CUFC Mom's in the Box...

Coaches at Chelsea...

Neil and Jon at Stamford Bridge.

Grant's Gig...

Today we played our final 2 games in The Watford London Invitational. These two games were not as physically rough as the first 2 games but the teams were still very skilled. The 1st game we played against Einfield. They were an ok team when it comes to skill, but they weren't afraid to commit a hard foul. Jack, sadly was a victim of this. About 2 minutes into the game, he took a nasty elbow to the head and went down hard. He ended up with a bloody nose that would not stop bleeding. He would not return until the 2nd game. We ended up losing a hard fought game 3-0. We then ate a quick lunch and headed out to our next match. This was against a larger but less physical team. We did well for a while but then gave up 2 goals before halftime. I went in goal for the 2nd half, a position that I have never played before. Our defense did well, but not good enough. The final result was 3-0. The team was very sad after the game for 2 reasons: The 1st being that it was our coaches last game with us, which was devastating, to many of our players and parents including me, and the second reason was because our teammate, Connor, was being taken to the hospital to have x-rays taken on his arm. We soon found out that Connor's arm was just bruised and we felt a little bit happier. After 2 hours at the mall, we came back ate dinner and rested. This trip has flown by but has been a great experience for everyone.

Grant #5

Jack's Joint

Today, July 29, 2006, we had another day at the tournament. Our first game was against Enfield. They were a very physical team. We lost 2-0, but still plaed well. Our second game was against Watford. They were very big but not very skilled. We lost 3-0. We couldn't finish. Two players got hurt , me and Conor. I got elbowed in the face and Conor fell on his wrist. Afte the games we went to the mall for a little. Overall it was a good day. Dinner was good. I think our food is better than theirs, though. We also had an ultimate game of Monoply. Harper and I dominated of course. Caden finished second and Davis third. In soccer tennis, Carl, Harper, PJ, Caden and I won again. I thought this was a great trip.

Jack B.

Coaches Relaxing

Chelsea's Stadium

Brandon's Blog...

Today is Saturday, July 29th and I had a fun day. We played FC Claremont and FC Pinnacle. We lost 2-0 to FC Claremont and 4-1 to FC Pinnacle. I also got to see Arsenal's youth team play (they weren't that good) but they were very skilled. The breakfast at the hotel isn't very good but theor dinner buffet is unmatched. I got to play some soccer tennis until 9:30pm and then I had to come in to write this. Yesterday we got to tour Chelsea museum in the stadium. Overall, I am having a great time in London and I am thankful to be out of Lebanon.

Max's memo

Today we went to Chelsea Stadium, for a tour of it. We got to see the locker rooms which the difference between Chelsea and the away teams was huge. We also got to go in the press room and see the fields which was so cool. After that we went to the Tower of London. I joined are of the tours in which the beefeaters told us some awesome stories about what happened there. Like when King Henry VIII 's wife, Anne Belyn was executed and beheaded her, here lips were still moving afer her head was off. After the tour we went in the Jewel Room. In their everything was covered in jewels and made from gold. We got to see all the crown jewels which was really cool not to mention the Frist Star of Africa which is the largest cut diamond which is 530 carats. Afterwards me and some of the others went to the theatre to see "We Will Rock You" which was an awesome show. There was a bunch of rock-n-roll and comedy. The comedy was really strengthend by the fact that they don't seem to care abount not saying inappropriate language. It was an exciting and fun day all the way back to the hotel.

Max M.

Caden's Comments

Day 5 was the best day yet. It started with a tour of the Chelsea Football Stadium. That was my first time ina stadium that big. It was truly amazing. We started in the gift shop. It was very big. Then our tour guide took us to the press room. We took pictures at the table of the conference room and moved on to the dessing room. The opponents dressing room was not ver nice. Chelsea's room was. Then we saw the pitch. That was cool.
Afterwards we saw the Tower of London. It was lots of arms and old stuff. I loved the Crown Jewel thing. They were HUGE!!!!
Finally, Drew, Davis, Mr. Brown and I went to hte London Dungeon. It was the highlight of my trip. It was very interesting and scary. I LOVED IT!
I hope tomorrow is as good.

