Chaperone of the Day

In a shocking turn of events, Pearse unexepectedly announced to the group that Mike Grasso was named chaperone of the day. Nobody saw this coming. Mike's reward was the front seat on the bus and a fine glass of port to wash down all the grease from the fish and chips. From all of us here with you Mike, CONGRATULATIONS! You could not have done it without us. Oops, Pearse just informed us that Mike's reign will not last long.

On the Road (and Sea) Again

Today we took our well worn seats on the bus and made the 3 hour trip through Wales (lots of castles) and then the very choppy 3-½ hour ferry ride back to Dublin. (Dramamine was being passed around like skittles). Not much excitement to speak of in general. Although the group did manage to have McDonalds (the only open restaurant at the Holyhead port) for lunch for the third time while England; trust us, it’s no different.

Upon arrival in Dublin, we head off toward Drogheda, our final stop on this whirlwind tour. All the kids were anxious to meet their Irish hosts for the next four nights. Upon arrival in Drogheda, the hand off our boys to the local families was quick and cheerful. We are sure that they will all have a blast with their host families. So, the kids are off and the trip continues. Tomorrow there will be lots of game action with 2 games for each team.

That’s all for now.

Dublin Sightseeing

Boarding the 19A The group traveled to Dublin to take in the sights and the shopping. The first stop off of Connelly Street was the sports store that we don’t have in America. It curiously looked like Dick’s or Sports Authority but was held in fascination to the players. Jerseys and cleats were thrown around as much as Mom and Dad’s Euro. Some parents did go the commercial route and headed to Arnotts, aka Macy’s to find some memorabilia at discounted prices. Jerseys were chosen from all countries and teams and were worn within seconds of purchase. The Americans were on the loose.

Smaller groups all headed out in various directions in the city to find….additional sports stores and a lunch. The majority of players opted out of the local Pubs like Flannery’s and choose the famed Irish institutions, McDonalds and KFC.

Some lucky players had the opportunity to take the guided 1 ½ hour bus tour that quickly resembled a tour that was taken by similar tourists that was said to be a 2 hour tour. The excited boys were gleeful to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College (a book of “cartoons” as told by a nameless 12 year old) Then there was a small conversation with the staff that led to some insight on how seriously the Long Hall is to the Irish.

The statue of Molly Malone was seen in all her glory with some more notable information that had been omitted by the previous descriptions as well as the history of the mental institution, prison and of course the most famous sight of all, Guinness.

U13 Boys Game Report - 07/31/08

Our last game in England was on a dreary rainy day; our boys played the toughest competition yet on our transatlantic journey. Again the club was small and fast with incredible one touch soccer.

The lineup was Defense, Sowder, Heijjer, Bertelsman, Donohue, Trevor, Joe
Midfield Bertling, Raynor, Koslow, McCown.
Offense Dirrgl, Keaton
Goal, Ravon and DJ

Austin was out of play due to injury

The start of the game had us on the run with their talkative game and foot skills, their 1st goal was a great shot aided by the wind.

The 2nd goal was another great shot by Tranmere.

The 2nd quarter we had a guest goalie, DJ, from the 13’s and we resumed play. Our team was getting used to the Velcro like attachment to our players and started to give back some of the English roughness. Ryan, Joe and Josh were marked men by the Liverpool players. This battle on the field led to our 1st goal with a penalty in the box on Ryan. (This was caught on film by the famous paparazzi film man Dave Bertlesman)


Bringing the score to 2-1, we were catching up with the level and play and were nipping at their heels. Unfortunately we had a penalty that Tranmere shot in for a perfect upper 90 and moments later converted an opportunity for an additional goal 4-1. Shortly thereafter another goal was scored by Tranmere brining the game to 5-1.

The 3rd quarter showed the CESA team in all their glory that had Tranmere take notice. Joe had a beautiful pass to Connor McCown , our striker, that he converted into a fabulous goal, 5-2. Within minutes Brennan zigzagged through the defense and laid a perfect pass to Connor M that he again converted to bring the game to 5-3.

Time was not on our side and we lost the game but left the parents and the players impressed with our ability to play their game on their pitch.

One of the onlookers was Jack of Liverpool that at age 5 was selected to train with the Liverpool Academy, his picture above exemplifies his affinity for the game.

U14 Boys Game Report - 07/31/08

Today, the lads took to the pitch verses the boys from Tranmere. A different format had 3 periods of 25 minutes verses the typical 35-minute halfs. The Transmere Club is very strong. Last year, they hosted and beat our Premiere team as well. The starting lineup included DJ in goal, Seth, Jeff, Tim, and Ben on defense. At midfield, we had Andrew, Ted, Brett, and Wells. Up front was Jack and Mitchell. Justin came in on defense, MJ at midfield, and Daniel took over for periods 2 and 3, while DJ took goal from the younger squad.

Tranmere came out strong and scored 4 goals in the first period. The second and third periods, our boys came out much stronger, with Tranmere adding 3 more goals to our two goals, courtesy of Seth, our newly found offensive scoring machine, who now has a total of 4 goals for the week.

The boys had a much better showing today versus yesterday. The level of soccer in England was very high and our boys learned the hard way in their two games here. Next up is Ireland, where our boys our anxiously awaiting to get back to better form.