Brighton Trip Day 7

Today the boys were off to the training ground directly after breakfast for a recovery session with the BHAFC coaches.  This session included Soccer Tennis as well as various small sided games, then it was back to the hotel for some small sided games.  After that the boys took a break back at the hotel for some lunch.

It was right back to the training ground where they got a presentation from Mark Dring, the Marketing Manager of Brighton FC, who gave insight to the business side of the Premier League and possible career pathways for anyone interested in making the business side of soccer a career one day.

Next the boys departed the training ground to St. Mary's stadium home to Southampton FC for a massive game against Fulham.  Both teams are currently in the battle to stay in the Premier League with relegation a possbility for both.  The boys enjoyed pre-match activities outside of the stadium including a soccer skills test as well as a dance off with the club mascot.  Ultimately the boys were treated to a very entertaining game in which Southampton won 2-0.  After two very grueling days of training and games, it was nice for the boys to have a bit of recovery and catch a game for themselves.

Brighton Trip Day 6

Today the lads had a little bit of downtime before another busy day in Brighton.  First session of the day involved some small sided games and focused on various attacking topics.  Then the boys were surprised with a Q and A with Brighton first team captain Bruno, who has had great success with Brighton and has also spent time in La Liga playing against the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.  Bruno answered all of the boys questions and then finished the session with an autograph signing.  The boys loved it and all came away with a personal signed picture. 

Then it was back to the hotel for a bit of down time before heading out to the Amex, Brighton's first team stadium, for a stadium tour.  The boys spent time touring the field, seeing the locker rooms as well as getting to see all of the other facilities at the stadium.

After the tour it was time for a showdown with Brighton's Academy team.  The boys lost 2-1 but turned in a remarkable performance against an incredibly talented Brighton Academy side.  Conceded two goals late but the boys held their own and turned in an amazing performance, we are so proud of them. 

It was an incredibly long day with morning training, afternoon tour, and a game in the evening, but the boys had a great day and turned in a great performance in their evening game so they are buzzing.  Can't wait for tomorrow as the boys will be seeing their second professional match, Southampton vs. Fulham!

Brighton Trip Day 5

Today was one of the longest days of the whole trip, as the boys got up for an early breakfast before departing to the American Express Elite Football Performance Center for their morning session with Brighton. Their morning session was run by some of the coaches in Brighton's Academy, the focus of this session was receiving to play forward and breaking lines.  After a tough but fun morning session, it was back to the hotel for lunch and a little bit of down time.  

Training session two started with a bit of a surprise as Liam Rosenior, a former player and current assistant coach with Brighton's U23 team, came and joined the boys.  Rosenior played 393 games at the professional level in England for an assortment of clubs, most recently playing his last three years in Brighton before retiring just this year.  Rosenior is famous for making his debut in the Premier League where he was the fullback marking Cristiano Ronaldo, he ended up shutting down Cristiano and winning Man of the Match in his debut.  Rosenior gave a motivational speech to the players about what it takes to become a professional player at the highest level.  He then opened it up to the boys for some Q and A.  Training session #2 began shortly thereafter where the boys worked on combinations to goal as well as finishing with the coaches of Brighton's Academy.

After a long day of training, the boys went back to the hotel to enjoy dinner and head out to the Brighton Marina for some bowling.  It was a great day but very exhausting, can't wait for tomorrow as the boys will be training, touring Brighton's stadium, and playing a match against the Brighton's Academy. 

Brighton Trip Day 4

Today was a lighter day for the lads after the grueling competitive slate of games that they faced the day before.  The boys got up early and had another English breakfast before heading out to the beautiful coastal town of Portsmouth. 

First stop in Portsmouth was a tour of the HMS Victory, one of the largest and most famous gunships in the entire world, famous for its use in the Battle of Trafalgar.  The town of Portsmouth has some of the richest Naval history in all of England and it was great for the boys to learn and see it first hand.

Next the boys went back in time to Pirate School and learned how to operate as a pirate and all of the tips of the trade from the experts themselves in Portsmouth.  Thankfully none of the boys were required to walk the plank!

After a tour and a quick stint in Pirate school, the boys walked around the shipyard to take in more sights and then went to the Gunwharf Keys outlets for some shopping and lunch. 

After the day in Portsmouth the boys went back and continued their Table Tennis tournament, can't go a day without competition in this group!  After the boys headed off to bed early as a double training session awaits tomorrow with Brighton.  Can't wait to get back on the pitch!

Brighton Trip Day 3

The boys woke up early this morning to a Full English breakfast, it was the fuel they needed as they had a big slate of competitive games today.  They headed over to the American Express Elite Performance Training Center. 

The Amex training center is Brighton's multi million dollar state of the art training facility that was opened in 2014 and is one of the most modern and sophisticated training grounds in all of English Football.  Today the boys had 4 "mini" games against teams from Brighton's Academy.

In their 4 games, the boys drew 0-0 to Brighton's Academy, lost 2-0 to Brighton's Development Squad, lost 1-0 to Brighton's academy, and finished things off with a 2-1 win against Brighton's Development Academy.  It was a tough day of competition, but that's what the boys came over to England to do: compete with the best.  The fact that they not only held their own against some of Brighton's teams but were able to pick up a win is a testament to how hard these boys and their coaches have worked.  

 After the games the boys headed back to the hostel and had some spare time so the group went down to walk around beautiful Brighton Pier, known as the Coney Island of England. 

After some time at the Pier, it was time to head back to the Hostel for some dinner and of course the competition wasn't limited to the pitch today as the boys had a table tennis tournament in the hostel post dinner.

The boys are certainly knackered after a long day of games, but they can't wait for tomorrow as it's on to beautiful historic Portsmouth for a day of sightseeing.