Boys' Soccer Team Trip

On August 27, 19 soccer players, Head Soccer Coach Matt Rowley and Athletic Director Doug Algate set out for a 10-day trip of soccer and cultural immersion in England. Upon arriving the first morning in Manchester the group was met by Jon Dickinson and Sam White of the XL Travel group. After a couple cups of coffee and some croissants the team was carted to the famed playing grounds of Manchester United for a behind-the-season tour of perhaps the most famed stadium in England, Old Trafford. The players were brought right down on to the pitch and encouraged to sit on the bench of perhaps the most famous professional sports team in the world.

After this visit the boys feasted on Chicken Bah pies in preparation for the first of two premier league games they were to watch. Shaun-Wright Phillips and Nicholas Anelkla amazed the boys (except for Yuji Nakano who displayed his impressive ability to sleep anywhere) during the Manchester City Football Club vs. Charlton Athletic match. The next day Jay-Jay Okocha put on a show and led Bolton Athletic Club to a 1-0 victory over famed Liverpool Football Club. We had the opportunity to sit directly between the Liverpool rowdies and the Bolton rowdies, offering us a perspective of soccer fanaticism not often witnessed by the casual fan. The boys learned several interesting soccer chants and songs not all of which can be printed within these lines. 

The next day was spent in transit as the team was whisked to downtown London to spend three days in a lovely hotel on the edges of Hyde Park, The boys trained, toured, and, most importantly, shopped for three days in London. It was here that Greg Spaulding was able to buy five jerseys, and three pairs of shorts for 34 pounds and George Dohrmann almost "max-ed" out his credit card shopping in Trafalgar Square. A rivalry was born here, as Coach Rowley's five-a-side team was able to knock off all comers in a round robin tourney in Hyde Park leaving Karl Wietzel and Gavin Bodkin feeling cheated. Coach finished off Wietzel's team by setting up Derek St. Thomas for the game-winning goal with a beautiful back heel in extra time. Karl left the pitch with his head down muttering something about revenge.

The final days of the trip were spent in Durham, home to Middlesborough Football Club. It was here the boys began to play matches and come together as a team. The Bobcat boys improved in each match dropping the first 4-0, losing the second 4-3 and then rattling of four goals in the first half of the third game and managing to lose due to some dubious time keeping by the opposing team. The trip established that scoring goals might be less of a problem than defending them, although goalkeeper Phil Tuttle was a rock in goal while Gavin Bodkin excelled as sweeper.

The trip wound down with visits to Historic Durham Cathedral and Alnwick Castle, both film locations for the Harry Potter movies. Most impressive to Kevin Gilroy was the view from the tower of Durham Cathedral and the Quiditch Pitch at Alnwick Castle. From Durham the team traveled back to Manchester for the flight home and a few days of well-deserved rest.