Postscript: Life back in the Upper Valley

Friends -

I got on here by accident, but it gives me a chance to say hi again and report that the return trip, me with 14 boys, was a wonderful adventure.  We faced some challenges with calm and precision, and only used the Jedi mind trick once.  You will let us in this customs line.  I will let you in this customs line.  Your boys went through this entire process with maturity and resilience.  I thought the conga line and a cappella singing in the customs waiting line was exemplary.  I joined in.  We got through customs and claimed luggage with no mishaps and the boys had time to go upstairs for food while I took Gabe and Max outside and kicked them to the curb and ran.  All good.  We secured seats on Dartmouth Coach, waited in Boston traffic, and got home at Midnight.  Good road warriors who can finish off a game made it possible to proclaim the trip a dazzling success.  Great friendships.  Great goals.  Brilliant defensive plays.  Big time goalkeeping.  Did I mention great friendships?  We got back late Monday.  There were Touchline games Tuesday and Wednesday.  Wednesday's a Huntley was a classic.  Some Iceland boys played in both.  Next up is a T5 game at Plainfield Elementary Sunday at 4:00.  Practice this Friday at Huntley 4:00 - 5:30, then you should go hear Hans Williams in Concert in WRJ at 6:30.  I'll be migrating to the HHS soccer blog later tonight.  Cheers!

Final Post: Parting is Indeed Sweet Sorrow

This is the last time I'll be posting on this side of the Atlantic.  Tomorrow, at the end of a long day of travel, we'll be back in the Upper Valley (and north of the notch!).  Already, our little team is breaking up.  Mattias went home with his family today.  Isak will be staying in Iceland for a while, as will Jack Ross, whose family has been with us for the past two days.  They have another week here, lucky ducks.  I wish I had an hour to write this, but I have to get back to the school where the boys have been staying, and do my second night of dorm duty.  The boys want story time, and they will get story time. First, a short summary of today.  We started out long before you were up, rising at 6:45 Reykjavik time to eat a quick breakfast and make it to the field to warm up for our final game, which kicked off at 8:00.  For a while, we were headed for a story book finish.  We earned a corner kick and Jack Ross set up in his new happy place, righto in front of the opposition goalkeeper.  He loves being pushed, shoved and mauled, and this location had it all.  Max Ritter swung a perfect ball to the far post, and Jack took a jab step with his left foot, darted to his right, and found the time and space to place a perfect header into the goal.  It didn't take long for the wheels to fall off for Touchline, however.  We were really out of gas, and the local guys who had slept in their own beds all week took advantage of our every mistake.  The score was only2-1 against us at halftime, and we resolved to rally.  It wasn't to be.  With five of our starers on the bench with little knocks, we opened enough holes to allow three goals and come out on the short side of a 5-1 loss.  It was dispiriting, but we knew that we had given everything.  Better yet, adversity showed us that we could stay together as a team, not call each other out, not blame the referees, and remind ourselves that we had come here to learn. After the game the boys wanted to go and cheer for the Verslo team from Kenya, by now truly our little brothers.  Then we headed "home" to chez Larus/Hulda and had a good lunch of hot dogs, Icelandic style. Then, of course, more soccer.  We walked to the impressive National Stadium to watch the U16 A Division Final between Brighton Hove Albion, a British pro club, and local favorite Prottur.  BHA scored first but then went down a man, and Prottur eventually scored to tie the match, which quickly went to penalties.  When a Prottur player put one over the bar, BHA, twice beaten in the finals, had their well-earned win.  After a little down time, we headed to the Prottur turf stadium for the closing ceremonies.  As we entered the stadium, the boys saw the team from Kenya, practicing for a drum and dance ceremony that they would be performing.  Next thing they knew, they were invited to practice with Verslo and eventually were invited to perform with them.  What?  Kenya and Touchline?  It was meant to be. Before they entered the stadium, the Kenya coach presented our team a beautiful carved wooden lion as a symbol of this new, wonderful friendship.
We settled in to watch the medal presentations. The overall winner of the U16Boys B group was our friends from Vesli.  No team had played them closer than Touchline (1-0 loss on a pk).  We had played great soccer against the best teams in our group before we started running our of gas, and that's something that we can point to with pride.  We are better soccer players for having been here.
Then, in the midst of the ceremony, out marched Kenya, followed by Touchline, one of the Kenya coaches took the microphone and sang/chanted as three drummers drummed and all of the boys, from opposite ends of the world, dances together.  Amazing stuff. They walked off together to significant applause, although I am sure many of the huge crowd wondered what these scruffy kids from NH and VT were doing with Verslo. Little did they know about the many gestures of true friendship that our lads had extended (and have sworn to continue - this brotherhood is not finished).  After burgers at the local Huldaburger joint, we piled into cars and headed to (what else?) a top level soccer match.  We were part of a huge crowd to watch two local team battle it out, and our guys were once again cheering, chanting, booing the refs, and enjoying five goal, 10 red cards, and a lot of high level soccer. They can't get enough.  We'll head to bed soon, pack tomorrow, and start the long journey home.  There's more upon which to reflect, and the boys all own me an essay about their trip, the second part of the assignment I gave them when the applied to come.  For now, though, our focus is getting home safely and reuniting with the families whose trust and support made this possible.  Thank you!  Goodnight!

