The University of Evansville men's soccer team departed for its long awaited trip to England Friday afternoon. The Aces will spend the next week traveling and competing in England. Tom Irvin and Dan Gibson will be keeping a daily journal about their experiences abroad. Their daily entries will be available at www.GoPurpleAces.com.
POST-TRIP REFLECTIONS:
Dan Gibson – “From the soccer part of the trip, we want to take what we learned over there and apply it back home. After each game, I would think ‘how could we use what we learned here in a Missouri Valley Conference game?’ It definitely gives us an added advantage to the start of our season…I wish it could start now! It was a great and unique experience for a college soccer player, and we all look to apply that to next fall. We are all ready to start working on applying what we brought back on the trip.”
Tom Irvin – “I think the most positive thing that comes out of the trip from a soccer standpoint was how many distractions or adverse situations we were able to play through: catching up on sleep/jet lag, field or weather conditions, refereeing. Through all of those tests, our team came out very positive. It would be easy to have one of these things happen and make excuses from them – we didn’t do that at all, rather maintaining a pretty high standard throughout the trip. It wasn’t just key players from last year involved in our success – everyone got the opportunity to play and play well, and it gave everyone high expectations for next season. From the culture that we were exposed to, it was very different from what we were used to – having a new appreciation for London’s diversity and fast pace of the city. We all have a new respect and appreciation for each other.”
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ACES-UK TOUR 2008: Day 10
March 9, 2008
Most guys on the team were not ready to go home this morning – the atmosphere we were able to see at Old Trafford (Manchester United) and Reebok Stadium (Bolton Wanderers) made us want to play more and stay in this culture – keep things going. As well as we played our last match, we didn’t want to see the trip end. The opportunities for a player our age, in that kind of culture, gives them more of an advantage to be successful – more opportunities to make something of themselves and to succeed in football at higher levels, be it in England or abroad. It was one thing for us to know about what it was like over here, be it watching on TV or reading about it – it was totally different being able to come over here and live it first-hand, seeing how much coverage and attention players and teams get over here.
It was a lot easier to travel back home during the day time – it was easier for us to recover coming back home in the evening than it was traveling through the night on the way out. The flight home was a couple of hours longer, which didn’t make us too happy when we found that out. We were all pretty excited to get back home – both to get our money converted back to US currency….as well as to get back to US food – even airport food seemed cheap in comparison!
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ACES-UK TOUR 2008: Day 9
March 8, 2008
We spent our last night in Chester shopping with friends and family, picking up some last minute souvenirs for everyone at home. The whole team got to go out that evening, taking pictures and reflecting about the trip that was soon coming to a close. I personally have never felt closer to such a large group of guys then I did this night.
We got up for what was to be our last 'traditional English breakfast’- consisting of beans, mushrooms, bacon (we think), fried eggs, hash browns and cheese. We usually filled up on that every morning, and people sure were saying how they would miss it.
The anticipation to return to Old Trafford was high. Everyone had bought their gear at the Manchester United 'Megastore', and was ready to show off their new jerseys. The trip to Manchester was one of the first bus rides where not too many of us slept. Everyone was really excited to see the atmosphere in the 'Theatre of Dreams'. The streets were flooded with red (Man Utd’s colors). Fans everywhere were drinking and eating, buying things from the street venders that were on every corner. We parked our bus in the away fans parking lot, and were told to cover up any red we were wearing because the visiting Portsmouth fans were a little rowdy.
The crowd in the stadium was amazing – 76,000 and standing room only. Although the game didn't go as we liked (Portsmouth won 1- 0 on a penalty), just getting to watch the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, and Rio Ferdinand warm up and play in a game that ment so much (FA Cup quarterfinal) was really amazing. We all had a blast, and talked about it all the way back to the hotel that night.
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ACES -UK TOUR 2008: Day 8
March 7, 2008
Started off the day early by driving to Manchester to visit Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United. This was our first chance to see the inside of one of the bigger clubs, and we got to see it when no one was in it. Tomorrow we will be going to see them play (in the FA Cup quarterfinals versus Portsmouth). It is referred to as 'the Theatre of Dreams', and tomorrow's game will truly give us the opportunity to see it come alive. It should be a sell-out crowd of 76,000.
