September Update

Well, it has been awhile and over the past two weeks I have gotten into the swing of things here in Leeds as the school and soccer program have kicked into full gear. We now have class and training regularly and all of the other students have fully moved into campus and they start their classes this upcoming Monday. My classes are going along well and in a month time I will taking my midterms and be on my October Break. I started a job as a bartender this past Wednesday at a local pub (called The Three Horseshoes) right off of campus working a few days a week. This will be a great experience for me working in a different country, earning a few extra dollars, and learning some new skills, as I have never done this job before. As well, it will fill up some of the extra free time I have and keep me busy-just the way I like it. As soccer goes, the past two weeks we produced two big wins, 6-2 in league play against the fourth place team which was a great outcome for us, and then 5-2 in a Cup Match and 14-1 in a league play (but we played a second division team). So it is good to be back on good form, winning matches and climbing back up the league table as we sit at 5^th place in the league. Everything has been running smoothly and we are starting to get on a regular schedule. Starting next week, we are able to train at the college campus, as the new turf fields have been created-so no more having to ride to practice in a van! A week and a half ago, about 15 of us went to see the England U21 team play against the Israel U21 team at Barnsley’s home pitch for an International friendly game. The atmosphere was great and it was exciting as it was the first match I had ever seen in the UK live. England ended up winning 4-1 and below are pictures from the event.

First Showcase Match and Boat Party

September 4, 2011

Wow this past week has been an exciting week and tomorrow classes start and I am excited for them to begin. Last Saturday we had a league game we lost and on Sunday we had our first showcase game against Bradford City reserves and some other players who were on trial there. It was a great game and even though we ended up losing 3-5 it was a great experience and I did enjoy the half I got to play. We played at Valley Parade, their home stadium on a beautiful day, beautiful pitch, and the overall experience was breathtaking and something I will remember forever.  Monday was a Bank Holiday in the UK so the entire day was off, so I did much needed laundry, studied for my final, and rested after the doubleheader from the weekend. Tuesday the first years took the final to the Sports and Society class, I finally got a UK mobile, and practice continued. On Wednesday I almost got a job, but it would be involve me going out of town too much and conflicting with the soccer schedule. On Thursday me and three other students went to London as we were chosen to visit one of the other campuses (in London) and meet other students and attend a Boat Party on the Thames River. So from Thursday through Saturday morning I was in London and all day Friday we went shopping and sightseeing on Oxford Street. The boat trip was nice because it allowed us to meet other students (other students still have not moved in on our campus) and the boat party was pretty much a club on water. Overall it was a fun trip and a good little break from football, but now I am ready to get back into the school and football groove this week!