Pain in the Rain: Defense Springs a Leak

First of all, I clearly jinxed us with my rhapsodic comments about the Reykjavik weather, which had been splendid up until the moment I hit "send" on yesterday's post.  Within minutes, ominous clouds began rolling out of the East (What's with weather moving East to West, btw?) and within the hour the rain began.  It rained overnight, and rained during the morning (the boys slept in, more or less)  and rained on us during our game with Haukar.  Rain wouldn't be a problem during the match, though.  Upper Valley players know how to deal with the rain.  Nevertheless, we did not start well.  Three minutes into the match, a Haukar player penetrated on the left and got a good shot off that was well saved any Jack Maynes. Touchline was slow to the rebound and Haukar was not, and the easy tap-in gave them a 1-0 lead.  It could have been 2-0 very quickly were it not for a wonderful defensive play by James Kirkpatrick, clearing a shot off the line.  Three minutes later we conceded a corner and conceded an uncontested shot from the near corner of the six, and we were indeed down 2-0.  Suddenly, under sodden skies, the cavalry came riding out of the distance.  The lads from Kenya turned out in force to watch us.  In fact, they flooded our bench, and the sidelines, and began cheering hard.  Before long, we had complete control of the match.  We earned a corner, and the Eric Tysinger hit a shot that missed the right post.  We were in business.  Max Ritter, a workhorse at midfield all week, hit a sweet ball to Isak Larussen on the right flank.  Isak beat his defender and closed hard on the goal, lashing a shot past the keeper and pulling back a vital goal.  As the rain continued to come down, we drew even on a spectacular long-range shot by Jack Ross, no doubt inspired by the arrival that morning of his family, here to spend a week of vacation.  We kept possession well, and snuffed out their one scoring opportunity when Gabe Jacobs wen t sliding across the goal mouth to block another shot labeled for the back of the net.  Coming out for the second half, we were very confident.  Unfortunately, the rain did indeed play a part in deciding the match.  A seemingly harmless back pass to goalie Jack Maynes stopped dead in a puddle, and a Haukar striker pounced on the ball and took back the lead.  Undaunted, Touchline put on the pressure, creating several good chances, and two great ones by Oscar Miller, who had two shots saved by their keeper, spotting a vintage Gabe Jacobs Mohawk 'do.  These 25 minute halves seem to go pretty quickly when you're trailing, and we were forced to accept a tough 3-2 loss.  We dragged ourselves to the Hilton in time to wait a good bit for the last servings of pizza, although there was plenty to go around.  The logistics of this tournament have been amazingly good. One exception, though:  Many of the coaches have been frustrated by the officiating, which ranges from casual to laissez-faire to lazy.  The outcome of our match was not affected, but it was disappointing to see the referee camped a midfield in our match, sipping a cup of coffee.  C'mon, honor the game.  We have missed out on some of the horror shows that have occurred, with unpunished rough play spiraling out of control.

Our focus for the afternoon was getting our soggy uniforms cleaned and dried, and again we give great thanks for Larus and Hulda, who managed to clean an entire set of uniforms in time for our six o'clock game.  We were playing Grindavik, who we had earlier watched beating Haukar.  What could have been a close match turned out to be a disappointment, as we conceded a penalty in the first minute, and another soft goal 10 minutes later.  We fought back hard, but didn't not have the juice of the luck to dent the scoreboard.  A few of our players had selfish fouls that helped convince the officials that we didn't deserve any close calls, and a second-half Grindavik goal on a long throw-in made the final score 3-0.  There were a few highlights.  Gabe Jacobs saved another goal by biking a high shot off the goal line.  Simi Obomsawin, who has been battling a hamstring injury, saw his fort action and came close to getting a header on goal.  Jack McGrath showed a lot of ability and a good work rate.  Jackson Fisher did some great work at midfield.

