Trip pictures are up

I was able to figure out a way to post all the pictures I was able to get from the guys on the trip. Feel free to save them, with permission of course:)

Feel free to click here to get to Picasa Web Albums.

I'm also beginning the long process of getting the video together. I digitized the first hour and a half of video (of a total 5 hours) and I'm surprised with the quality and how much I was able to shoot. I know enough not to throw out a finish date on it, but it's not going to happen any time soon:)

Coach Douglass

Day 8 Heading back down to London

We left our dorm life this morning to board a bus for what turned out to be a 5 hour trip due to the rain. It's become a subject of all British attention- how much rain and the flooding going on around the country. It was so bad in Stratford that it was impassable for our coach, or any other vehicle, so we made the trip south with just two stops along the highway.

While we headed down to London we heard from our bus driver that our previous driver, Alf, was driving the Liverpool First Team from Heathrow to a hotel across the street from our hotel. So Coach Parry and I took our cameras, my video and his still, over to the hotel to see if we could catch a glimpse of the team who were returning from Switzerland and on their way to China. We waited it out and finally caught everyone coming off the bus and into the hotel. Coach Parry took advantage and encouraged Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain and superstar, to have a great season- which Gerrard returned with a thumbs up to the camera.

We had dinner tonight together and then spent an hour or so in our room reflecting on the trip. Each player had the chance to talk about their favorite memory from the trip and what we can take back to LF from our trip. There responses touched on every day of the tour, with the exception of today of course, and really reflected the quality of the tour itself. The guys took personal and team goals away from the week as well- things that I recorded and we'll talk about throughout the upcoming season.

Coach Douglass and Coach Parry

Day 7- Manchester mega mall and United and our final fixture

Pictures: The mall in Manchester, Old Trafford, the team in the changing room and eating Fish and Chips saying goodbye to Frank

The trip is finally catching up to many of our boys, as hour long trip to Manchester in the morning was lost on many of them as they slept throughout the bus. They spent the morning and lunchtime taking care of their final gift purchases in one of the nicest malls any of us have ever seen. Coach Parry and Douglass sat down for an hour long “chat” with Frank about the unique aspects of the Liverpool club, we both felt like grandson’s listening to Grandpa’s great stories. Coach Parry will be set for the next ten years with Liverpool stories to share with his friends and family.

We then coached off to Old Trafford, which the pictures above don’t do justice to the magnitude of the 76,000 seat stadium. Far different in every way to Anfield, Old Trafford felt like an American stadium at points, with the recessed seating where you’re farther away from the field. We were able to walk where the Premiership winners from last year eat their pre-game meal, hang out with their friends and family in the lounge and sit where Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo sit in the changing rooms.

We left a rainy Manchester back to Liverpool for our final match of our tour against Rainhill United JFC at the same field we’ve played the previous two games- an all weather surface thankfully as it rained throughout the game. We gave up a goal about 15 minutes into the first half and couldn’t get it back, even during a very strong finish over the last 10 minutes, to lose 1-0. Our trainer for the week, Karl Robinson, said Rainhill is one of the best amateur teams in Liverpool, so the guys have much to proud of as they competed at a high level all week. Following the game Frank fulfilled the boy’s request for Fish and Chips, which were fantastic, and he and Karl gave a few words to the guys about the week. Our Varsity veterans Ian Hoagland and Jay La Vatola returned the favor and gave a few stories about how Frank took care of the team this week before giving him a Lake Forest pennant, which the team signed, and a LF soccer shirt.

We returned to pack our bags to head back to London, via Stratford on Avon, tomorrow morning.

Coach Douglass and Coach Parry

Day 6 Last training session, Beatles Museum and Liverpool city centre

Pictures: Albert Dock downtown Liverpool, the Cavern where the Beatles got their start, the tall ship, the Titanic model and our Greek BBQ

We were able to catch another hour of sleep this morning, thanks to Karl pushing back our final training session to 11am, which none of us complained about. Today was a much needed change of pace once the guys finished an intense training session in the indoor facility at the academy. We were able to enjoy the great food served to the Academy players and coaches again today for lunch. The chef cooks all the pregame meals for the First Team on match days as well, today we had a great spicy chicken, rice and melted cheese dish. No one had any idea what exactly it was, but we all loved it.

We then “coached” off to the “city centre” to visit the Beatles Museum and the Maritime Museum which had a fascinating display on the Titantic, including the model the engineers created to build the ship that proudly carried the name Liverpool on its stern. Our walking tour of the city centre was delayed because of a tall ship, captained by famous Liverpool soccer captain Jamie Redknapp, but we eventually all saw the old city that is celebrating its 800^th anniversary next month.

