ELCO 2007 Europe Trip
The following write-up and pictures have been provided from the participants of the trip.
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Written by Anne Smith, and Steve Kellet
July 26, 2007, Thursday
We made it! We left Myerstown at 3:30PM. The Daily News was there to get a picture of the boys before we left. We took off in Philadelphia on time. We all made it through security without any major delays and the flight was uneventful. Most of us couldn't sleep much; we even saw the sun rise! Once we settled into our hotel we walked around town - Grangemouth, Scotland. Grangemouth is a small quaint town. We need to get use to seeing cars drive on the left especially when crossing the roads! Most of us worked in a little nap before dinner at 5PM. And then the boys headed out for a training session which lasted about 2 hours. Their Scottish coaches concentrated mostly on drills on quick ball movement and keeping possession of the ball. It is now almost 9PM so it is about 4PM there. This has been one never ending day!
July 27, 2007, Friday
We had another good day. We woke to sun, 57 degrees and windy. We spent the day in Edinburgh touring Edinburgh Castle and walking around. Edinburgh was really a neat town: cobble stone and brick streets, old architecture. The castle was huge with a lot of independent buildings; a lot to see with a lot of history. We were back in Grangemouth by 5:30PM. The boys had Varsity and JV games at 7:00 at fields that were next to each other. This gave us the convenience to allow a few JV players the opportunity to play in the Varsity match. The Varsity played the previous Scottish Cup champion. The game was hard fought with the Scottish team breaking a 1-1 tie with only minutes to go. Unfortunately one of our boys, Andy Walker, was knocked down from behind and cracked the “small” bone in his left leg. They took him to the hospital for x-rays and it was cast right away. He has been hobbling around on crutches plus we were able to use the hotel’s wheel chair. When we go to Southport in 3 days, he will again be taken to the hospital for reevaluation. We are hoping for good news, but I imagine he will not be playing soccer the rest of the trip. The JV’s lost 6-1 to a team much bigger in size. By the end of the games our fans were all cold. We had on everything we brought for warmth! We may need to get some “Scottish” clothing to keep us warmer! Tomorrow we will go to see Hearts vs F.C. Barcelona in the afternoon. The boys will have practice in the morning so the women plan to head to a shopping district.
July 30, 2007, Monday
The last four days we have enjoyed Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Wallace Memorial, the Highland games (a traditional strong men competition), 1 professional game and 4 games for the boys (2 for the JV and 2 for the Varsity). Whew! We have seen quite a few men in kilts. We have seen 2 wedding parties at our hotel and one in Edinburgh – kilts are the traditional dress for men in a wedding party; also quite a few bagpipers.
Both teams played their second games on Sunday. The Varsity tied 1 to 1; another good game. The JV’s lost; once again, they were “big boys”!
The Scotland countryside is beautiful; much like PA with rolling hills and mountains in the distance. There are deciduous trees and pine trees, beautiful Scottish Heather (a beautiful pink wild flower growing along the road and in fields). Most mountains are not covered with trees, just grasses and the fields and mountains are dotted with sheep and some cattle. We’ve seen field after field growing wheat, rarely corn. There is daylight here from about 4:30 – 5AM till about 10 – 10:30PM.
We are now at our second stop, Southport, England. It was about a 4 ½ hour bus ride (we had a double decker bus) from Grangemouth. The boys had a great time on the top level. When we arrived the boys left almost immediately for a training session. The training session was more intense and again, as in Scotland, the English coaches emphasized keeping possession and keeping the ball moving.
August 2, 2007, Thursday
We spent Tuesday in Southport checking out the town. The boys had training in the morning and a game in the evening. The younger boys actually played Blue Mt. (a team from PA!) because the English coaches were unable to schedule with an English team. The JV’s won this game 3-2. The Varsity boys played a team from Southport that was all 17 and 18 year olds. They say this team was “the best they have around here” and our boys tied them 1 to 1! What a hard fought game!! We looked great! Our English coaches were very impressed! One of “their players” mentioned that we were their toughest competition in a while!
Southport is considered a seaside resort town bordering a lake and the Irish Sea on the west coast of the country. There are many permanent residents as well. There are a lot of single, double and row homes made of brick and stucco with brick walls and hedges along the street. The main shopping area has a lot of old architecture. The shopping area has about 15 – 20 yard sidewalks with a section next to the shops covered with old style, ornate roofs and posts. There is a pier stretching from land out to the sea. It is board walk style taking about 10 minutes to walk from beginning to end. About half way out the pier is a lake area. There is a beach there; people were walking out quite a way and the water was still only ankle deep. There was even an ice cream truck driving along the beach in the water!
Wednesday we went to Liverpool and of course checked out Mathew Street where the Beatles got their start. Liverpool has a lot of old architecture as well. Liverpool is a large city; reminds me of a small Philadelphia. That evening we saw Manchester United and Inter Milan play. ManU is the English football champion and Inter Milan the Italian champion of their respective leagues. These are the “big boys” of football. We had amazing seats on the sideline just off the center line only 10 rows up! The game was so fast that we had a hard time getting pictures. There were 73,000 people at the game, quite a rowdy bunch; they sure love their football!