We have finished fourth in our group of six, and will play the fourth-place team from the other bracket Sunday morning.  We hope to watch the Rey Cup title game in the national stadium, and then watch a top-level club game tomorrow night.  As if there could be too much soccer.  We're hoping that lessons learned and one more good shot of energy will allow us to finish on a high note.  And I won't comment on the weather, which has cleared at least for tonight.  Oops, I mentioned the weather.  Perhaps it's my excitement about having dorm duty the next two nights.  I hope to read Harry Potter to the boys, using voices, of course.  Goodnight!

Ice Cream and Heartbreak at the Rey Cup

Friday was a full and exciting day for Touchline as new reached the halfway point in the competition.
First, a comment about the weather.  We were prepared for every meteorological eventuality, and packed lots of warm clothing.  Today, again, we spent most of the day in shorts and tee shirts, and used a lot of sunscreen.  It was sunny and in the mid-sixties, and for the fifth day in a row there was no rain or cold.  We have been blessed.  We spent the morning watching soccer.  What a surprise. First, we walked past the lush botanical gardens to a lovely grass pitch to see Burlington, Mass. play. The other American team has had a great run so far, and at the end of today they are second in their group of six.  We watched them play Brottor, in a back and forth match that ended in a scoreless draw.  We then hiked a ways (by the way, the coaches are averaging 20,000 steps a day.  When you add the running from one or two games, you can get some really impressive totals.  Bring on the beep test) and watched Vestri, our afternoon opponent, play Bredoblik, the team we played yesterday.  Vestri was huge.  They were big across the front, bigger across the back, and had a superb, energetic central midfielder, a little blond guy who took every free kick and ran the show for his spot in front of his back four.  Vestri scored two goals and had control of the match, although Bredoblik fought back and managed their first goal of the tournament.  We knew we would have our hands full in the afternoon.  We stayed to watch the first half of the game played by our friends on the U14 team from Kenya, from the village of Got Agula on there shore of Lake Victoria.  It has taken a monumental effort for them to realize this dream trip.  The raised the funds for airfare and passports, and generous clubs in Iceland have provided hosting, uniforms, shoes, and so much more.  It is a huge undertaking.   The coaches got to hear some of this story at a meeting last night, and we are so full of admiration.
Many of the boys are 12 and small for their age, and in this game a skilled and speedy Grindavik team beat them handily.  By chance, we are sharing the same school building dormitory with them, and we have become friends.  Yesterday, several of our players hatched a plan to take them out for ice cream.  For most of them, this would be a first.  Their coaches, now our friends, agreed, and at 2:00 we met at the dorm and walked together to the local ice cream stand.  The conversation flowed easily.  Our guys discovered that one of the boys, Orson, had lived in Iceland since he was six, and is fluent in Icelandic.  That has certainly helped his team this week.  We agreed in advance that everyone would have a small cone, so the experience wouldn't be overwhelming.  Two nights ago, all of our guys had enjoyed flurries.  That would have been a bit much.  The boys sat and talked, finished their cones, and we walked back together.  Needles to say, this is what is making the Rey Cup a special experience.  Our guys have made friends with teams from Kenya, Chile, Norway, and certainly Iceland.  We already had an established relationship with the goalkeeper from Vestri, Jon, from standing with them in line for the parade at the Opening Ceremonies.