The tour was pretty similar to the Wembley Stadium tour, but at Old Trafford there is more tradition because of all the old teams that have played there - seeing the plaques and old shirts. Most of the team supports Man Utd, so the guys were really interested. Whether you supported Manchester United or not, it was a place that you should visit if you are a soccer fan (NOTE: Tom is a Manchester United supporter; Dan is an Arsenal supporter). It is similar to Lambeau Field in that everyone who enjoys the game has an appreciation for the importance of the history or significance of the stadium and team. It gives you an appreciation of where the game is and how it is supported.
It was nice to see how similar things are for us at UE, but maybe on a smaller scale - having a player's lounge, the quality of our locker room, great playing surface. These are things you might take for granted if you didn't see it on a grander scale. Our loyal supporters is something that is really appreciated, as it is here, and we are looking forward to sharing some of this unique culture within our own Aces soccer culture.
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ACES -UK TOUR 2008: Day 7
March 6, 2008
We woke up this morning (Thursday) after our big win last evening, and headed over to the training ground of Manchester City FC for a recovery/training session. We met Paul Power, who is actively involved in Man City's first team and youth academy, and had some success as a player here as well. We had a tour of their youth academy - their facilities were really nice, especially the full-sided, small-sided and indoor fields. Man City is one of the leading producers of premiership players from their academy, as well as for the English national team. The training was a little looser/lighter than we had at Everton, and that was exactly what we needed after four games in three days. We also had our last opportunity to play with our graduating seniors, who have joined us on this trip - Ben Harner, Dustin Awe, Erik Johnson, Corey ('Smothers') Southers. We were able to witness the flying side-volleys of 'Smothers' for the last time.
When we finished up our training session, we had our 'sprint challenge' - highlighted by match-ups of our XL Travel support staff (Graham won by a spike of his hair); equipment managers Andy Brick vs. Brandt Petty (Petty won by a two lengths); runaway victory of Austin Schall over assistant coach Mike Miller (going in to the race, some actually thought Coach Miller had a shot of keeping it close; Miller disappointed all around, later forfeiting his challenge against athletic trainer Kasey Wahl). The 'sprint challenge' was one of the highlights of the trip, perhaps only topped by the goal celebration of Ryan 'Shark' Moll against Fromby - flapping his fins after he banged in his goal.
We had our first chance to see a match here live, getting to see Bolton Wanderers versus Sporting Lisbon of Portugal at Reebok Stadium. This was a UEFA Cup match, which made it an important game for the Bolton supporters. With a stadium of 25,000 there wasn't a bad seat in the house - we sat 13 rows up from the field, and were actively involved sitting near the goal where there were a number of scoring chances. It is easy to see the contrasting styles between a more prototypical English club in Bolton to a more continental style of Sporting. Sporting seemed to be much smaller physically, but had more quicker and tricky players. Bolton was much bigger physically, and played more direct - playing back to front for most of the match. The way the stadium is set up, it is conducive to having an awesome atmosphere - the size of the stadium was perfect for the number of fans who were there, and you felt like you were at Wembley because of how loud and passionate their fans were. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Bolton now needing to win the second leg in Portugal to advance.
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ACES -UK TOUR 2008: Day 6
March 5, 2008
We woke up Wednesday morning and traveled from Nottingham up to Liverpool to train at the academy of English Premier League club Everton FC. Although the guys were tired from our match the night before, the chance to be trained by coaches from Everton's academy was motivation to get out there and play well. The Academy facilities were immaculate, and were truly special - it shows how big of a deal it is for 16-year olds that are in an academy of this standard - the consensus among the players seemed to be that everyone on the team wished to have been able to grow up in a setting like this. We also learned that focusing on the basic fundamentals - striking balls, receiving and turning - really showed individual improvement in our players from the beginning to the end of the session. It was really cool that today we were sharing the same facilities that English Premier League club West Ham United were at - they were playing against Liverpool that evening, and were also at Everton's academy training that morning as well. As sore as everyone was from the night prior, the training session helped get everyone in a proper mindset to play our match tonight.
