfield. I made a formation change and it paid quick dividends as we finally got one. Because Tour Organized by: Excel International Sports www.eurosoccertours.net 410-489-2287
of the heat, we got a mini break and I used it to go for broke. I move some players around and threw caution to the wind. They got a quick break and scored, but we broke right back. 3-2. We pressed and pressed but they counter attacked for two more goals. Unfortunately from the same area. We lost 5-2 and I have a player that I did not put in a position to succeed who thinks the loss is his fault. Anyone can take the coaching courses (heaven knows I should take more) and anyone can learn the game and even how to run practices. Where does it teach you how to get your players to be strong in the face of the unexpected when you yourself are crapping your pants? Where does it teach you how to talk to a fifteen year old boy crying because he thinks the loss is his fault when you yourself are angry and want to cry? Where does it teach you how to build a 'team' and not simply a group of players? It is kind of like the 'bad guy' in the comics. Does he really consider himself 'bad' or is his personal perspective telling him that he is doing what is right? I think and tell myself that I do these coaching things well, but sometimes -- I don't know.
WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! (Also my run with Satan) I think the boys and the parents all had a great time last night. No early morning so everyone had a late night. The boys found a fenced off futsal court and a trampoline on the beach. The parents found a bar two steps outside the hotel. Everyone was pleased. Another benefit of no morning game was the relaxed wake up time. I actually dragged my butt down to the beach and went for a run. I swear that the devil himself ran past me and said, "Hot enough for ya?". It was 8:00 in the morning for goodness sake. I managed to run from our beach number 134 down to beach number 74. I am going to leave it at that because running 60 beaches makes me sound like an Olympian, but in reality I have no real estimate as to how far it was. I was too busy dialing 9-1 on my phone in hopes that someone would be kind enough to press the final 1 when I keeled over. The boys had dispersed to various activities after breakfast and I met up with my boy and we went to take our first swim in the Adriatic Sea. That brings me to the beach. I have already described the beach layout. Now it is time for the 'inhabitants'. One of our travelling companions kindly described it as 'National Geographic presents -- The Leatherback Turtle Comes Home to Nest.' I really can't say it any better. It is also not hard to tell the locals from the tourists. Let's just say the locals are not shy. NO MATTER WHAT THEIR BODY TYPE IS! My favorite game is NOT 'Is he wearing a swimsuit?' There seemed to be a much different group of people present on my run this morning. I only noticed in a purely fitness perspective, of course. Lunch and a rest, then off to what could be our final game of our trip. Tour Organized by: Excel International Sports www.eurosoccertours.net 410-489-2287
We played on an artificial turf this time. It was in a fairly big stadium. The boys got ready and we had to warm up outside the stadium. After a quick talk, we walked down the tunnel to the pitch. I kid you not. We had to walk down stairs, walk a long tunnel and then back up stairs that brought us right to our team bench. It was the coolest feeling ever before a game. Once again we fell behind, but we sensed that we were better. We had numerous chances to score, but we just could not put one away. We finally broke through and put one away. 1-1. It was getting tense as this was playoffs. That means penalties if tied. Three minutes from time and we broke into the clear and put it away. We just needed to hold on for dear life and when the final whistle went no one really celebrated. I think we were all in shock. WE WON A GAME IN ITALY!!!! Off to the Pool B semi-finals tomorrow. The boys played some beach soccer and jumped on the trampoline again from what I understand. Christine and I were at the 'Coaches Gala'. I know that the next bit as nothing to do with the boys and the soccer, but I have to describe this anyways. Shuttle pick up was 8:00, but with the Italian time conversion that meant really 8:45. An hour or so bus ride with all the other coaches meant we arrived at the destination at nearly 10:00. On the ticket -- dinner at 8:30. The bus pulled up and we exited the bus, but there was no building to be seen. No one gave us any direction so we all started up a fairly steep road surrounded (and covered) by trees with tiny bats flying overhead. I started to have the feeling that I was in a real life version of the story 'The Most Dangerous Game'. I was just waiting for them to give us a head start and then they were going to hunt us for sport. We got to the top of the road and found we were in a vineyard. We were greeted by hosts and hostesses with hors d'ouvers and champagne. The setting was very beautiful. A stunning view and an overall elegant setting. We mingled for a bit and talked with the coaches from Gibraltar. We made our way down to the actual buildings of the vineyard. We had tables set up in the courtyard which we had to find our place by matching up a soccer player on a master list. Our table was Shevchenko. He was Chelsea's biggest bust before Torres. Irony or what. The only other people at our table was a couple from Jordan. Two ladies and a guy. Yes, you are reading it correctly. Use your imagination and I am sure you will be bang on. That's all I am going to say about that in the spirit of PG. Yeah! Talk show host announcer from the opening ceremonies is here to MC. He did a fine job, but I am sure he has a PhD. in 'cheesy'. We also had live music. First I want to just say it was a little too loud. For a Gala intended for different cultures to get together, Christine and I could barely hear each other. This young guy did have a fantastic voice. He belted out various opera tunes ala the three tenors. However, he also did various other tunes by Elton John, John Lennon, Queen, The Rolling Stones, and the Doors. How can a guy with this fantastic voice all of a sudden turn into drunk karaoke guy?
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Supper was amazing, but I am not used to four course meals, especially when the second course is served at 11:00. After all the courses, a few more 'jokes', and a Rumba (or Samba or Conga or some other Brazilian 'ba', whatever, we will never speak of it again) we finally made it back to the bus and to the hotel at 1:45. Good thing wake up call is not too early. WHAT!!!! 6:45. See you at the Semis.