We then turned out focus to the game, and after changing we walked together to the Valbjarnvollur fields.  Say that three time fast.  We had a good disciplined warmup.  You never know how a team will react from game to game. Today, they were ready to play.  That said, Vestri was all over us territorially in the first half.  We had a hard time stringing passes together, and they did a nice job spreading us out and finding space to stack on the flanks.  Jack Maynes had to be at his best in goal, and he was, making several fine saves.  Thing was, we were bending but nor breaking, and we had ever reason to be confident as we entered the second half.  They were playing their second match of the day, and we had used several subs to keep our attackers fresh.  We had a stiff wind at our backs, and the sun as well. I'd say setting sun, but at 5:00 the sun still had six hours to set.  Things didn't go as planned.  Very early in the half a player broke free in the box, and as he reached the endline he was brought down.  The referee signaled for a penalty and he couldn't be faulted.  The little #10 put the ball in the upper right corner, well out of Maynes' reach, and we were down a goal.  The next 20 minutes saw our best soccer of the tournament. We slowly began to assert ourselves, and with ten minutes to play we created three golden, no, platinum scoring opportunities. Our hard work resulted in a corner kick, and Max Ritter hit a perfect ball into the box, driven out of the reach of the goalkeeper and to the back post.  Palmer Okai met it perfectly with his head, driving a ball that would have tucked just under the bar.  Jon, the Vestri goalie, made a fantastic leaping save, and tipped the ball over the bar.  Our subsequent corner was almost as good, and we had Vestri on their heels.  Pulling players forward in an attempt to score can cost a team, and we surrendered several counterattacks that forced Maynes to make several more great saves.  Tanks to him, we were still in the game, and we weren't done.  Isak Larusson played a great ball through to Eric Tysinger, and he sped past his defender and hit a shot that beat the goalkeeper but hit off the inside of the near post, took a crazy bounce, and went straight to the goalie.  Still not done.  Larussen took a lead pass from a throw-in and beat his defender, and his hard shot was saved by the now-heroic Vestri goalkeeper.  We are playing 25 minutes halves in this tournament, and there just wasn't any more time.  It was a hard loss to accept, but even in defeat the boys knew without needing to be reminded that they had played a brilliant game.  We are in a great group.  All of the teams (and we've seen them all, with two more to play tomorrow) are capable of beating each other.  All of the games have been close.  They boys owned the loss, blamed no one else, and licked their wounds, ready for tomorrow.  There is a dance/disco party tonight, and I'm waiting for reports.  I suspect I will hear about an early departure and an early bedtime, despite the fact that it stays light past midnight, especially on sunny days like this. But we have work to do. We play Haukar Saturday at Noon, and Grindavik at 6:00.  Stay tuned:
(first reports will come on Instagram:  CoachGrabill), and photos will follow on our Facebook site). I
feel so blessed to be working with 17 boys who have grown together as a team, pulling for each other, sacrificing, and taking full advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience. It's also hard to express how much Larus and Hulda have done for us,  opening their home, guiding us, preparing us, and supporting us in so many ways.  They are truly the heroes of this experience.  Goodnight!

Touchline Splits Matches on Opening Day

The first day of competition in the Rey Cup was an exciting one for Touchline.  We played twice, losing 1-0 against a big, strong HK team in the morning, and ending the day with an exciting 2-0 victory over Bredoblik.  Our first international win!  After breakfast, we watched one of the early games against teams in our group we would be playing on Saturday.  We then made the long walk to another neighborhood for our first match against HK.  They were large, strong and skilled, and we hard to work hard to defend.  Six minutes into the match a player book loose on our right side and cracked a shot off the near post.  We managed to settle down, and were able to generate a few decent scoring opportunities.  The half ended 0-0, and we were confident that we could play with them.  Midway through the second half, two good passes isolated a player on the right flank, and his hard, precise centering pass found a teammate at the far post for a tap-in and a 1-0 lead.  Touchline fought back, but never managed a serious threat.  The match ended with HK celebrating and Touchline proud to have played so well against such a quality team.  We walked back to the Hilton Hotel, which somehow managed to feed 1,300 players in 90 minutes with multiple buffet lines and a ballroom full of tables.  After watching another match in Throttur Stadium, the site of the opening ceremonies, we had an hour or two to rest before heading to the Valbjarnarvollur field complex, the site of our afternoon match against Bredoblik.  The grass fields are crammed together, with a two-yard strip between the pitches, allowing just enough room for teams to stand single file.  That was our "bench". Bredoblik came into the match having lost to Vestri, and they were hungry.  We held our ground during an initial Vestri surge, and then began playing some of our best soccer to date.  Both Matthias Einarsson and Isak Larusson had dangerous shots.  Matthias forced the Bredoblik goalkeeper to make good save, and Isak hit a shot fro the right side that bounced off the inside of the far post and into the hands of the neaten goalkeeper. Touchline was defending well, and creating good shots as a result of better midfield possession.  With ten minutes to play in the half, Touchline made five substitutions, and got a shot of energy from Zane Schiffman, Eric Tysinger, Jackson Fisher, James Kirkpatrick and and Jack McGrath.  Five minutes later, Jacob Kubik-Pauw played a ball out of the center to Jack McGrath, who made the great choice to get wide on the right.  He beat his defender to the endline and hit a low, hard cross to a streaking Schiffman on the left, who burins the ball for his first international goal.

