The U-13 Crunch Jrs. are completing their season by taking a journey to England from July 29-Aug. 6.  The first half of their trip will take them to Manchester United where they will have seven training sessions over four days with Man. U Training Staff and get a tour of Old Trafford.  The second leg of their trip will take them back to London where they will play two friendlies and do some sightseeing.  Best of luck and lots of fun to the Crunch boys and Coaches Joan Feeney and Tony Pratico. 

Day 8: August 6, 2009
Our day started early again as we had to load up our bus by 7:00 to get on the road for the airport by 8:00. Several families stayed in Europe to explore on their own but the rest of us had a plane to catch. When we checked in we were told that some our party were not going to be on our plane. Patti, Ian, Edgar, Claudio and Giuseppe thought that they might have to wait at the airport for a 4:00 flight. But our motto was “no man gets left behind”, so we got the mix up corrected and were glad that we could all travel home together. The plane ride home was much quieter and a little longer. We arrived safely and hope that the rest of our families not only enjoy their extra days, but have a safe return as well. A final thanks to Premier International Tours and eSSeLLe, their European contact for the hard work they put into arranging our tour and their attention to detail. Their behind the scenes efforts are responsible for making our trip so memorable.
P.S. Leslie don’t forget to get us some of your miracle cream, after the adventures we have had and all the sore muscles, we could all use some!


Day 7: August 5, 2009
We were out and about all day today. Our first stop was Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. The stadium is only 2 years old and was very lush. Every attention to deal was incorporated into the design and the home team has every comfort they would ever need. The stadium was very expensive to build. All of the seats were cushioned, and the Director’s seats were extra plush! It was interesting to see the stadiums of the different clubs and the different feel you get in each of them. Each was special in it’s own way.
After the stadium tour we headed into London, (did we really get to cross Abbey Road?). We took a walk over the bridge to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and The Houses of Parliament. Before we knew it we were ready to ride the London Eye. Each pod of the Eye held 28 passengers so most of us got to ride it together. The view from the top was awesome. It was a sunny and relatively clear day so we could see a good part of London. After the ride on the Eye we headed to The London Tower. While there, George got the low down on the history and significance of the Beefeaters, and gave us a little history lesson. Kenny the archer McArthur tried his hand at the long bow and Jared had the most pictures taken because he always seemed to close his eyes. Noah, you got the international award, not only for your independent travels in Paris, but for letting everyone use your international calling card while mom was exploring London. (Thanks!)

Much to our dismay when we got out of the Tower we learned that our final friendly game had been cancelled. We were disappointed but David did not allow the cancellation ruin our evening. Without missing a beat he had arranged for us to have dinner at the Hard Rock Café. What could have been a “noble disaster” was a mere “hump” in the road. The travel company graciously purchased a souvenir t-shirt for each player as a gesture of good will. It certainly was not necessary but was greatly appreciated. After a great dinner, and superb bill calculating by George and Tony, we headed back to the hotel via Piccadilly Circus, Camden Yards and several other sights, for one last game of 5 v 5 on the mini court, never enough soccer!

It is hard to believe that we leave tomorrow and will be back home by late afternoon. It is time for us to say our goodbyes to the sights, sounds and smells of England, which we will miss, and to those from the back of the bus (most of which we will not miss). A special thanks to our driver Glyn, for getting us where we needed to go and getting us there safely (moving that bus through the small towns and city streets is not an easy task). A special thanks to our tour guide David for making our trip run so smoothly. Suffice it to say this trip would not have been the same without him. What a wonderful experience this has been, a truly great time was had by all! Although we are looking forward to getting back to ice, air conditioning and dollar bills, the only thing that could have been better would have been for us to have been able to stay a few days longer.

