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Creston boys' soccer team travels to England

Last year’s Kootenay champions, the Creston U16 Blitzz boys’ soccer team travelled to Manchester, England, in March for a week of elite soccer training...
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Adam Delman

Last year’s Kootenay champions, the Creston U16 Blitzz boys’ soccer team travelled to Manchester, England, in March for a week of elite soccer training. It was a jam-packed trip that included four training sessions, two friendly games, attending a Premier League game (Wigan Athletic beat Birmingham City Blues 2-1) and a second division game, plus a tour of historic Old Trafford Stadium (the home of Manchester United Football Club).

They also did some sightseeing. Highlights included the trip to London and seeing the London Tower, London Bridge, riding the tube in the underground, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Back in Manchester, the team got to see a King Tut exhibit in the Museum of Museums and, as mentioned, Old Trafford Stadium. And on a trip to Liverpool, the world famous Albert Dock and the Beatles Museum. And great shopping!

But this trip was mainly about soccer. The “footy” started only a few hours after landing in Manchester. A training session with the technical director of Curzon Ashton Football Club got the boys active and ready for the week. The two friendly games were excellent experiences playing against quality British youth teams. Though Creston lost both games, they were well contested. To experience firsthand the speed, precision, movement and passion of English football was a huge learning curve and something that will help these local players as they continue playing the game (soccer season starts April 18 in Creston).

Another highlight was thanks to the Creston Rotary Club. Through its generosity, the Blitzz were able to take a side trip on the way to Liverpool for a special training session at Finch Farm, the official training grounds of the Everton Football Club.

Simply practicing on these grounds was a treat — the team had to clear security and follow strict procedures to even access the grounds. Then the director of international recruiting for Everton worked the team in a high paced training session. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

While in England the team met other youth teams, including a girls team from Nova Scotia, a boys team from a private school in Toronto and a youth team from Den-mark.

Huge thanks goes to coach Todd Hawton for organizing the trip and keeping the “lads” focused on football. It was an experience they will never forget.

For more information about Creston soccer, go to www.crestonvalleysoccer.com.