Touchline started the second half confidently, but needed several strong saves from Jack Maynes in goal to hold onto their 1-0 lead.  Kirkpatrick was doing a great job in the center of the defense, working with Gabe Jacobs.  Bredoblik's urgency gave Touchline several openings to counterattack, and they took advantage.  With 12 minutes to go, Jacob Kubik-Pauw hit a free kick from 235 yards out that was dipping under the bar, only to be denied by a great diving save.  Five minutes later, Touchline put the game away.  Kubik-Pauw, who earned the Man of the Match award, launched a long throw-in that sent Oscar Miller in alone on goal.  Oscar made a great move to shield the ball from a defender and hit a hard shot that beat the keeper to his right.  Not content to see the game out, Tysinger nearly made it 3-0 with another breakaway that was barely saved by the charging goalie. The final whistle sounded (we think - referee whistles were hard to come by and hard to hear) and we celebrated our first international win.

After supper at the Hilton, another miracle of good logistics and delicious food (amazing chicken in a wine sauce, ziti, bread with pesto, salad), the players headed to the swimming pool or out for ice cream, and the coaches attended a reception at the national stadium.  We head presentations fro several of the international coaches.  The story of the team from Kenya is an amazing tale. They have worked so hard and received so much support just to be here.  Everyone loves them, and the Touchline players are first in line in that respect. They attended one of their matches, cheering lustily, and have a plan to take them out for ice cream tomorrow. We are friends with the Molina team from Chile, friends with Ross County from northern Scotland, and friends with Burlington, Mass (who lead their division with a 2-0 record!  The US was 3-1 today, and our hosts weren't happy about this).
The international friendship and fellowship has been remarkable.  So has the scenery of this amazing country.  So has the soccer.  And our players -  so flexible, so friendly, so willing.  You won't recognize them!

Tomorrow's a big day. A huge match with Vestri in the afternoon, and ice cream with Kenya.  Goodnight!

Opening Ceremony- The Rey Cup Has Begun!

After several days of acclimatization and tourism,  Wednesday was about soccer.  After breakfast we walked to the second largest stadium in the Rey Cup complex, the site of the Opening Ceremony this evening.  We warmed up well and had a friendly scrimmage with the team from Burlington, MA.  Our first half was mediocre, and we were lucky not to concede.  We calmed down and played better soccer in the second half, and won 1-0.  Jacob Kubik-Pauw scored our only goal on a nice individual effort, stripping the keeper and walking the ball o to the goal.  Our defense was stout in front of Jack Maynes in goal. Zane Schiffman had a great volley off a Max Ritter corner that was clocked by a defender, preventing a highlight goal.

After lunch of panini sandwiches and smoothies, we combined pool and nap time until it was time to move into our new quarters in the main school building nearby.  Definitely an improvement!  We had a barbecue supper prepared by Larus and Hulda, changed into our spiffy uniforms designed by Larus, and assembled with nearly 2,000 other players for the march into the stadium.  I can be cynical and jaded at times, but this was impressive and moving for me.  We were a sea of color, with bright uniforms of every color.  There were teams from England representing the pro clubs, Scotland, Norway, Chile, Kenya and the US.  James Kirkpatrick and Zane carries our US glad proudly and respectfully.  Noi Larusson, Isak’s brother,  carried our team sign.  Very much like the Olympics.  As we marched, we heard other teams singing.  Not to be outdone, the boys sang a good version of the Star Spangled Banner, topped off by a lusty version of “I want it that way”.  Much appreciated. We filled  the huge grandstand, and heard every team introduced.  The host threw shade at the teams that were too cool to respond.  Not a problem for us!  But the young pros from Brighton Hove Albion?  Just too cool.  After several speeches we applauded a dance by four elaborately costumed students from Chile.  We were seated in the back, and were able to filter out quickly.  Now it’s time for bed with two games on tap for tomorrow.  This experience has already surpassed our high expectations. We have made many new friends.  I had an especially good conversation with two coaches from Kenya.  I am sure their young U14 boys will be the hit of the tournament.  Could be us, though!  Stay tuned.