Tonight Mr. Svigos treated the team to a good old American-Greek BBQ out on our lawn in front of the dorm complete with plumb tomato and feta salad and more meat than 18 hungry teenage boys could eat! The guys are pretty exhausted, but you couldn’t tell with the 3v3 games and a fierce kickball rematch which fittingly ended in a draw. We’ll need that adrenaline to carry over to our long day tomorrow as we travel over to Manchester to finish up our shopping and tour Old Trafford- then return to Liverpool to take on “the toughest, both physically and technically” opponent of the week tomorrow night at 5pm.

I had some time to conduct some interviews and the guys reported having a great time… it’s going to be fun to get their perspectives for the video that will be hard to cut down to under 20 minutes (my personal goal for it).

Coach Douglass and Coach Parry- by the way, we’re taking turns writing sections and correcting the grammar of the other person’s entryJ.

Day 5 Second Match- visit to Anfield - Premiership pre-season game in Preston

Pictures- Champions League trophy, Everton/Preston game, Tim Howard, our game, Coach Parry with Alan Kennedy, and Anfield.

Our second match of our tour ended in a 0-0 tie as we played a very good Christleton High School pretty well, but steadily improved throughout the game. The guys are beginning to implement some of the techniques they have been working on this week, playing at a much higher level than the first match. We were able to get lunch at the academy- great curry and cottage pie- which once again made the guys appreciate great food.

We went from there to Anfield, the amazing “ground” or home field, of Liverpool. Once again Frank came through for us, with an incredible guide who gave us goose bunps as he talked about the different traditions and rituals that make Anfield one of the famous grounds in all of Europe. Before we started the tour Frank introduced the team to a Liverpool legend. I’ve never seen Coach Parry so enthralled to be in a persons presence. He introduced Alan Kennedy to the team by saying he was reason he wanted to play left defense as a kid…and he’s the only English player to score twice in the European Finals.

We then entered the “Players Entrance” and our skilled guide took us to the locker room, which Coach Parry said isn’t usually part of the tour. He went into incredible detail about how the jerseys are hung to initiate conversation among the players that will be playing near each other on the field and how their “changing room” is intentionally smaller than the visitors to keep the team together. They walked us past the famous “This is Anfield” sign into the “dugout” where the players and “managers’ watch the game- to piped in crowd noise to give the guys a feel for what it might sound like on game day. Coach Parry ironically sat in Coach Benitez’s seat and we all just stared in amazement at the 45,000 seats that were so tight and compact around the field. We finished the stadium tour in front of the famous Kop, where the true “supporters” crowd behind the goal.

We then went through the LFC museum, where Frank surprised us again with access to the REAL European Champions League trophy that Liverpool won two years ago. We quickly huddled around to take a picture and the trophy was back in it’s case within a minute. Most of the guys got a chance to touch it, but Coach Parry was almost in tears later when he realized he wasn’t one of them.

After a brief (and not terribly expensive) trip through the club shop, it was straight onto the bus. We traveled an hour north up to the town of Preston, to see the local team, Preston North End FC, take on Everton FC, the other Premiership club from Liverpool.

It was a highly entertaining game, considering it was a pre-season friendly, with goals, player scuffles, and even a group of over exuberant fans coming onto the pitch after Everton tied the game at 1-1. American goalkeeper Tim Howard played the whole game along with International players from Spain, Portugal, Nigeria and England. After the game it was straight back to Liverpool and into bed to prepare for tomorrow, which brings our final training session and a trip to downtown Liverpool.

Coach Douglass & Coach Parry

Day 4- Liverpool style training session and visit to Mellwood

The boys are starting to get into a groove now that they are accustom to many of the English subtleties. The English girls who arrived yesterday afternoon aren’t quite as subtle, but they’ll be leaving on Thursday.

Just before the 10am training session, the goalkeepers and Coach Douglass were able to observe a one-on-one goalkeeping training session with the Liverpool Academy goalkeeper coach. We were able to watch the "best goalkeeper at 16 I've ever seen," according to the longtime goalkeeper coach from the Academy. He's sure that we'll be seeing him in the future, right now he plays for the U-20 Australian team.

Karl led our team training session again this morning, pictures above, and put the boys through quite a workout. It only lasted for an hour and a half, but it was exactly what we needed as a team. Karl came and watched part of our game yesterday and developed a personalized plan for the team based on communication, first touch and creating scoring opportunities.

