Mount Pleasant 94 Elite Boys in Liverpool

Glory Glory Man United...Glory Glory Man United!

2008-08-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

The boys started off the day with the most anticipated event of the whole trip. The Manchester United Megastore. We toured Old Trafford before getting into the store and each of the boys were able to snap some shots of the amazing stadium and even pictures next to Ronaldo's jersey (and others) in the actual locker room. Only those who have been there can understand the unbelievable awe of the stadium and the atmosphere that takes place during a game.

We made our way into the 15,000 sq foot megastore to try and rummage through more Man United stuff tha you could possibly use in an entire month. I spent most of my time trying to decide whether to get Coach Matt a plastic coffee mug or a real one! I settled on a Wayne Rooney bobblehead doll instead. I was happy to see that most of the boys were picking up some gifts for family members back home as well. If you don't happen to get one of those gifts it probably means they ran out of pounds and had to sell it for their last meal of fish and chips before returning to the US.
We will be attending the Bolton -Stokes game tomorrow at Bolton so be sure to get up extra early and try to catch us on TV. We will be the ones with the rain jackets on!

This could be the last post depending on our arrival back at the dorms. I hope that you have enjoyed keeping up with our boys as they have traveled the globe looking for the best competition. I have enjoyed keeping you up to date and hopefully you laughed a couple of times at my attempts at humor and wit.

We will be posting all of our pictures from the trip at www.mpsoccer.com upon our return. Please be sure to check them out and to tell your friends about them as well.

WE WILL SEE EVERYONE SOON!!!!

Indoor in Liverpool

2008-08-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

The boys trained in Liverpool Academy's indoor center (picture at left) again today. This has been their 2nd opportunity for a training session on the full size turf field on the Academy training grounds. Liverpool Academy training grounds are separate from Liverpool's 1st team training grounds but are first rate in all aspects. The boys have been introduced to some great coaches and one of the best facilities and youth programs in the world. If we could only add a couple of these out at Patriots!

Soccer Tennis Anyone?

2008-08-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

Soccer Tennis has become the favorite past time of the boys on the trip. They have spent absolutely all of their free time at the dorms on their make-shift soccer tennis courts (parking spaces and sidewalk). There are several different variations going on and each of the boys have a preferred game. Most of them will also argue that their variation allows for much more enjoyment!
As you can see in this photo Brock actually found a giant tennis ball to play with when we visited the ginormous (I do mean ginormous, it had an indoor ski slope!) mall today in Manchester. Hopefully the enthusiasm will carry over to some impromptu games in the boys neighborhoods back home!

Welcome to Blackburn!

2008-08-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

After playing what some would call a smaller Liverpool side the Blackburn Rovers clearly received the note and brought out a much more physical group (is shrek from Blackburn?) than what the boys faced yesterday.
The game against Blackburn got off to a very spirited start as they arrived late and we arrived early. It was a very fast paced game for the 1st 8-10 minutes and both sides had a couple of chances. After the Blackburn players settled in though they were definitely out to prove that they were no Liverpool softies! It was a very hard fought game on both sides but Blackburn's athleticism was very difficult to match up against. There were definitely some bright spots throughout the match and the players once again had the opportunity to play against some of England's brightest young players. Even though the score did not reflect it Joe had an absolute stunner of a game with some brilliant saves in both the 1st and 2nd half. All of the boys fought hard until the final whistle but today was definitely not our day.
We jumped back on our favorite mode of transportation (that's a bus for those of you joining us for the first time) and headed back to Liverpool. We are scheduled to visit Old Trafford and and the Man United Store which from listening to the boys might just be the single most important part of the trip (the store not the stadium!)
Oh yeah. Keep your eyes open for our Moultrie News in Blackburn picture from the team!
Thanks again for your faithful support and until then.....

Do they have INTERNET here in this country or do they just call it something else?