Day 6: August 4, 2009:
Breakfast was early this morning because we needed to be on the road by 8:00. Windsor Castle was our first stop. The castle was quite impressive. We did a walking tour and learned a lot of history. We couldn’t believe that the some of the royal family actually live there. We were fortunate to see the changing of the guard before we left. It was a very interesting to see such a traditional ceremony. It is amazing that those guards stand for 2 hours at a time and never talk, laugh or get distracted. We certainly could not do that! Joan and Tony learned a very effective technique for getting our attention. I am sure we will be hearing a lot “stand straight” roared at us. Tony almost had to head home with out his camera for using it in restricted areas. After we left Windsor Castle we headed into London. We saw lots of sights, including the Wilson Family, as we headed to Buckingham Palace. Our horn was a bit startling but we were still unable to get their attention as they headed to the underground. We got out of the bus for a quick photo opportunity of the Palace and then headed off for the London Dungeons. A few of our classic movements included Blumey doing a face plant into the mirror in the maze, Anthony looking at his reflection and totally scaring himself and of course Bob Wilson’s capture and his triple torture. After the dungeon tour we had to leave for our friendly game. We played against the Parkfield Youth at John Rummey Fields, which was next to St. Anseum Church in Hatch End. Parkfield are the 2 time Middlesex County Premiership Champions. Unfortunately after a day of sightseeing in London, we left our legs on the bus and were embarrassingly down 6-0 at half. After a gut check at half time, we showed a tremendous amount of pride and stormed back with 5 unanswered goals. Despite our rally, we fell 8-6. Josh Wilson and Danny Busichio each had 2 goals, Zack Herman and Anthony Liddy also scored. Edgar Rodriquez added 2 assists. Danny Busichio was named Man of the Match. We are having fun trying to balance all the sights and being prepared to play….it is a challenge but well worth it!
 
Day 5: August 3, 2009:
Today was our last day in Bolton and our last training sessions with our Manchester United Soccer School coaches. Our morning session focused on possession training, we learned some new drills and skills that we hope to put into action on the field. After lunch we started our second session with a game of soccer tennis. A Football Festival followed our warm up. This festival was really our final skills competition. The festival consisted of 5 different events in which you could score points. The 5 challenges were: technical, tactical, mental, physical and best goal celebration. The competition brought out the competitiveness in all of us. It was neck and neck to the finish, with Joey Dodds racking up enough points to put him on top. Joey was presented with “The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United”, a great book, with the full story and complete record of the club from 1878-2007.

After thanking the MUSS coaches and Phil, our contact from the Bolton school, for the great training and great facilities we hopped on the bus. We left right from the training session and headed off to London. We arrived at our hotel at about 7:30 and after a round of musical rooms and bed rearranging we were ready for dinner. Dani, Patti and Janice headed off to ride the tubes and explore some of London. We were thrilled to find that our hotel shared common ground with a facility that had two outdoor mini courts. We were all excited that the manager graciously gave us an hour of free court time. We divided up into teams and the competition began. The winning team went undefeated with 7 wins and no loses. The winning team consisted of Zach Herman, Joey Dodds, Giuseppe Gambino, Anthony Liddy, Drew Mahoney and Sam Soeth.

One other competition earlier in the day saw a repeat defeat for Bryce Cregan. This time he took on the fast feet of Don (mow you down) Mahoney, and was unable to win the foot race. Bryce the third time is a charm….try another competitor. And another thing…Although the sun was out most of the day a gray cloud followed Claudio Gambino after he tried without success to silence yours truly….Claudio who?
Tomorrow we are headed off for a day of sightseeing and another friendly game. Look for our update.

Day 4 :August 2, 2009
Today was another day of fun soccer with the Manchester United coaching staff. Mark and Chris mainly focused on crossing and finishing. It was really cool how there were manikins of the Manchester United players. Some of them actually looked (and acted like) like real defenders. While we were working on finishing, Zach Herman went to play a ball and started to run when the “Grass Monster” tripped him and he took a face plant into the muddy field. We did another skills competition and George Breslin and Brian Ly walked away the winners.

As we were walking back to the bus we witnessed the “Iron Man” competition. We all stood on the sidewalk cheering the runners on. We were excited to learn that our wonderful courier David Owen had actually run an iron man race but lost time due to technical difficulties. When we got back from training we had a chance to get a quick swim before dinner and then headed out for a night of fun at the local bowling alley. Some of our bowlers were quite impressive. Ian the Kingpin Schiffler had the high score of the kids for the night and Leslie Queenpin Busichio was not only the most improved but also the high scorer of the adults. What a hustler….just don’t ask her a name. Brendan Cregan and Joan Feeney got passed over by bowling trainer David Owen after their second game turned out to be a bit disappointing. Leslie you may just get recruited by a local league.

Several parents took a day trip to Liverpool for a bit of Beatles history including a ride down Penny Lane and a trip to Strawberry Field. The tour and the guide were very informative.