CADEN #6

Casey C's Chat

Today we had the start of a new tournament. This was suppose to be easier but it was not. The kids were not as skilled, but they have good height, speed and muscles. The kids were a little older also. In the first game we lost 2-0. I was playing center mid and did not do to great. In the 2nd half I was played center back and I improved my play. We had a long break after the game and watched some other games. I wrestled with my dad in the grass. He will tell everyone he won, but it is not true. I pinned him!!!! Then our 2nd game came. We lost 3-1. I thought I was doing well, but not as well as I could have. I was winning some balls and holiding it up well. I should have knocked some of the other kids around more and not let them dribble. We then went shopping at the mall. My brother found his World Cup Monopoly game. Then we came back to the hotel and ate dinner. I was so hungry. Off to go play soccer tennis and get some sleep. We have two more games tomorrow.

Charlie's Chronicle of Day 4

Today, July 27th most of my team andI woke up at 7:30 to gey ready for a toughfive shortend games. Our whole team got together and ate breakfast and gathered our thoughts. Right after breakfast, all of our parents and siblings boarded the bus to go to the field. The first game, we lost to Swansea 1-0. After a short 30 minute break, we played Wycombe and won 2-0. We had a large break of 1 hour and all ate something at the snack bar. There wasn't much to eat and I had chips, a bottled water, and some chicken. The third game was against MK Dons and we won 2-1. Their team was very physical. The 4th game was against Crystal Palace. They were huge with a phenomenal right forward which they sent to defense in the second half beacuse they didn't want to make the game a total blow out. We lost 4-0. The last game was a surprise beacuse we didn't know who we would play. We played Luton Towne and they were bigger than the Crystal Palace. It started to thunder and lightning, but we kept playing. They were super physical and everyone was running people over. Half the game was free kicks from the penalty's that were given. We lost the game 2-0. After the game we went to Wal-mart for american food.

Charlie

Conor's Contribution

Today we played some amazing teams. The first game, we didnt play as well as we had hoped. 1-0 wasnt exactly what we had in mind. The second game was a little better. We had amazing goals by Casey C. and Caden that led us to victory. By the third game, we were hot! Brandon started off the scoring with a quick first minute goal. It led to Caden's second brilliant goal. The fourth game was a major let down. We lost 4-0 to Crystal Palace. The last and final game of the day was the most physical. We lost 2-0 to Luton Town but we played our hearts out. We finally stepped up to British level and we intend to keep it there.


Conor

Casey F.'s Watford International Tournement

Dear Blog,
We spent all day at the fields in our one day tournament. We found out that we are reffered to as "The Americans". We played in a total of 5 games. The games were only 24 mins long.(12 min halves.) In our first game, against Swansea B, we had them tied until the last seconds when they scored a breakaway goal to make it 1-0. The second game was the easy one. It was a 2-0 blowout. We dominated. The third game was another win but only 2-1 against the MK Dons. The fourth game was embarrassing. We lost 4-0 to Crystal Palace. They were GOOD. Lastly, we played Luton Town. It was a hard fought math but we lost 2-0. Afterall, we had Jack K. in goal.
Afterwards, we went to Walmart which was the highlight of our day.

Love, Casey F.

PS - Hi to all my family and homies in G-town.

CUFC Dad's at the London Eye...

Drew's Day in London (Day 3)

For most of the day today, we went to London. After taking a 1 hour ride and 30 minute tour, we finally got off of the bus. The very first thing that we headed to was Lilly Whites. This is a huge soccer/sports store. Inside were loads of soccer jerseys, socks, soccer shorts, balls, and cleats. It was a bit more expensive than the United States though. Next everyone went off on their own to do some sightseeing around London. I went to the Imperial War Musuem. There were a lot of interesting exhibits there. Most of it was about World War I, World War II and the Holocaust. It surprised me that the people in the army could stand in the small spaces given in the tanks, submarines and airplanes. One of the best exhibits was "The Trench". It was exactly like a trench in the war. It had the sounds and the smells of a trench. Before we knew it, it was time to go to the London Eye. The London Eye allowed us to see most of London. After the London Eye, we headed back to the hotel to change for training. For training, we had an Arsenal Futbal Club Coach. He was a very smart player/coach plus his skills were fair. He taught us a lot of the basic things like passing. At the end we had a scrimmage. It was a very exciting day!

Matt's Memoirs (Day 3)

Today we went into London. We did a bus tour first then stopped at a 7-story sports store. It was very cool. They had more soccer stuff than you can ever find in the United States. Then a few of us took a tube ride to the Imperial War Musuem. There we walked through exhibits and learned about all of the wars. After that we grabbed lunch at a Cafe and then went to the London Eye. On the Eye we were able to see all of England from there. After that, we went to train with an Arsenal coach. It was a fun practice. Then we went back to the hotel to end the day.

