A very early start followed by a very smooth trip through both Heathrow and Boston airports saw us arrive around 11:30am local time. Having settled into our very modern accommodation right in the centre of Boston we took a nice gentle walk down to the harbour to stretch out our plane legs. There we stumbled across "Dick's The Last Resort" restaurant. Well! What an experience that was. A one of a kind waitress, paper homemade hats complete with Sharpie graffiti, super food and locals on the table next to us that couldn't believe we had left the country when the royal baby had just arrived. Huge amounts of laughter throughout the entire course of the meal.
Day 2
Up nice and early again to get the bus across to the top notch facilities at Brown University. The 4 Goals Cup staff couldn't have been more welcoming and there was a great energy and feel about the venue all day. The tournament was an U19 tournament and our first match was against Competitive Edge. Thrown in at the deep end somewhat, having not yet trained stateside, the girls took their time to get into their flow and lost the match 2-0. This was followed by our second game on the roof-top water based field (having to climb 6 flights of stairs in the heat before playing the game was a challenge in itself!). Once again the girls struggled to acclimatise to the heat and were beaten by Lead The Way. This meant our last two games were must win games if we were to stand any chance of making the top four teams to qualify for the tournament championship semi finals tomorrow. First up was HTC Hockey Club. An early short corner goal well executed by Izzy Minks put Felsted ahead before it was cancelled out by a finish from close in by HTC. This early set back did not put the girls off their game plan and some much higher quality hockey was starting to be produced. Olivia Schwier produced some fantastic skill to beat the opposing defender before shooting to score from a tight angle to put Felsted back ahead. Minutes later Lizzie Cole confidently finished a short corner to make it 3-1 and Felsted's first win of the tour. The final game was against Sick Field Hockey who had already won a game earlier in the day. Early good work from Ellie Welsh lead to a penalty stroke being awarded which was confidently finished by Hattie Holmes to put Felsted in the lead. From that moment on the girls didn't look back and they ended up 4-0 winners. That was just enough to ensure the girls have qualified for the top stage of the tournament and will play their semifinal at 9:00am tomorrow against Compettive Edge. A chance for revenge! Having returned back to Boston it was time for whale watching. We boarded our cruise liner and headed out to sea. After much scanning of the horizon we finally came across "Pinball" a female humpback whale. It was a special experience to be so close to such a large animal who was not perturbed by our presence.
Day 3
A lie in for the girls before setting off to Brown once again for our semi-final game. In spite of dominating the possession the girls we unable to convert the many chances their skilful play created. This included have more than 10 short corners! Something for the coaches and girls to put some hours into on the practice pitch over the coming weeks. Competitive Edge snuck a break away goal and held on to win 1-0. This meant we were consigned to the oven of the roof-top water based pitch for the bronze medal match. The girls struggled to acclimatise to the sweltering hot temperatures at the height of the day and succumbed to the fitter but less skilful HTC club side. Again the girls had chances but were unable to convert. Overall a great two days at the 4 Goals Cup which the coaches have already learnt a huge amount about the characters and strengths of many of the touring side.
After a tough day of competition the team thoroughly deserved some good grub. With our accommodation being a stones throw away from Boston's Chinatown it seemed only right we should sample the culinary delights on offer. Hilarious over ordering and misunderstanding lead to mountains of food and a noodle eating contest. Everyone left replete!
Day 4
Harvard training day 1! A more leisurely wake up and time to enjoy breakfast. Today we headed to Harvard University's Jordan Field for the first of our training sessions. Miss Sherer was last here when she represented England at the junior world cup and had fond memories of beating Australia there in 2009. It was another hot day but the girls worked hard on some of the themes that had been highlighted at the Brown tournament. Having trained for 2 hours the girls had worked up an appetite and so we called in at Harvard central for our first Panera experience. Great sandwiches and frozen lemonades went down a treat. We couldn't resist a quick look round the Harvard University clothing co-op store... several purchases were made from a store that was rather more sizeable than Felsted's tailors shop! Evening saw us take a walk down to the market for shopping and dinner. More purchases made - bags galore.
Day 5
Harvard training day 2. A second lie in in a row. Result! Once again we were off to Harvard to put the girls through their paces. Short corner work began along with skills for efficient transfer of the ball. This time we did not go back via Harvard central as we had a baseball game to get to. Boston Red Sox v Seattle Mariners at the historical Fenway Park stadium. The game was a real spectacle as the Red Sox triumphed 8-1, a match which included three home runs by the home side. Plenty of singing and many mexican waves made for a great atmosphere.