We had lunch at the Academy and the guys raved about the chicken and beef stew- everyone agreed that it was the best meal we’ve had so far on the trip. We were able to eat with the coaches and some of the recruits who were brought in with their families to sign with the club. After lunch we had the chance to watch the U-18s practice, which reiterated a lot of the techniques and drills we worked on in the morning.

Frank Skelly was able to get us access to Mellwood, which is where the first team and reserve players train. It was a very exclusive tour hosted by Director of Operations, who happened to a friend of a friend of Coach Douglass from Wheaton College. He is part of the new administration at the club, which makes giving tours of the facility difficult, but he took the time to show us the press room, incredible fields and “boot locker” where all the professional players leave their shoes. As we pulled up the next prize signing for Liverpool pulled up right in front of us, the next great Brazilian Lucas Leiva came in to sign his new deal, which is quite amazing.

Our trip to Manchester United’s famous stadium, Old Trafford, was pushed back until Friday, so tonight we’re going to watch some soccer videos to prepare them for their game in the morning and trip to Liverpool’s stadium tomorrow afternoon.

Coach Douglass and Coach Parry

Day 3, First Game in England

(click on pictures to enlarge) Our game vs. Crdinal Heenan, next 2 watching the U-18s shooting drill, Liverpool Reserve team practicing

The day started off with an 8:30 English Breakfast of Eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and beans, with fruit and cereals also available. Following breakfast we got 'kitted-up' and headed over to the academy for our first training session. We were led by Karl Robinson and Stuart Gelling, Youth Team Trainers at the Academy. The session was held in the academies indoor facility. We started off with some light warm-up exercises to get our legs moving and the blood flowing, and then went into some small 7 v 7 sided games, with Karl and Stuart along with coaches Parry and Douglass joining in on the fun. The guys asked us how long the training session went, which was an hour- they couldn’t believe how quickly it went! Don’t worry, we took copious notes and look forward to implementing some new things for the fall.

After a bag lunch, which included mozzarella sandwiches- which were topic of conversation all afternoon, along with turkey and ham, we walked to the other end of the complex to watch the Liverpool Reserve team practice. Many of the members of the back-to-back Youth Cup championship teams, as well as two goal scorers with the main first team a few days ago were scrimmaging yards in front of us- their touch and pace of play made an impression on the guys.

We came back at 12:30 to the Academy turf field to take on Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School, from the West Derby area of Liverpool. It was a competitive game between two evenly matched teams, with Cardinal Heenan scoring two goals in quick succession, late in the game to win. All the field players received plenty of action as the sun and rain rotated throughout the game. We were able to tape the second half and we’re looking forward to breaking down the game tomorrow after our morning training session. Tonight we had a very production time talking through the positives and points to build on from the game which is certainly one of the bonuses of taking our team on a trip like this- we get to win and lose together after each game.

Right after the game we went down to see the U-18’s practice and walked up as they were working on crosses and finishing. It was clinical. The guys were oohing and aahing. The consistency and technique of their finishing was incredible, especially as our guys knew these guys were their same age.

After returning to the University we made a team trip to our local grocery store, Tesco, to pick up some necessities for the guys to supplement their new diet. Coach Parry was invaluable helping everyone pick out the choice English specialties. The chocolate is living up to its top billing (see NY times article below) hopefully some of it will make it back on the flight.

We were able to take the guys to the computer lab tonight, so hopefully they emailed you, if not, that’s why we have our lovely blog- I’m starting to think English now! We finished up the night with a session on leadership which challenged the guys to think about how they are naturally gifted leaders. It was very productive time as guys thought through how their teammates demonstrated their newly identified traits on the field this afternoon.

We will have a training session tomorrow morning and then have some special plans in the making for the next couple days… we have to meet with Frank, but we’re pretty excited about the rest of the trip.

Coach Douglass and Coach Parry

Second Day Heading North to Liverpool

Sorry about the tardiness- we’re still experience trouble with our internet connectivity. We couldn’t publish last night because the network wouldn’t accept the username they gave us. I'll send pictures as soon as we get back from the store- around noon your time on Tuesday.