2008-08-14T14:39:00.001-07:00

We do apologize for the interrupted blog service for those of you who have been faithfully following along. We were experiencing technical difficulties (of the technology variety not the ones the players experienced tonight versus Blackburn Rovers).
We have had a fabulous past two days even though our match versus Preston was canceled. The boys had the opportunity yesterday to play a quality Liverpool U13 side. The boys found themselves down 2-0 early on but fought back to tie the game up 2-2 early in the 2nd half. Charlie drew a PK which Andrew Davis put well out of reach of the Liverpool GK who dove the wrong way. Hamilton later tied the game with a very sneaky (probably his best quality!) goal that he found just behind the defense before slotting it home. Unfortunately the boys were unable to hold on to the tying goal as Liverpool found the net two more times in the final 20 minute period.
Overall it was a great experience for the boys to see the attitude and work rate of the Liverpool players during the match. They were all very disciplined and most of all very technical on the ball. Hopefully it has a lasting impression on all the boys.
We finished up the evening watching Liverpool play in the qualifying stages of Champions League versus Standard Liege. The atmosphere was great but the burger was lacking (as I have found to be the rule much more than the exception!) The boys got to bed at a reasonable hour and prepared for another light training session at Liverpool Academy and then for the game against Blackburn Rovers tomorrow.

2008-08-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

All these stinky kids and he still didn't move!

2008-08-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

The crew at Statue outside Buckingham Palace

2008-08-12T05:49:00.000-07:00

Team Picture at Charleston Airport

Liverpool or Man United? That is the question

2008-08-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

After a late Sunday night arrival the boys caught an extra couple minutes of sleep this morning. We awoke to a great breakfast and started to prep what has seemed to become these boys favorite past time: shopping! We visited Anfield (Liverpool's 1st team Stadium) in the mid morning and got to see first hand the stadium where some of the Liverpool greats and others do their work. Christopher unknowingly sat in the gipper's seat (that's Rafael Benitez for those who aren't up to speed). We got a great tour and learned the in's and outs of the whole stadium including The KOP which used to be the Liverpool Fans End of the stadium.
The biggest question of the day for most was to spend or not to spend. We visited the Liverpool Megastore (I think the Mega pertains to the prices not the actual store) but most decided to hold off until Friday when we will visit Old Trafford and the Man United Megastore. Coach Jeremy did have to purchase a new bag after his was busted by the airlines, but mainly to be able to carry back all the gifts for those back in MP. Hopefully the Man United Megastore will have some a huge sale rack!
After lunch back at the Hope University (which was a great improvement on accomodations from Kingston) we traveled to the Liverpool Academy Grounds. The Liverpool training grounds were not quite as big as Chelsea's but they were equally impressive. The 1st team does have a separate training ground so there weren't going to be any Gerard sightings.
The boys got to train in Liverpools indoor center for the 1st training session and trained with Michael the U12/U13 Academy coach. The boys were excited and at the end of the session still wanting more. We toured the grounds after our session and had some time with their staff for Q&A. We got some insight on what it takes to be able to train and play for a club like Liverpool from ages 8 -18.
We returned to our dorms for dinner and finished off the evening with some impromptu soccer tennis on our front patio. Doug Majewski and Andrew Eskanzi were the dominant force on the night but I am sure that everyone will be gunning for them tomorrow.
The boys are looking forward to another session at Liverpool tomorrow but mostly the game tomorrow against Preston.
Thanks again to all of you who are following along with us on our trip and check back for more details (and hopefully pictures very soon).
Until then..........

On the bus again...Just can't wait to get on that bus again

2008-08-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

Our 2nd day here in Kingston started very early. We discovered that some were very early risers (Andrew E.) and others were yelling go away mom! Breakfast was much improved with croissants and Canadian bacon. After breakfast we headed off to the nearby Chelsea Football Club. The grounds were a little bit bigger than our beloved Patriots Point (30+ full size fields) but it looked like our grounds keeper must have done some higher education with Chelsea at a previous point in his life.

Joe Edwards, the U14 Chelsea coach, took the boys through a typical but exciting session that he would do with the Chelsea U14’s. The team took to Joe and put in some good work for our 1st training session here in England. Christopher and Charlie both oooed and awed the crowd (and coaches) with a couple of exciting moves. More importantly the boys were hoping to spot a celebrity from the top team before we left the highly secured training ground. Right as we were boarding the bus we did spot an anonymous player speeding by in his Range Rover that could have easily been Anelka or Cole. No one was able to get an autograph but I am sure the story will grow before we return!

