To Date

Sorry about just getting around to posting pictures and blogging. I just got access to my host family's wifi. The flights and traveling on wednesday/thursday were long and very tiring. We got picked up from SCD around 1 here on thursday by our host families and hung out with them that night. Friday, about half of us and our host kids met up and went shopping together. We first went to Lillywhites, a massive 6 story sporting goods store in Picadilly Circus, and then to Westfield Mall. The Westfield Mall is fairly new and the biggest in England at around 73,000 square feet. Saturday morning we had our first training session in the morning at SCD School with one of their coaches Mr. Chapman. After that we all went to a Coca-Cola Championship League game at Watford Stadium and watched Watford v. Birmingham FC. Birmingham FC won 1-0 and the game was rather fun to watch. Sunday we had a day with all of our host families and I personally went to a porfessional rugby game and watched the Saracens v. Leister Tigers and the Saracens lost on a last second kick. The game was really cool. Monday - We had another training session in the morning with ex-footballer Luther Blissett as our coach. In the afternoon we met up with my parents, the cormiers, and mrs. malmer in London. We walked down the Thames River and across the London Tower Bridge. We then hopped on the Underground over to Enbankment. There we stopped and took a ride on the London Eye. The London Eye is a 400 ft. high ferris wheel that gives you a view of historic London sites. We saw Big Ben and Buckingham Palace along with many other cool sites. Next we hopped back on the Underground and went back to Picadilly Circus. We shopped mainly in Lillywhites again and some of us went to other souvenir shops in the area. Then all 20 of us enjoyed a nice dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. Today, Tuesday, we had another training session and this time Alex C. was our guest coach. (Not sure what his last name was but he was a former player for Watford.) After training we went to take a tour of Wembley Stadium. It was incredible. The place is massive, seating 90,000 people. We were able to see the locker room and look at the England Team's jerseys. We were on the ground level and walked out right next to the field although we werent aloud to actually step on the grass. The tour was very cool.

Stay tuned for more updates!

training

Hello everyone....Sorry for the delay in posting but I have not had access to the internet including my email...Tomorrow we have our first game against Chorleywood. We have training in the morning and a 6 PM kickoff. The manager for Chorleywood is Scott Meyers - he was in Bangor two summers ago and I actually stayed with him Rickmansworth during the weekend.

We have had three training sessions - the first with SCD staff Mike Chapman on Saturday. On Monday Luther Blissett was in charge of the session. Luther is a former England National team player. This morning the session was held by former Watford player Alex Campana. After the session we took the train to tour Wembley Stadium - the site of this past weekend's FA Cup semi-final games

The weather has been gorgeous - no rainy days. The sun has been shining.

All the boys are training. Two boys are nursing injuries but seem to be recuperating well.

Since I have access now to this blog, I will make daily posts.

Chuck

London

Today the team went to london. We went on the london eye which was quite an experience. We went shopping at Lillywhites, alot of the guys spent a few hours in the store, finding great deals on everything. A couple of the guys bought some boots as well as jerseys. We finished the night with a meal at t.g.i friday. Then arrived at SCD at 9:30 and was picked up and brought back to our students home.

April 15, 2009

The happy travelers!

2009 England Trip

On Wednesday, April 15th, the Blackbear United U17 Boys head to Watford, England for a 10 day exchange with our partner, St. Clement Danes School and will return on Saturday, April 25th. The boys will receive training from professional coaches including Luther Blissett, local academy coaches and other noteworthy staff selected. The boys will play games against some England teams, enjoy daily visits to London and watch some professional matches. The boys receive top notch accomodations staying with St. Clement Danes host families.

In July, Blackbear United families will reciprocate the hospitality by hosting the St. Clement Dane students and staff. This is the fifth year of the England Exchange program and we look forward to continuing this program.

Players and families can post their information about the trip, their journeys and post photos. Enjoy your trip and visit frequently!