Soccer Academy England Trip - Days 1 & 2
By Chad Liddle - Faculty
Darlington School Soccer Academy traveled to England March 8-18 to play against professional youth academy teams and attend several professional games. They also got in a bit of sightseeing during their spare time. Follow my blog series to see what they're up to...
Thursday, March 8 – Travel Day
The Soccer Academy players and parents met at Darlington at 5:30 p.m. for departure on our bus to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. After arriving at the airport, we dispersed our heavy jackets and made it through security. Once at the gate area, the players and parents exchanged their U.S. dollars into British pounds. Ten-thirty came quickly and we boarded our direct flight from Atlanta to London – Heathrow Airport.
Friday, March 9 – Arrival in London
Our plane landed at noon in London and we made it through a long, long line at customs. The players and parents quickly gathered our bags and loaded the bus. We had to take the bus to another terminal to find Masauto, who flew in on a different flight from Canada.
Once everyone had loaded into the bus, we drove from Heathrow Airport to downtown London – Buckingham Palace. While at the palace, we were able to watch the Changing of the Guard and all its pomp and circumstance. After getting pictures at the palace, we walked quickly through the streets of London toward Parliament and Big Ben. The boys got to see the changing of the Royal Mounted Brigade. We finished our first day in downtown London looking at the London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.
We boarded the bus at Westminster Abbey and made our way through London traffic to West Ham United’s Upton Park Stadium. Once there, we were met by Ben Illingworth, director of operations for West Ham United. Ben let our players and parents put their bags in the rooms and then gave us a VIP tour. Our tour of Upton Park Stadium included the players’ pre-game meal area, dressing rooms and the Chairman’s Suite. They also turned on the stadium lights for our kids to get on the field and get the full West Ham United Experience. After the tour, the players and parents were given about half an hour to relax prior to a late 9 p.m. dinner and group meeting.
Stay tuned...
