Friday, August 5, 2016

Day 5 August 5th

The days are flying by for all the young Seacoast players and there was a lot on the plate today. The morning began much the same as the other days, we made our way to the cafeteria and were treated to another Full English. I think the kids are starting to enjoy the thick bacon and fried toast. I know the coaches certainly enjoy it.

Once the was finished, the soccer players and the field hockey players changed into their kit and headed out to the training fields. Light sessions were in store as the players had games later on in the day. The players only trained for an hour and then it was a race to the cafeteria for a quick bite. The boys soccer teams had games at 1:00 pm so they had to be back down at the fields for 12:30 pm. Th boys had their bright yellow kits on and they looked sharp as ever.

Brighton brought down three of their development teams so we knew that the players were going to be in for a tough battle. All three games kicked off simultaneously so it was a scramble to keep track of the scores. The Seacoast teams ended up with a draw and two losses but everyone can agree that they were certainly the better sides when it came to overall play. The boys did a great job of controlling the games and they played some really good 'football'.





The field hockey players had a short to commute for their away game. The U16s drew 2-2 and the U18s won which was a terrific result. The young ladies are certainly holding their own against the teams here and are improving more and more every game. The girls made their way back to Lancing in good spirits and capped the night off with a BBQ outside.

The soccer players all piled onto a bus and made their way to London for the Fulham v Newcastle United match which officially kicked off the English football season. The game was played at Craven Cottage which is the equivalent to Fenway Park in Boston. It is one of the oldest grounds in the country and it has a fantastic setting right up against the River Thames. The players made their way to their seats which were adjacent to the away supporters who were in fine voice. It is safe to say the kids never experienced an atmosphere like they did tonight. The noise from the crowd was amazing and the roof came off the place when Fulham scored the only goal of the game just before half-time. The kids hopped back onto the coached and waved goodbye to 'The Big Smoke' (London) knowing that they would be back early Saturday morning.