Enough of the disclaimer…

We were greeted with another beautiful morning for our second full day in England. All the boys looked rested and eager for the days adventure, which started with a full behind the scenes tour of Chelsea Football Club’s new 3 million pound ($6 million US) Academy. If you aren’t familiar with Chelsea’s recent “successes” they were bought by a Russian guy who took the club to Yankee type success by infusing a lot of money into all parts of the club and buying back-to-back titles two years ago. We were given a tour of their soon to be replaced Academy building to understand the approach and system they have created. They powerpoint-ed us for about a half hour, but kept it interesting. It was amazing that we were able to get the access that we did- it was like getting a full tour of the new Halas Hall, all their training facilities and insights in how they draft and develop players. It was a perfect comparison to what we experienced about 5 hours later when we arrived at Liverpool’s Academy grounds.

The bus ride was full of exuberant card games. I think I heard, “you cheated!” about 56 times. While driving north we ran into rain, proving what everyone has been telling us, which it’s just part of the wettest summer they’ve experienced in years. It continued raining through our introduction to Frank Skelly, who is 100% legend- one of those people when you meet them for the first time you consider it an honor. He took us past their secondary trophy case and all the guys stopped and ahhed for a bit before he took us to more Academy won trophies. He didn’t have to talk about the tradition- it was pretty clear what we had just walked into. He showed us around in a very comfortable way, saying his goal for the week was for the guys to enjoy the experience as much as possible. We weren’t able to get a short practice session in, due to the traffic coming up, and our dinner was set at 6:30… until we checked in and we were told the cafeteria wasn’t open. The miscommunication resulted in ordering 8 pizzas for the guys- which didn’t do the job- so we had to order 4 more. In between pizza deliveries we set up an impromptu kickball match. The highlight of the day for some, if you would have asked them while they were legging out a 50 yard single- I set the game up to integrate some fitness- each base was about 50 to 100 yards apart which made for some interesting strategy. They had a blast though and are ready for their first training session with the Academy coaches tomorrow morning and then their first match at 1pm tomorrow afternoon. We’re playing a “grammar” school- which is a high school- but not just any grammar school, the one that produced the current star of Liverpool, Steven Gerrard. So we’ll see how that goes- a full game report will be coming your way once we get our internet connection squared away.

Coach Douglass and Coach Parry

First day in London

Thank you all for all your thoughts and prayers for our trip- everything went very well. The only trouble was a late gate change, which took us on another quarter mile hike through O’Hare, but we made up the time by breezing through customs when we arrived. Not many of the guys were able to sleep, Ian Hoagland takes the prize for most hours (2-3) logged while in the air, which made today a marathon.

We met our tour guide, Ross, who is a great guy, at the airport and boarded a beautiful coach bus and headed back to the hotel. The hotel doesn’t do much for the eyes from the outside, but is quite nice once you navigate the round about doors. We were able to get into our rooms, with one exception, at 8am- which was really nice to get a shower and swap clothes to make us at least feel a little more prepared for our day long tour of London. We also meet up seamlessly with Mr. and Dean Svigos, who had flown in the day before, and the group took on the hour- due to traffic- trip to the city. Ross took us on a guided tour of all the main attractions around London- first Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard, Westminster Abby, Big Ben and the Parliament building, we passed on waiting on the London wheel/eye and spent the afternoon around Trafalgar Square, Tower of London and London Bridge and shopping in Piccadilly Circus and finished at 6:15 at Covent Garden. The weather was incredible, it was a bit overcast to start, but the sun came through and provided a perfect atmosphere to soak in the rich tradition and culture of London.

I believe every last one of us caught some shut eye on the bus ride back to our hotel by the airport. We just finished having dinner together at a perfectly set up buffet that we have been able to experience for breakfast and dinner- I’m serious- it’s pretty good… for being English.

A couple updates:

We checked into calling cards back to the US and they are really expensive- 2 dollars a minute- plus. And here at the hotel we have to pay for internet access- 12 dollars an hour. Yea, everything here is very expensive… but I’m proud to report that your boys found the sales to their liking this afternoon and came away with a lot of great gifts. We will have access to the internet- so if you have Skype or Vonage set up, I would highly recommend using that as a way to talk if email doesn’t work. We will have only one pay phone at the University to use, so we’re told, but we will have access to a computer lab.

Tomorrow we are going to give the guys some time to sleep in and then we’re going to tour the Chealsea Academy to see how they run their club. Then we’ll be spending the middle part of the day on the bus to Liverpool, we’ll get a tour, meet with the coaches there and have a light kick around at their academy before we call it a night… or so we thinkJ

We’ll give you the full story tomorrow. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them under the comment section right below the entry.