Everyone was motivated to play well in our last match of the trip. The energy was high, and our guys were really focused to play through distractions - strong winds, poor field conditions, refereeing - and the potential distraction of Everton FC coach Eddie Murray watching our match. Our opponent was non-league club Fromby, which was of the same level as Heanor Town FC, but based in a division farther north in Liverpool. Overall, it was our best performance of the trip - despite the conditions - and it showed in our result. Mike Luttrull had a hat-trick, and Ryan Moll added a fourth goal in our 4-1 victory. Alec Dufty made some good saves in the first half to keep us in a position to win, playing with strong winds in our face during the first half.
The last two teams we played against on our trip - Heanor Town FC and Fromby - were very good teams that provided challenges that we will see in the post-season in the US: quick-paced, intense and physical opposition. We were of comparable standards to those teams, and it was proven that you have to be able to show up for 90 minutes and play at your best to get results. We were able to deal with adversity - whether it be weather, referees, the opposition - which makes us stronger as a unit. The more time we play together, you can see that we continue to come together as a group. Our nucleus is continuing to develop, with potential voids due to graduating starting to be filled by underclassmen making the most of their opportunities.
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ACES-UK TOUR 2008: Day 5
March 4, 2008
We left the crowded streets of London to the hilly fields of Grantham on our way to Harlaxton Manor, which is the University of Evansville campus in England. I was surprised at how quickly it popped up on the road - it is incredible to see, and is great to experience for ourselves as we are not able to experience for a full semester because of our own schedules. This is something that everyone should take advantage of for a semester if that's possible. The history inside the manor is outrageous, and there are so many different stories in each room. It was nice to get a tour of the manor, as well as some time on our own to explore the manor. Coach Ray stayed here for a semester when he was a student, and had taken some of us around and showing us some of the place he spent time and hung out at with his friends while he was here. You could tell it was a special place.
From there it was on to Nottingham to play against Heanor Town FC in a charity match. The anticipation was even higher tonight than for our first two games, knowing we were going to be playing against professionals. These are players with aspirations of moving up and on to higher leagues. It was very high-paced and hard tackling, which was really intense. They had a lot of fans that were there who supported them through and through, and we countered with our own students (including the Sig Eps) who traveled with us from Harlaxton - hearing those guys sing the UE fight song and the national anthem made it feel like we were at home - this is the kind of atmosphere that we need to bring back to McCutchan Stadium. We lost the match, 4-2, but it seemed like we had the better of the play at times and was a positive game overall as it proved we could play at this level.
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ACES-UK TOUR 2008: Day 4
March 3, 2008
Our day started at Wembley Stadium, England's largest stadium as well as the home to the England National team. It was cool to see the player's locker room, with their jerseys hanging in their stalls. Getting to walk down the tunnel at Wembley, just like the players do on game day, gave you goose-bumps and chills as the simulated crowd cheered as we walked out. We finished the tour by taking the 100+ steps up to the Queen's box to see the FA Cup, which is the trophy presented to the champion of their English league tournament. We each got to pose for pictures with the FA Cup. Growing up as youth players in America, you always dream of having something like that happen to you.
We played our first matches of the trip today, giving us our first chance to play against English opposition. There were a lot of mixed impressions going into the games - some of us thought it was going to be very tough, where others didn't know what to think. We put together two pretty well-played matches, having to play through sleet and strong winds at different times. These matches were a college showcase for our opponents, as they were playing for the opportunity to come to the United States - there were a number of american university coaches there, as well as our own coaching staff, who they were auditioning for.
The education of playing here taught us a number of different lessons - we didn't get any help from the official, and we responded very well after realizing that we weren't going to get any assistance from him - we had to just shut up and play the game. We bounced back in both games after being down a goal in each, getting a draw in our first match and a win in our second. Ben Harner has been on a spring season tear as a graduating senior, taking his game to a new level on his way to graduation - he scored the goal in our first match. Mitch Mansfield and Austin Eanes have both filled in really well at the back with their first opportunity for extended minutes in their career.