Windsor Castle

Harper's Windsor Castle and Tottenham Hotspur

Our first full day in England started with our team going sightseeing at Windsor Castle. It was very interesting to see the largest castle in England and it dates backd about 1000 years and is still used on a daily basis. The changing of the guards, St. George's Catherdral and all the ornate rooms were among m favorites. Then we went to Tottenham Hotspur (Premier Professional Team) training grounds to play against the Tottenham Academy team. Although we did not get the reslt we were looking for, not many other American teams, if any, can say they played Tottenham on their fields. Overall we had a great day and look forward to many more.

Davis' Take of the Second Day

Today, we played the Tottenham Hotspurs youth team. We won...in our hearts. Unfortunately, that doesn't matter to the other team. It was 7-0.
We also visited the famous Windsor Castle. It was AWESOME! There were so many fun places to visit. We saw so many cool things including St. George's Chapel and the King's and Queen's Quarters. There were many nice paintings and art works. Many of them were painted by some of the famous artists of that time period. The guards that stood outside the gates and doorways carried machine guns and wore uniforms. We took a few pictures of them. I would have put my arm around him but that would have been a bad idea. The only bad thing about England so far is that there are many mean people. On the flight over here, someone took my seat so I resorted to sleeping on the floor. Tomorrow, we are supposed to visit the London Eye. That sounds like lots of fun. I miss you mom and dad and love you all. Maybe even you to Dalt.

Love Davis

Carl's Creed

The first flight I have ever ridden on in my entire life was one to be remembered. The flight was over night so the goal was to sleep as much as possible. When we could, we took a glance out the window to take a peek at all the scenic views. As we passed over London, I knew we would have an amazing time. I guess I made a pretty good guess because when we landed, it wasn't hard to see that this was going to be an amazing trip. After we left the airport we took a bus into downtown Watford. I also got to eat my first English meal...fish and chips! (Fish sticks and french fries)
This evening, we had our first practice in England. We even had a few locals spectate. It's amazing how everybody in England has a passion for for the sport football. It's similar to basketball in the USA but even worse.I haven't met a single person yet who doesn't enjoy watching or playing football. So far the trip has been quite amazing. I'm sure that it will only get better.
- Carl C. #9

PJ's perspective of our 1st day

Today was the first day that we were in England. The plane ride was long, but proved to be worth it. Everyone was so excited to get off the plane. After the plane we visited downtown Waterford and some teammates go their firs "fish and chips" with Coach Neil. Then we went back to the Hotel , where we met up with Conor, Harper and Brandon. After we all met up and got ready, we go in the bus and drove to a high school where we would play. This high school had no baseball and football, but only multiple soccer fields. This is what I liked the most about today was seeing the difference between England and US.

A great time was had by everyone at the Good Luck Dinner.....We ate some great Italian food and were really starting to get excited about leaving for England on Sunday evening!! As always Todd was 1st and last to leave the buffet line and Greg failed to buy a round for the eagerly anticipating parents!!

Thinking of Brandon and his family

As many of you are aware, Brandon and his family had decided to spend some time in Lebanon ( their homeland) before Gus would bring Brandon to England to join with the team. As this time I have not heard from Gus, but we do know that the family is supposed to be in Lebanon at this time.If you have been following the conflict between Israel and Lebanon it has unfortunately spiralled tragically close to the depths of War. The Beirut International Airport has been decimated and the roads out of Lebanon to the Syrian border have been heavily bombed. Our hope is that they managed to escape the violence before the conflict escalated to the heights it has now reached. Hopefully we will hear from Gus shortly, but in the meantime please pray for Brandon and the rest of his family, and lets hope that everyone managed to escape the conflict safely. We are hoping that Brandon can still manage to join us in London, but at this point that all seems very secondary. I know the 92 Gold and everyone at Charlotte United will not let a day go by without thinking about our teammate and his family, until we know that they are safely clear of the conflict that has erupted


Neil Orridge
Coach 92 Gold
Age Group Director
CUFC u11/12 boys & girls

AU REVOIR AT BUPPA DI BEPPO

The Players and their families will be having a going away Dinner on Thursday July 20th at Buppa di Beppo in Pineville.It will be the last chance for those family members who are not going on the trip to wish the Team good luck..Pictures from the Dinner to follow

92 GOLD prepares for LONDON 2006

With less than 2 weeks to go before the 92 Charlotte United Gold departs for London, the anticipation begins. With games scheduled in the "pro group" of the London International Soccer Festival against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace to name a few, we are counting down the days.