A Beautiful Day To Tour Iceland

Our second full day on the ground was a full one!  We are an early breakfast and then hopped on a tour bus arranged by Larus, heading northeast into the interior of the country. The drive was so interesting, punctuated by our tour guide’s witty anecdotes about history, geography and pop culture. Our first stop was an overlook of Parliament Lake, the largest and coldest lake in Iceland.  It’s so much more.  It’s a UNESCO world heritage site, the location of Parliament  meetings more than 1,000 years ago.  It straddles the fault like between two tectonic plates that form the mid-Atlantic Ridge, the site of much of Iceland’s geothermal and volcanic activity.  We walked downhill through an ancient? Towering rift in the rock to the edge of the lake, learning about the vote1,000 years ago to move friends m Nordic myth to Christianity.  We boarded our bus again and headed to the largest waterfall in Iceland, pouring a deafening torrent into a huge canyon, and misting us with the spray. (We had eaten lunch at the reception center up top, a delicious lamb soup). Turning back toward Reykjavik, we stopped at one of the country’s biggest geysers, which erupts every five minutes.  Every third one was 40-50 meters high, producing streams of boiling eater with a sulfuric smell.  There was a network of trails leading to other pools and smoking fissures.  Very Yellowstone.  All through the tour,  we saw herds of Icelandic horses running through vast pastures, free range sheep grazing on green grass, jagged moonscapes of volcanic rock covered by lush lichen, and steaming geothermal power and heating plants.  We covered an amazing amount, but left just enough time for a spirited practice on a grass field like a putting green.  Afterwards, we walked no more than five minutes to a wonderful pizza parlor for supper. After a quick change of clothes we all headed back to the huge municipal pool. The boys played water basketball.  I worked my up the Celsius scale from the 38 degree hot tub to 44. Yikes!  Another quick change of clothing and it was off to a local ice cream parlor for flurries.  It was 10:30, and the sun was beginning to set.  Back to the school for bed and a day full of soccer.  Goodnight!

We have arrived safely!

We had a smooth trip to Logan, an easy and uneventful fight, and a short bus ride to Reykjavik.  The boys have moved into their crowded accommodations in a local school, and will relocate to another’s school before the actual tournament begins onWednesday.  After three hours to nap, walk about, or okay on a small turf field near the school (two guesses what most of the boys did), we had lunch and will soon depart for a walking tour of Reykjavik. We will train this afternoon, have a team meeting, and get ready for this wonderful adventure.  The weather is cool and partly cloudy, a welcome relief from the heat we left behind.  Sjáumst seinna!

We’re On Our Way to Iceland.

Our trip has begun!  15 players and two coaches (Rob Grabill and Sean Ross) boarded the Dartmouth Coach and had an amazingly smooth trip down 89 and 93, despite the challenges of weekend and NASCAR race day traffic.  We snuck south just ahead of the crush and unloaded smoothly at Logan.  Check-in was speedy at IcelandAir, and the security lines were short.  We spread out in twos and threes for supper, and will board within the hour. We land Monday morning in Reykjavik and have a day to adjust and train, a day to sightsee, and then the Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday evening get us underway.  We’ll be in touch all week. You can also follow me on Instagram: Coach Grabill.  Goodnight!

Touchline Team Prepares for Iceland

With five day to go before Touchline Team Iceland heads to the Rey Cup, the squad will continue preparations with a pari of friendlies on Wednesday at Mascoma and at Huntley on Thursday against the Caledonia U16s.  We're hoping that the weather cooperates on Wednesday, and plan to play after the rain blows through during the day.  The match is at the Shaker Recreation Field in Enfield, on Rt. 4A just past the Shaker Village.  We sent an emergency medical form via email two days ago, and would appreciate having the players return these at any time between now and departure, either at one of these two games, or when we gather on Sunday at 2:30 at Lebanon at Dartmouth Coach.  Stay tuned!

Touchline Soccer prepares for Iceland Tournament

Welcome to the Touchline Soccer Blog/Iceland, which will chronicle the Touchline U16 team's trip to Reykjavik, Iceland to participate in the Rey Cup international soccer tournament July 24-28.  Seventeen players and three coaches will depart Logan Airport on July 21and arrive bright and early on the 22nd at the Keflavik Airport.  After two days to adjust, train, and see the sights  (including a full day bus tour), the Rey Cup opening ceremonies on the 24th will welcome teams from around the world, including several English Premiership youth teams, several from the US, and the top youth teams from the host country.  After two days for group play and another for the playoffs, the champions will be crowned on the 28th, followed by closing ceremonies and a return home on the 29th.

In the days to come, we will provide extensive details about the trip and the tournament, which has its own web page (www.reycup.is) and Facebook page.  We're still waiting for the schedule to be published. Once the trip is underway, you can expect daily updates and (hopefully) photographs.  The team will begin focused training as a specific Touchline entity the week prior to departure, and continue to  play regular Touchline games until then. Stay tuned as we prepare for an excellent adventure!