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ACES - UK TOUR 2008: Day 3
March 2, 2008
What a unique training facility for us to practice at today - the same place as the famous 'cage match' commercials from the 2002 World Cup. It was a great way to use space, located under a freeway. It was cool to see pick-up games being thrown together in one of the 'cages' next to where we were training. It was also the first time we ever played with the cages and freeway being out of bounds!
We had our first opportunity to go out and see the sights, and a group of us got our first taste of Premiership football. Going to Emirates Stadium (the home of Arsenal) and watching a live match on TV (Liverpool-Bolton) made you weak in your stomach to see what it is like on that grand a scale. It was interesting to see such a range of people, aged 20-60, cheering for their team - it made me think twice about making fun of Kieran (Purcell) for being a Liverpool supporter.
To see London as a tourist, rather than as a soccer player, was a unique perspective. We did a double-decker bus trip and stopped and walked around at different sites - Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey. The part that we really liked a lot was the Churchill Underground Bunker from WWII that Churchill operated the English forces from.
The mindset has changed a little heading into tomorrow, from just being happy to be here to getting ready to put on Aces jerseys and get back on the field. I know that everyone is excited to test ourselves up against competitive standards here in England.
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ACES - UK TOUR 2008: Day 2
March 1, 2008
It was a really busy day, trying to make all of our flights on time.....we were delayed getting out of Evansville, which eventually led to a conditioning test running through the Detroit Airport to catch our connection to London Gatwick....thank god for the moving sidewalks at the airport!
This was the biggest plane that most of us have ever flown on from the standpoint as how wide and open it was. We were all sitting together, for the exception of Kipp (Erskine) who was alone in the second to last row. Some of us got a good night sleep....Coach Miller was able to get 4-5 hours on a six-hour plane ride....compared to my (Tom) 4-5 minutes of sleep, until (Austin) Schall woke me up to talk about his Pokemon gameboy game.
We thought London was going to be more high-rise buildings and commercial, but we were surprised while driving through traffic from the airport how rural the surroundings were until we got downtown. It is easy to see how much diversity there is here in London - it is not uncommon to hear 5 different languages being spoken in any one restaurant or shop - which is very different from Evansville, Indiana.
On the way to the hotel, we stoped at an open market for lunch. Jordan Beshears found a place that made McDonald's look like a 4-star restaurant! Our first taste of inflation was a hamburger that cost 5 pounds - which is like $10 in the US....the dollar doesn't translate very well here....at least with fast food.
Upon our arrival, we went for a light training session at Hyde Park. It was huge, and seeing 20 separate soccer games going on - with no baseball or American football in sight - was different. We then were able to walk around the local streets after training, which caused a bit of a spectacle as we stood out as both Americans and as a football team - there were a lot of people taking pictures.
The first day was mostly about getting used to being downtown and getting our baring straight, as well as getting used to the time change. Tomorrow we plan on watching English Premier League games on TV, and get an idea of what it's like watching live matches here as a fan.
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ACES - UK TOUR 2008: Day 1
February 29, 2008
We have been talking about this last night about how this great trip we have been thinking about for the past year is getting ready to start today. We are all really looking forward to it. Everyone is really antsy and excited - members of our team, our families, people who follow our team are all really excited for us.
This trip is not just about teams we are going to play against or sightseeing - this about thee experience of traveling abroad with 20 of your closest friends, which will make us all even tighter and a stronger team.
It also gives us the chance to see family of players who live abroad, and are able to spend some time with us and our families that are traveling (both Dan and Tom have parents traveling as well) - Kieran Purcell's parents (from New Zealand) and Ally Mackay's parents (from Scotland) will be joining us on the trip - which will be cool. My dad (Rick Gibson) has always talked about wanting to go on a trip like this, and it's neat that he can experience that with me.
It's great to see a lifestyle where football (soccer) players are the most important team or sport to their country, and the most popular members of their culture, which is only experienced in basketball or football here in the US. It makes it easier to train/play at your highest when you see fans who have so much enthusiasm and vigor, and shows that there is something worth working for.
Robby Lynch said that it had taken Mike Luttrull 3 hours to pack his suitcase, but we think he's finally packed and ready to go...at least we hope! We hope England has WalMart to find what Mike's left behind!