Day 6, 7 and 8
Packing up and moving on from Boston to the University of Connecticut. The girls made the packing up process seem effortless and were ready to go with time to spare. We arrived at UConn at 11:30 and stopped off for a light lunch before checking in for the Connecticut Elite Field Hockey Camp. Two hours on the field introduced the groups to camp life and allowed time to familiarise themselves with the pitch and coaching staff. The evening saw the first of the camp practice matches, short 7-a-side games against the other five squads in the white pool. Over the next two days the girls had a further eight hours of training which included both individual skill development practices and more game related drills as well as each evening having the competitive element at the camp matches which built up to the final tournament on the last day. The girls came second to the team of girls who have been offered places at the University of Connecticut for the 2013/2014 seasons, many of whom represent the USA at junior level. It was a spirited effort, losing 5-4 to the eventual winners. The girls enjoyed the UConn experience and created a great impression amongst their fellow campers and the staff.
After the presentation ceremony and checking out of their accommodation the tour party embarked on their coach journey to New York. Having settled in to their new rooms the team headed out for a pasta meal at a local restaurant. Delicious food, plenty of laughter (thanks Tabby!) and an early night for tired legs and bodies.
Pictures can be found on the Felsted Hockey twitter page (follow @FelstedHockey).
Day 3
A lie in for the girls before setting off to Brown once again for our semi-final game. In spite of dominating the possession the girls we unable to convert the many chances their skilful play created. This included have more than 10 short corners! Something for the coaches and girls to put some hours into on the practice pitch over the coming weeks. Competitive Edge snuck a break away goal and held on to win 1-0. This meant we were consigned to the oven of the roof-top water based pitch for the bronze medal match. The girls struggled to acclimatise to the sweltering hot temperatures at the height of the day and succumbed to the fitter but less skilful HTC club side. Again the girls had chances but were unable to convert. Overall a great two days at the 4 Goals Cup which the coaches have already learnt a huge amount about the characters and strengths of many of the touring side.
After a tough day of competition the team thoroughly deserved some good grub. With our accommodation being a stones throw away from Boston's Chinatown it seemed only right we should sample the culinary delights on offer. Hilarious over ordering and misunderstanding lead to mountains of food and a noodle eating contest. Everyone left replete!
Day 4
Harvard training day 1! A more leisurely wake up and time to enjoy breakfast. Today we headed to Harvard University's Jordan Field for the first of our training sessions. Miss Sherer was last here when she represented England at the junior world cup and had fond memories of beating Australia there in 2009. It was another hot day but the girls worked hard on some of the themes that had been highlighted at the Brown tournament. Having trained for 2 hours the girls had worked up an appetite and so we called in at Harvard central for our first Panera experience. Great sandwiches and frozen lemonades went down a treat. We couldn't resist a quick look round the Harvard University clothing co-op store... several purchases were made from a store that was rather more sizeable than Felsted's tailors shop! Evening saw us take a walk down to the market for shopping and dinner. More purchases made - bags galore.
Day 5
Harvard training day 2. A second lie in in a row. Result! Once again we were off to Harvard to put the girls through their paces. Short corner work began along with skills for efficient transfer of the ball. This time we did not go back via Harvard central as we had a baseball game to get to. Boston Red Sox v Seattle Mariners at the historical Fenway Park stadium. The game was a real spectacle as the Red Sox triumphed 8-1, a match which included three home runs by the home side. Plenty of singing and many mexican waves made for a great atmosphere.
Day 6, 7 and 8
Packing up and moving on from Boston to the University of Connecticut. The girls made the packing up process seem effortless and were ready to go with time to spare. We arrived at UConn at 11:30 and stopped off for a light lunch before checking in for the Connecticut Elite Field Hockey Camp. Two hours on the field introduced the groups to camp life and allowed time to familiarise themselves with the pitch and coaching staff. The evening saw the first of the camp practice matches, short 7-a-side games against the other five squads in the white pool. Over the next two days the girls had a further eight hours of training which included both individual skill development practices and more game related drills as well as each evening having the competitive element at the camp matches which built up to the final tournament on the last day. The girls came second to the team of girls who have been offered places at the University of Connecticut for the 2013/2014 seasons, many of whom represent the USA at junior level. It was a spirited effort, losing 5-4 to the eventual winners. The girls enjoyed the UConn experience and created a great impression amongst their fellow campers and the staff.
After the presentation ceremony and checking out of their accommodation the tour party embarked on their coach journey to New York. Having settled in to their new rooms the team headed out for a pasta meal at a local restaurant. Delicious food, plenty of laughter (thanks Tabby!) and an early night for tired legs and bodies.
Pictures can be found on the Felsted Hockey twitter page (follow @FelstedHockey).
No comments:
Post a Comment