Day 1
With a collection of our 2005 and 2006 competitive boys, the annual UK Tour gang set off on Thursday for England, with Coaches Gwynn & Brian taking the reigns.
The crew had a great first day in London that included a tour of Chelsea’s stadium, Stamford Bridge, before visiting a few of the London sights, including the Tower of London.
Day 2
The second day started off with a training session at the fantastic Slough Town F.C. training facility. The group then attended their first game of the tour, an EPL game between champions Manchester City and Fulham (Man City won 2-0).
Despite losing their coaches, Gwynn & Brian, on numerous occasions, they always knew where to find themΒ !
Day 3
Day 3 started with aΒ Blue BadgeΒ guided tourΒ of London. The boys enjoyed St.Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and other sights. Then for the main event of the day, their first match, against Slough F.C.
Against quality opposition our boys played well but unfortunately lost 2-0. Regardless, a great experience!
Day 4
The group started the day off with a trip on the London Eye before driving to Cardiff in Wales, stopping at the beautiful Windsor Castle along the way.
Once in Cardiff, the boys got a training session in and then toured the Cardiff City F.C. stadium.
Day 5
It was another day in Cardiff for the tour group. It started off with a tour of the Welsh National Rugby stadium, the Principality Stadium, before some of the group toured the Cardiff Castle and enjoyed some of the local culture.
The boys then had their second match of the tour, against an impressive and very technically skilled Cardiff Academy team. The day ended with the group watching the Manchester United v Wolves game in the local pub. Great stuff!
Day 6
Day 6 was a travel day as the group made their way North to Chester. Along the way they managed to stop off at Chirk AAAs, Coach Gwynn’s old stomping ground as a young player.
Once checked into their Chester Hotel theΒ group managed to squeeze in an unplanned EPL game at the EtihadΒ between Man City and Cardiff. Who said travel days are boring!?
Day 7
The day started with a local training session delivered by the Director of Academy at Chester F.C. in which our boys performed well and totally enjoyed themselves.
Then it was on to Anfield, the home of Liverpool F.C., for a Stadium Tour of one of the most famous grounds in Europe. After Anfield, it was on to Manchester to see the rest of the day out in a relaxing fashion. Some enjoyed the history of our great game at the F.A. Football Museum, some went shopping in the City Center, while others instead enjoyed the culture of the local Hostelries.
DayΒ 8
Today was anotherΒ great day for the group.Β ItΒ started by visiting the beautiful Conwy Castle in Wales, followed by a stop at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (that is no typo but is the name of the townΒ in Welshthat means: Saint Mary’s Chutch in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St.Tysilio of the red cave).Β J
The boys then traveled toΒ βthe Venueβ the home of TNS whoβs senior team are Welsh Football League Champions to play their final match of the tour. It was a great game and despite coming out the wrong side of a 4-3 thriller, everyone left it on the field so it wasΒ certainlyΒ a fitting final performance.
Day 9
The group set off and headed to Liverpool for their final morning of Tour. They took in some of the sites and history of the Albert Dock and many visited the memorabilia rich βBeatles Museumβ before venturing through βLiverpool 1β and on to the famous βCavern Clubβ to listen to live music from the Beatles Collection.
Then it was back on the coach and on to Huddersfield for the EPL game between Huddersfield and Leicester via a police escort into the ground (how cool). The game was an exciting affair and, even though Huddersfield were already relegated, Leicester showed great form with a 4-1 win. Our LAGSD Tour group even got a mention in the gameΒ day program.
After the evening meal, there was a final meeting along with an awards ceremony. The rest of the evening saw many of the parents get together again for a final βfarewellβ before setting off in the morning back to the US of A, with everlasting memories of a great time in the UK!
