Day 10: Friday, August 19th

It's our last full day of the trip. We have toured the stadium, been to professional games, visited sites, trained hard, played tough local competition and while that seems like a lot, the time has flown by! This is my third group I have spent this trip with and have actually been here in England for 20 days and I must say the time has flown by. Some of it is the amazing weather, in 20 days we only had one true rain out day, and the rest of it has to do with how great the kids are.. all away from home and parents and stuck with everyone 24 hours a day..They remain polite, cheerful and respectful which makes everyone's trip so much more enjoyable.
This morning both the boys and girls played their last round of matches and got to see their Brighton & Hive Albion coaches for the last time. The boys played their games at the Ardingly College fields against Premier United. It was another hard fought battle against some large aggressive good competition.

The girls traveled 40 minutes to play against a local club Mile Oak at the Brighton & Hove Albion training ground.

They continued theoretical of great play retaining possession and passing. For a group of ten girls that all did not know each h other ten days ago, they have really come together and started playing g good soccer. The coach and pare t-shirt from the opposing team were well impressed with them.

A quick ride back and both the girls and boys teams rushed to change and reboard a coach bus headed for London to see the Fulham vs Sheffield Wednesday Championship game. Craven Cottage is the home stadium for Fulham Football Club since 1896.
After a two hour bus ride, everyone was eager to get off the bus and stretch their legs and eat their packed lunch before entering the stadium. Before entering the stadium, the kids all piled into the Pro Shop. Mostly scarves and backpacks and jerseys were snapped up as this is the last shop to buy team memorabilia.

We piled into the stadium, found our seats and bought snacks before settling in for the match. The group is sitting in the Putney End of the stadium under the Cottage.

It was a great corner for the kids to sit and view the entire field and also be able to go to the corner field exit/entry tunnel to get up close and personal with the player's.

 

Back on the coach for a two hour Coach bus ride Ardingly College, we went straight into dinner and then back into the dorm to settle in for our last night. Everyone chipped in for pizza and watched movies and played FIFA Soceer.

Tomorrow we will be up for breakfast as normal and then have some pool time to burn off energy before packing and cleaning our rooms and then a closing ceremony by the CMT staff before lunches and heading to the airport. 

Tomorrow night, ready or not, you get your children back.

Day 9: Thursday, August 18th

Woke up to a slightly cooler cloudy day today but no sign of rain.
After breakfast this morning, we headed off to visit Brighton & Hove Albion home stadium the American Express Community Stadium in Falmer located in East Sussex downs. The stadium was finished in 2011 and will host their first Premier League games this season.

The grounds were built down into the ground so that the rolling hills and roof of the stadium blended together. Every aspect of the stadium was built to blend in with its surroundings of rolling hills and sea.

The kid were broken up into groups and brought through the stadium looking at the directors boxes, club viewing boxes, stadium seats, visitors and home dressing rooms as well as interview rooms and going out the tunnel pitch side.

After winding through the stadium, everyone headed into the Pro Club Shop to use those credit cards that you gave them. Personalized jerseys, jackets, mugs, blankets, key chains flew off the shelves.

We headed back to Ardingly Collge for lunch and to relax before an afternoon of games for the boys and a last training session for the girls.
The girls headed down to their final training session with coach Naomi, Leah and Sara to prepare them for the final games tomorrow.

Afterwards, the coaches had their closing ceremony with the girls. Each player had a one on one meeting with their coach and were given a critique form with strengths and things to work on. They also received some Brighton & Hove Albion momentos and some awards. Best player went to Ashley, best attitude went to Kate and most improved went to Julie.

The boys played a hard fought battle against Brighton & Hove Albion teams. The teams have definitely  improved, gotten organized and battle harder against the English competition.

The boys also had their closing ceremony with the coaches and had their critiques one v one as well as best player, most improved and best attitude awards for each group.

Joey's group had Eli, Zane and Milo with awards.

And for Martyn's group it was Iain, Willem and Daniel

Back up to the dorms everyone showered and headed to dinner. Rain quickly passed through the area but left behind a beautiful rainbow over the town.

Tomorrow is the kids last full day here in England! The girls have an early wake up call and after breakfast, head over to the Brighton & Hove Albion official training ground to play their last match while the boys play their last matches at the Ardingly College fields. In the afternoon they head to the Fullham vs Sheffield Wednesday match.

Day 8: Thursday, August 17th

When we first awoke it looked like the typical rainy, grey English weather had caught up with us. There was a chill in the air and a constant drizzle.  After two days of double sessions with training and games, many arrived in the player's lounge looking tired and yawning. But today we take a break from soccer. In the morning, after breakfast, we will have a seminar with our Brighton & Hove Albion coaches followed by the afternoon at the Brighton Pier.

The girls have a question and answer session with some Brighton & Hove Albion Women's team members. They asked questions about women's soccer in the UK and discuss the different opportunities for girls in sport in comparison for a girl in the US. They also asked about playing as a professional, the schedule, the competition, the way of life. It is such a great experience for these girls to have the opportunity to interact with professional women. Good role models are so important in a female athletes life.
The boys had a sports psychology seminar given by Mark Sullivan. He has a Masters degree in sports psychology and is also on the Brighton& Hove Albion coaching staff.  He delivered a lecture on confidence, state of mind, mentality and positive imagery. He had each player get a Confidence Cup filled out from their group. It lists a players positive attributes as seen by his/ her peers. The Cup is kept in the players match bag so when they are feeling low they can be reminded with positive imagery and statements to give them a boost of confidence.

After a morning of classes, we headed back to the dorms to get ready to head to Brighton for a day at the pier. Luckily, the rainy weather has blown over as the pier is a day outside by the water. Brighton is a popular seaside vacation town in the South. Besides the pier which is full of arcade games and rides, visitors can see the Cathedral and neighboring park

The Lanes is a shopping district full of shops, boutiques and restaurants

There is a boardwalk along the rock beach where you can rent chairs and relax by the water.

The beach runs right alongside the Brighton Pier. Everyone assembled at the front for a group photo and then we're let loose to enjoy the games, food, snacks and rides.

After a long day on the pier and some retail therapy at some local shops we all headed back to Ardingly College for dinner and relaxation time.
For dessert every crowded into the player's lounge to wish a very Happy Birthday to Camden!

Tomorrow morning, we will all travel back into Brighton to TOUR Brighton & Hove Albion's home stadium and go to the Pro Shop. Then back to Ardingly College for an afternoon training  session.