Coach Douglass and Coach Parry

Trip Schedule

Friday, July 13	5:00 PM	Depart US from Chicago O'Hare (American airlines Flt # 86)
Sat, July 14	6:50 AM	Arrive London - Heathrow Airport
	8:00 AM	Transfer to London Accommodations - Park Inn Heathrow
	8:30 AM	Arrive accommodations
	9:00 AM	Check In
	10:00 AM	Breakfast
	11:00 AM	Transfer to London / Sightseeing
	12:00 PM	1st Stop - Walking Tour - Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, House of Parliament, London Eye, etc. (Lunch on own)
	3:30 PM	2nd Stop - Piccadilly Circus - Lillywhites - Lunch on Own
	5:30 PM	Transfer back to accommodations
	6:30 PM	Dinner
Sun, July 15	8:00 AM	Breakfast
	9:00 AM	Transfer to Chelsea Academy Accomodations
	9:45 AM	Arrive Chelsea Academy - Tour of Chelsea Academy
	10:45 AM	Transfer to Liverpool Accomodations - Univ. of Liverpool
	1:30 PM	Lunch on Route (On Own)
	3:00 PM	Arrive Liverpool Academy
	3:15 PM	Meet Liverpool Academy Coaches / Academy Tour / Training session
	5:30 PM	Transfer to Liverpool Accomodations
	6:00 PM	Arrive Liverpool Accommodations - Check in
	6:30 PM	Dinner
Mon, July 16	8:00 AM	Breakfast
	9:30 AM	Transfer to Liverpool Academy
	10:00 AM	Arrive Liverpool Academy
	10:00 AM	Lite Training session
	12:00 PM	Lunch at Liverpool Academy
	1:00 PM	Match 1 – LAKE FOREST VS LOCAL TEAM
	3:30 PM	Transfer back to accommodations
	4:30 PM	Arrive accommodations
		Free Time
	7:00 PM	Dinner
Tues, July 17	8:00 AM	Breakfast
	9:00 AM	Transfer to Liverpool Academy
	9:30 AM	Arrive Liverpool Academy
	10:00 AM	Training session (Liverpool Academy coach)
	12:00 PM	Lunch at Liverpool Academy- (Liverpool to provide)
	1:00 PM	Attendance Liverpool Academy or Reserve Match
	4:00 PM	Transfer back to accommodation
	6:30 PM	Evening Meal
Wed, July 18	8:00 AM	Breakfast
	8:45 AM	Transfer to match location
	10:00 AM	Match 2 – LAKE FOREST VS TBD
	12:30 PM	Transfer to Anfield Stadium (Lunch on Own in Liverpool)
	1:00 PM	Anfield Stadium Tour and Superstore Shopping / Beatles Museum Tour and Merseyside Maritime
		Museum (Emigration/Slavery Exhibits)
	5:30 PM	Transfer back to accommodation
	6:30 PM	Arrive at accommodation
	6:30 PM	Dinner
Thur, July 19	8:00 AM	Breakfast
	9:30 AM	Transfer to Academy
	10:00 AM	Academy Training session (Liverpool Academy coach)
	1:00 PM	Lunch at Liverpool Academy
	2:00 PM	Transfer to Academy
	3:00 PM	Attendance Liverpool Academy or Reserve Match or 1st Team Training
	5:00 PM	Transfer back to accommodations
	6:30 PM	Evening meal
	7:00 PM	Possible Pre season match (EPL televised game)
Fri, July 20	8:00 AM	Breakfast
	9:30 AM	Transfer to Liverpool Academy
	10:00 AM	Arrive Liverpool Academy
	10:15 AM	Lite Training session
	12:00 PM	Lunch at Liverpool Academy
	3:00 PM	Match 3 – LAKE FOREST VS TBD
	5:00 PM	Transfer back to accommodations
	5:30 PM	Arrive accommodations
	7:00 PM	Dinner
Sat, July 21	8:00 AM	Breakfast
	9:00 AM	Transfer Liverpool
	10:00 AM	Sightseeing Liverpool - Stadium Tour Goodison Park / Tate Gallery / World Museum Liverpool
	12:00 PM	Lunch
	12:45 PM	Transfer to EPL Match
	3:00 PM	Attendance English Premier League Pre- Season Match (if available)
	6:00 PM	Transfer to Accommodation - Park Inn Heathrow
	7:00 PM	Arrive Accommodation
	7:30 PM	Closing Dinner
Sun, July 22	7:00 AM	Breakfast
	8:00 AM	Transfer to London Heathrow Airport
	12:30 PM	Arrive London Heathrow Airport
	2:30 PM	Departure London Heathrow to Chicago. (American FLT # 47)
	5:05 PM	Arrive Chicago O'Hare