Semi Final Thursday We got on the bus shortly after 8:00. I found out that every boy was in bed by 10:30. I think they have the taste of winning and are now taking this pretty serious. We actually play in San Marino today. A little longer of a bus ride, but I can barely describe the pitch today. We played on turf again, but we view off to one side was a large portion of the city area we are staying in. Behind one goal was the San Marino mountain that has the three towers that we will be visiting on Friday. Breathe taking. Parents had to sit on benches on the side of a hill as the pitch was that secluded. Amazing. The boys were a little dopey and it took a little to get them going. We started well, but could not score early. They even pulled one off the goal line just before it went in. As has been the case, the other team scored on a very nice free kick and we were down. Time to pull out all the stops. We moved players forward and went for broke. We even had a different keeper in as our starter made a great save early in the game, but banged his head against the post. Going for broke worked. We worked our way in and got a little bit of a lucky bounce. 1-1. Tyler asked if we should move our players back to protect our back end. I believe my exact words were "Good heavens my dear friend Tyler. I believe we should maintain our current formation in an attempt to procure a victory in the immediate future." Okay. That might not be my exact words. Maybe something closer to "F@&$ it!! We are winning this now." We pressed, but the final whistle went with the score 1-1 and a few of our boys soiled themselves as they realized we were about to embark on the dreaded penalty shoot-out. I asked them first who wanted to shoot. No coach ever wants to have to pick a player who does not want to shoot. We watched a shoot-out yesterday and one of the players who missed was pretty much inconsolable for a long time. Much to my surprise I had five shooters wanting to shoot. They were the first to shoot. Italy-goal. Impact-goal. Italy-save. Impact-goal. Italy-miss. Impact-goal. Italy-goal. Impactgoal. Delay. Delay. Delay. Explosion. It took a while to realize we just won and were on our way to the Final. Tour Organized by: Excel International Sports www.eurosoccertours.net 410-489-2287
This week has seen a great growth that I cannot believe happened in this short a time period. From consoling a teammate who was upset to wanting to win for their fallen teammate. The players have gone from we are here for a good time and now I hear them talking about winning this thing. More than that I hear them talking about coming home and winning games they have previously lost. They are taking control and growing. Pre-game player only huddles. Standing arm in arm to cheer on their teammates who are about to embark on the longest walk in sport. Self-imposed curfews in order to be ready to play. Players not complaining about little or no playing time as the tournament has moved on because they know it is about team. I am so proud of these boys. That's it. Player disco tonight. Maybe some of them will use this new found confidence to actually talk to a girl. Okay. Baby steps. Really. Stop laughing.
The End of the Road Last night most of the boys went to the disco. We got on the bus and had to pick up another team. It just happened to be Team Norway. Yup the same team I mentioned earlier with the team cut offs. The boys were at the top and front of our double deck bus. Christine and I were back near the stairs and the girls came up stairs and sat all around us. The boys of course remained huddled at the front. These girls kept us laughing the whole bus ride. Upon finding out we were from Canada we had answer numerous questions about Justin Bieber. The girls were definitely were at the tournament for a vacation. 19 goals against and none scored and you could not wipe the smiles off their faces. Two days on the beach awaited them. Of course we were to tell their coaches how upset they were and that they could not bare the disappointment. The adults did a mini pub crawl in a train. It was literally an amusement park train that we were sure would not make it up most of the hills. We drove on the regular roads with the rest of the vehicles. These people are nuts. We talked with the Norwegian coach for a bit, but most of the time was in the train. The view in San Marino at night is spectacular. The stadium was lit up because the San Marino National team was playing a friendly. Wish I would have known that before. We picked up the boys and headed back to the hotel. This morning was not an overly early one, but it was busy. Everything packed and on our charter for the day. We headed to Fiorentino for the final. It ended up that we were playing an American team. They started out being extremely physical, but we held on. Again we went down early, although I still think it was a hand ball. We generated a few chances, but could not convert. They were beating us up pretty good, especially in the air and they were fairly good at 'simulation' as they call it in Europe. We call it diving. Our few number of players on the trip and the higher number of games than we expected was taking its toll. Ten minutes before half time we had to start to play with 10 players. The boys wanted to go for it when we talked at half time so I set them up with 2 strikers and only 3 defenders. Who does that being a man down? The boys worked their butts off and it paid off with about 7 minutes left to play. Score tied at the final whistle. Penalty shots for the second day in a row. I am not going to go into detail today because, sadly our Cinderella story came to an end. Yes there were some tears, but the boys have nothing to hang their heads over. I have a
Tour Organized by: Excel International Sports www.eurosoccertours.net 410-489-2287
large silver cup on the seat next to me as proof. More than that, the boys proved to themselves what they are capable of. The American team was actually a nice group of players, coaches and parents. They handed their jerseys to our boys to exchange like they do in the pros. We do not own our jerseys and I explained that we could not give them up. A little bit of an awkward moment, but the coach understood. It was obviously a very well off club. We went back to the mall where the disco was to have lunch and our guide was able to talk tournament organizers into giving us our cup and medals early. We took them up to the towers of San Marino and had a mini ceremony (we all know how much I love ceremonies and pictures). Walking through the town and up to the towers was very cool even when the only rain we saw all week poured down on us for 20 minutes or so. We only stayed for a couple of hours and after dropping off some of our group who are staying, we left for Milan and on to our flights home. An amazing trip has come to an end, which is good because I got the 'I want you home now, Daddy' from my baby girl.
Tour Organized by: Excel International Sports www.eurosoccertours.net 410-489-2287