After an interesting bagged lunch we jumped back on the bus for a quick shuttle over to Wembley to watch the 2008 Community Shield match. Our seats were so close to the action that we could almost reach out and touch the players (or so we had hoped!). Although there was no Ronaldo today it did give us the opportunity to focus our attention on Tevez who had a spectacular game. Unfortunately there were no goals in regulation and the game was decided in penalty kicks. The highlight of the game for everyone had to be the atmosphere with the Man U and Portsmouth fans. Each team’s fans brought enthusiasm and love for their teams that is hard to understand without being at the game.

After yet another trip on the bus we finally reached Liverpool where we will spend the rest of our time residing at Hope University. It has been rumored that the cafeteria at Liverpool is fantastic. Hopefully we will get some proof of that at breakfast tomorrow.

Thanks to all those fans keeping up with us on our trip! We will have another update tomorrow and until then……..

YES THE PICTURES SHOULD BE COMING SOMETIME TODAY!!!!!

Liverpool Day 1...The flight...Hot or Cold?...Pound or Dollar?...Did you bring your rain jacket?

2008-08-09T14:29:00.000-07:00

Well folks we are finally here in Liverpool. We departed the muggy hot Charleston Airport hoping for cooler weather in the UK. Little did we know what would be in store for us on our 1st day. At the airport we did entertain the idea of a contest of who could get the closest to 50 lbs. without going over(We were sure that pounds were a measure of weight and not the price of a cheeseburger, or so we thought until we touched down in England). I am happy to say that Sammy came in at an amazing 48.5 lbs. Sammy contended that it was because he was the only one who actually brought their summer reading books on the trip!

The FLIGHT seemed never-ending for some of us as we desperately tried to catch a couple of winks during the night. Unfortunately those in the back experienced the heat that those of us in the front could not capture even with 3 of those puny airline blankets! There was a great selection of movies in-flight to choose from and I will have to say that the movie choices were definitely better than our dinner options.
We rolled into Gatwick early on Saturday morning kind of wondering where our Friday went. As we filed off the plane we all concurred on what little sleep that we were able to achieve crammed into our tiny little seats. Everyone picked up thier bags quickly except for Dustin who watched his go around the turnstile trying to decide if his bag was actually black or blue! No luggage was lost but ol' coach Jeremy did have to a file a report as the bag staff seemed to have too much fun tossing his duffel around. Please make a note that they do not carry duck tape in England airports but only bright pink tape that quickly falls apart in the seemingly endless rain.

We boarded our tour bus, took a quick, I mean long detour around Kingston before finding our destination Kingston University. I don't think anyone minded the extra time on the bus though because our accomodations were so spacious and luxurious once we arrived. Andrew Davis and Max both somehow secured their own suites here in Kingston.

The rain began as we started our tour of London and the drizzle hasn't seemed to stop yet. We hit some of the hot spots as we rolled through the fast paced streets of London. I did hear a couple of parents yell "hey kids look.. Big Ben!" A couple of the boys did try to distract one of the royal guards down the street from Buckingham palace but it was to no avail. The highlight of the day for the boys though was the store called Lillywhites. Everyone was excited to get to the store but no one was prepared for the chaos that the 5 story giant store would produce. I think that we managed to keep the damage to the minimum but all the boys walked out with a jersey or two.

We finished out the day in grand fashion. We were able to find a particular British restaurant to experience some authentic cuisine from this large island. I don't think anyone even realized that we were sitting down to dinner at TGIF's until we were already getting our chicken fingers, buffalo wings, potato skins, and coca cola. I am sure that the boys will make up for lack of creativity at dinner by having some hot tea for breakfast tomorrow.

We will be training with Chelsea tomorrow at 8:30 and then on to the Community Shield match at 3pm. Make sure to look for us on tv! Go Man United!

Please keep checking back for pics and video.... Until then .......

2008-08-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

The team will participate in it's last preparation prior to leaving this Thursday (8/7) against MPSC 93 Elite at Patriots Point at 6:30. This match up has become a regular grudge match with the younger MPSC 94 Elite team sneaking in a couple of wins throughout this past year. The MPSC Liverpool team hopes to sneak in another one of those wins before heading off for the Jolly ol' England!