The weather has been great; sunny and warm enough. We had a little rain last evening in Southport; none on us at the game in Manchester. Today is cloudy so far, eventually the sun came through the clouds and it has been a “brilliant” day.
Today we spend hanging out in Southport again. The boys had training this morning and a game this evening.
The food here has been good. Our hotels have somewhat Americanized our food. The parent group has been getting some traditional foods at their hotel. The other night we had spaghetti and meatballs with bread (good bread) and French fries (I think they think Americans love their French fries; we get them a lot)! - no vegetables. Last night we had a buffet of meat, meat, meat and more meat; no vegetables again. We definitely have a lack of fiber in our diet!
Andy went to the hospital Monday when we got to Southport and the doctor there felt he didn’t need the cast anymore, but he was still on crutches. He saw an orthopedic specialist yesterday and the doctor said that he didn’t need the crutches anymore. He may also start playing when running and kicking no longer hurts, how ever long that takes. Andy’s ready to get back on the field now, but it will be a couple of weeks yet; he is still limping so you can tell it still bothers him.
August 3, Friday
We have been in Chester, England since our last update. We left Southport Friday afternoon and are all staying at Chester University in individual dorm rooms. The rooms are definitely worn with no TV, telephone or internet. There is carpeting in the hall and rooms, though. It just goes to show how spoiled we Americans are. We are happy to have private showers in each room. The water in the shower runs on a water saver automatic shut off; so you have to keep pushing the knob to get water. Also you can’t adjust the temperature of the water and it is very hot!
We have spent time in Chester shopping and sight seeing. The city is very old dating back to Roman times. The wall around the old city is still preserved on three sides for visitors to walk on. There are narrow, cobble stone streets and old architecture. Homes are made of brick and stucco. Interesting: an area with a cathedral is considered a city; with a church a town. Also, none of the places we have stayed have screens on the windows Friday the JV’s had a game which they tied 1 to 1.
August 4, Saturday
Saturday the boys went to a third professional game and a group of us took the bus to Wales. We went to a Gaelic festival with traditional foods, etc. Some of us went on to Flint to see a ruined castle before heading back to Chester. Wales has the most castles per square mile than any country in the world.
August 5, Sunday
Sunday we walked the wall before the Varsity boys had their 5th and final game; they won 4 to 1. In the evening was the “Coaches” game; any adult could participate. Of course most of the dads wanted to play. They first played the younger boys and than the older boys. It was great fun to watch and the adults actually managed to score some goals! There were some tumbles and spills, no major injuries. It got started too late and was getting dark so the picture taking opportunities were limited.
August 6, Monday
Monday was our whir wind day trip to London. We left the university at 7AM and walked twenty minutes to the train station. The university sent a packed breakfast with us: a croissant, butter, jelly and a box orange drink. The train took two and a half hours; about five hours by car. Once in London we had two buses and guides with us the whole day. We also took a boat tour on the River Thames and rode on the London Eye (the world’s largest observation wheel; it has about thirty-two capsules holding at least three-dozen people and rotates slowly so you can see a spectacular aerial view of London), walked around the outside of the Tower of London where the Crown Jewels are kept, and walked around the outside of Buckingham Palace.
August 7, Tuesday
Today is our last day before we head home. We have the day free to spend in Chester. The JV’s play their final game this afternoon. This morning at practice Austin Spangler fell wrong and broke his right wrist, on our last day and before their last game!
It’s been a busy, fun filled two weeks. After spending fourteen days of togetherness, the boys are still getting along and the adults are still sane! I think we are all ready to head home, though.
The boys have been working hard with their English coaches in training sessions and are playing well in games. The Varsity is 1-2-2 in five games. All games have been hard fought. The Junior Varsity is 2 and 2 with one game to go. The boys have been playing quality competition and are looking forward to a successful up coming season.
Some local street signs and phrases:
“Give Way” Yield
“Way In” Enter
“Way Out” Exit
“Roundabout” Rotary
“Lorries” Trucks
“Take away” To go
“Quite dear” Pricey / expensive
“Queue” A line
"Car park" Car lot
"Humps" Speed bumps
"Lift" Elevator
"Pavement" Sidewalk
"Have a shower" Take a shower
"Lay the table" Set the table
"Press ups" Push ups
"Telephone box" Telephone booth
"Coach" Bus
PICTURES
Preparing to leave ELCO
Seniors at Liverpool Youth Football Academy
Juniors at Liverpool Youth Football Academy
Sophomores at Liverpool Youth Football Academy
Freshman and 8th grade at Liverpool Youth Football Academy
Sterling Castle
Wallace Memorial
Boarding Double Decker bus for Southport
Downtime for Boys at Southport Hotel
Varsity with second game opponent
JV with second game opponents
Group at Tower of London
Coaches' Game
Coaches' Game
