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Soccer Academy England Trip - Days 7 & 8
Mar 14, 2012 3:41 PM
By Chad Liddle - Faculty
Wednesday, March 14 – Historic York and Game vs. Rotherham United FC
At 8 a.m., we departed on a bus to York for the morning and afternoon. York is the oldest city in England with roots back to old Roman and Viking times. It is also known for its chocolate making.
For the first hour, we took a professionally guided walking tour of the castle walls and ended up at the incredible Minister at York. At the Minister, we separated into our smaller groups so the students could tour the town and get lunch at their leisure. My family and I toured a Viking museum built around the actual archaeological dig. A number of groups toured the open air markets and the old meat markets with houses that leaned together over the streets.
At 3 p.m., we loaded the bus to travel from York to play our game versus Rotherham United FC. There, the boys were given a warm reception by the club manager and enjoyed the professional changing rooms. This was a very high-paced game that ended with us winning 2-0. Goals were made by Cameron Rohani and Jordan Doyle. (Jordan is one of our prospective Soccer Academy members. We also hosted another prospect named Nedian, who played 10 years in Manchester United's Youth Academy and was coached by my friend Tom Statham.)
After the game, we got a group photo with our opponents and they invited us up to their club house for a post-game meal.
Thursday, March 15 – Training, Doncaster & Manchester City Game
We let the boys sleep in a bit before traveling to the Doncaster Rovers’ stadium for a 9:45 a.m. training session. We warmed up and got right into thinking and speed-of-play activities. After we were physically and mentally warmed up, we played 6-on-4 halves and an end line game. After that, the boys finished up with some shooting.
We returned to the hotel for a quick shower and lunch. At 1:30 p.m., we took a ride into Doncaster for a couple of hours. We then had the coach bus pick us up at 5 p.m. for the Manchester City vs. Sporting Lisbon game at the richest soccer club in the world!
Our seats were amazing and I got "Darlington School Soccer Academy” listed in the evening's program and up on the score board. Manchester City won the game 3-2, but lost by 1 point on aggregate with English goalkeeper Joe Hart coming only inches away. A last-second header by Hart off a cross was tipped just inches wide by the Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper. All five goals were scored right in front of us and the pace of the last 10 minutes of play was incredible! The atmosphere was tremendous.
We returned to our hotel at 12:30 a.m. and I must say the hotel staff was amazing. They made pizzas for the boys (who never stop eating), which was a great way for them to end the day.
At 8 a.m., we departed on a bus to York for the morning and afternoon. York is the oldest city in England with roots back to old Roman and Viking times. It is also known for its chocolate making.
For the first hour, we took a professionally guided walking tour of the castle walls and ended up at the incredible Minister at York. At the Minister, we separated into our smaller groups so the students could tour the town and get lunch at their leisure. My family and I toured a Viking museum built around the actual archaeological dig. A number of groups toured the open air markets and the old meat markets with houses that leaned together over the streets.
At 3 p.m., we loaded the bus to travel from York to play our game versus Rotherham United FC. There, the boys were given a warm reception by the club manager and enjoyed the professional changing rooms. This was a very high-paced game that ended with us winning 2-0. Goals were made by Cameron Rohani and Jordan Doyle. (Jordan is one of our prospective Soccer Academy members. We also hosted another prospect named Nedian, who played 10 years in Manchester United's Youth Academy and was coached by my friend Tom Statham.)
After the game, we got a group photo with our opponents and they invited us up to their club house for a post-game meal.
Thursday, March 15 – Training, Doncaster & Manchester City Game
We let the boys sleep in a bit before traveling to the Doncaster Rovers’ stadium for a 9:45 a.m. training session. We warmed up and got right into thinking and speed-of-play activities. After we were physically and mentally warmed up, we played 6-on-4 halves and an end line game. After that, the boys finished up with some shooting.
We returned to the hotel for a quick shower and lunch. At 1:30 p.m., we took a ride into Doncaster for a couple of hours. We then had the coach bus pick us up at 5 p.m. for the Manchester City vs. Sporting Lisbon game at the richest soccer club in the world!
Our seats were amazing and I got "Darlington School Soccer Academy” listed in the evening's program and up on the score board. Manchester City won the game 3-2, but lost by 1 point on aggregate with English goalkeeper Joe Hart coming only inches away. A last-second header by Hart off a cross was tipped just inches wide by the Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper. All five goals were scored right in front of us and the pace of the last 10 minutes of play was incredible! The atmosphere was tremendous.
We returned to our hotel at 12:30 a.m. and I must say the hotel staff was amazing. They made pizzas for the boys (who never stop eating), which was a great way for them to end the day.