Many of the iron man and woman were staying at our hotel, we had a chance to talk to them about their training. We got some truly “unplugged” insights to their training. Very impressive! Also impressive was the foot race off the bus, Tony Pratico took down Bryce Cregan …in an impressive win! The sun finally came out today …there was not a drop of rain. Tomorrow is our last training session before we head off to London. The days are flying by!

Day 3: August 1, 2009:
Today was another fun filled day of soccer in England. We started our day with a couple of hours at the mall in Manchester before heading out to Barnsley. We were lucky enough to be guests at the Manchester City vs. Barnsley Pre-Season Game. It was an exciting game as the Premiership Team avoided an upset in the last few minutes with a goal and ended the game in a 1-1 draw. After the game we were escorted to the clubhouse for a light snack and then into the Academy locker room to change for our game with the Barnsley U14 Academy Team. We got the opportunity to meet Simon Davey, the Barnsley manager, and got to thank him for inviting us to the game.

The game against the Academy started out slowly for FC Delco, as Barnsley scored in the 4th and 8th minutes before we could find our game legs. But great midfield play by Liddy and Buschio turned the game around. Outstanding goalkeeping by Blumey and tremendous defense by Herman, Wilson and Cregan kept the Barnsley team off the scoreboard for the rest of the game. Despite our hardwork we were unable to connect our chances and we fell 2-0. Playing the Academy team was a great opportunity and an experience that we will never forget. Although the rain held off for our game it was another rainy day here in England. We are beginning to wonder if the sun even shines here.

Day 2:
We all went to bed early last night so we got caught up on our sleep. After breakfast we headed off for our first training session with Manchester United Soccer School. It was really cool because we started the session by getting a Manchester United Soccer School kit. The training was a lot of fun. It was interesting to learn new skills and drills. Our trainers, Mark and Chris were really nice, they came back to the hotel with us for lunch and then we went back for our afternoon session. We did a skills competition and Joey Dodds came out the winner.

Our comic relief for the day was provided by Lynn… tumbling backwards she asked “where is my chair” just before she hit the floor. Tony with great concern inquired..”seriously are you alright, I have to know before I make a joke”. Fortunately for Lynn even though our two photographers (Paola and Don) were on hand neither captured the fiasco digitally. After dinner we were on our way to our first friendly game against Hindley Town Juniors in Wigan England. In preparation for the game Ian Schiffler throw down a few Jaffa Cakes for quick energy, just like we learned the Manchester players do. After a slow start and being down 3-1 at the half, The Crunch Jrs. stormed back in the second half for a 5-3 victory. Gabe Tagliamonte, Ryan Sommerville, Zach Herman and Brian Ly all scored in the 2nd half. Danny Busichio added an assist to go with his first half goal. We almost made it through the day with no rain but that local weather just could not stay away, by the second half of our game the rain had found its way to Wigan. After the game the Hindley players gave each of us Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, a local treat. Then they and their families invited us into their clubhouse for a post game celebration. They really out did themselves. There was plenty of food and drink for everyone! We got to mingle with the players and their families and got to know them a little bit. They were truly wonderful hosts! Gabe Tagliamonte was selected as “Man of the Match” for his outstanding play and was presented a trophy. All in all it was a truly great day.

Day 1
We don’t know where to begin because our days have blurred into one. We left the Philadelphia airport at 6:15 for a 5,600 km trip across the Atlantic Ocean. Although Joan and Tony kept telling us to get some sleep, the card games and the silliness kept us and (everyone around us) up all night. Most of us watched movies, some even watched Hannah Montana (twice)..you know who you are George and Somerville. Soeth, Marshall and row 32 (Liddy,Dodds and Cregan) burned the midnight oil and stayed up all night. 6 hours later which seemed like 12 we had landed in London. Noah and Drew joined our crew to make the team complete. After going through customs we loaded up our bus and headed to Manchester. On our way to our hotel we stopped for lunch and a tour of Old Trafford , “the Theatre of Dreams”. The tour was awesome, we got to see the Manchester United locker rooms, learned some team history and got to sit in the players seats. We got to our hotel in time for dinner and a quick workout. We are all exhausted and are looking forward to a good 12 hour night sleep. Tomorrow we have our first training session with MUSS and our first friendly game. We will keep you posted.