Arsenal Youth Tournament
Trip of a Lifetime
On the 23rd of July my soccer team, Marks Park Invitation, and the U15 boys team (also from Marks Park) began a trip which we will never forget. We went to England to play at the 21st annual Arsenal International Soccer Festival. None of us slept for more than 3 out of 10 hours of our flight. We were way too excited for that. Upon our arrival we started to regret this.
We quickly dropped of our things at the Royal Holloway University, our home for the next week. Within half an hour we were on our way to London. There we went crazy shopping but also saw a couple of sights. Nothing was unworthy of a picture. By the time we got back to the university it was roughly 11 and we were completely exhausted.
The next morning began early. Both the boys and we were to have friendlies later in the day. Ours got cancelled but this did not keep us from having a practice session. The practice, supporting the boys and lastly the flag ceremony were the only things planned for that day. Therefore, we all explored the vast campus of the university in our spare time. After dinner we went straight to the flag ceremony. There we met all the other foreign teams staying on campus. Once again the cameras were flashing left and right. We all wanted to get pictures with our new friends. The festivities ended approximately at 12.
The next few days all seemed to blur together. We would go to breakfast at 7:30, rest a bit before having a training session, go out shopping somewhere (or stay in), support the boys team, play a game, go to dinner and attend the daily event (if we were not too tired). There was not one day that we went to bed before 12.
Saturday came; our second last day in England. In the morning the boys played in their age groups final and one and a half hours later we went to the Emirates stadium to watch the first two games of the Emirates Cup. Since this outing was arranged by the organizers of the tournament, most of the other teams also came. The first game was the NY Red Bulls against Paris Saint-Germain. NY won 1:0. The second game was Arsenal vs. Boca Juniors. They tied 2:2. We were seated in rows 9-11 and with that very close to the action.
Upon our return we had our last dinner together. Many teams were leaving early the next morning and it was sad to say goodbye to some of our new friends. The next morning by the time we got up for breakfast some of the teams had left and the dining halls tables and benches were put back into their original places. The rest of the day we could do whatever we wanted. We just had to be with our bags at the tennis courts by 4. Most of us strolled around the grounds for our last time and hung out with the friends who hadn’t left. At 4 we met up and at 4:30 we boarded our bus. Both the teams were dejected to leave behind this wonderful place and go back to our real lives.
Melanie Imbach, 10a
