Month: February 2020

Intro to Lora Tamayo!

by knystrom

As we got off the train in Bellavista, we had no idea what to expect from our first visit to Lora Tamayo. Walking through the neighborhood, we searched the buildings for clues as to what we had gotten ourselves into-but to no avail. Once we got onto the grounds of the school, and unloaded the gear we would be using over the next few weeks, we began to relax and get comfortable. We played in the school gymnasium as we waited to meet Raphael who is the head of the institution. When he arrived, he had also brought the neighborhoods’ government representative to meet and speak to us as well. That was our first clue as to how big of a deal our presence is to the community. 

  • We wait for our train to Bellavista in la Estacion de Tren Santa Justa
  • Raphael and the Bellavista city rep welcoming us to the school
  • The gang listens intently to the Bellavista representative

After introductions and general information, we had the chance to walk through some of the classrooms and get our first glimpse of the students. They looked at us with a mix of admiration, excitement, awe, and probably some nervousness too. From there, we were given a presentation on the history of the school and got a sense of just how historic and important the school is. After a quick snack, it was time to go outside and meet the kids in an environment where we could truly start to connect with them–the playground. 

  • Raphael and Adrian give us a presentation on the history of Lora Tamayo
  • We tour the classrooms in LT
  • Jugando el futbol!
  • We spend recess with the kids playing all sorts of games, including football as seen here

At first, we were overwhelmed. The students swarmed us and the language barrier was intimidating. It didn’t take long for the power of sports to take over, though. From basketball, to dodgeball, to soccer, we began to play with the kids and get to know them. Some of the children came with paper for us to autograph and others made it their mission to dominate us in their chosen sport. But all in all, it was an incredible experience to first learn about the institution and then to spend time with the kids. All of us are very excited to go back and continue to build a mentoring relationship with them through sports!

  • Amigos!

Tour and Clinic at St. George’s Park

by knystrom

Today we made the three hour bus trek to the Staffordshire countryside, just north of Birmingham, to visit St. George’s Park: the home training ground to all 27 of England’s National teams.

The park was built in 2012 with the aim of boosting the performance of English football on the international level. Despite being home to the English Premier League and considering itself a “footballing nation,” England has only produced one World Cup title between its senior male and female teams, with that lone title coming from the men’s team in 1966. The complex is world-renowned for its high quality facilities and for the great team building environment it provides.

The first stop on our tour was the locker room, which included a vast open space, large lockers, automatic showers and a flat screen television which the players utilize to review their practice and match film. Our guide explained to us the emphasis of making everything as convenient as possible for the players while they train at the park.

Next on our tour was the rehabilitation and sports science suite, which contained an underwater treadmill, a rehabilitation pool, and a hot/cold tub. Something that is crucial to the English National team’s success is that their players are actively taking care of their bodies in order to stay healthy and maximize their training results. Having this state of the art facility is certainly an advantage.

  • England’s Locker Room (Bob in foreground)
  • England’s Locker Room
  • Underwater treadmill, which can be raised and lowered according to player height

We were soon after lead to the indoor futsal court. Futsal is a variation of soccer that is played on a small, hard surface pitch with less players and a heavier ball. Futsal is a game which requires decisions to be made instantly, at a pace even faster than the game of soccer itself. This fast pace variation of the game is extremely helpful to the development of England’s players.

  • England’s Futsal Court
  • England’s Futsal Court

After our introduction to futsal, we were led to the park’s official indoor and outdoor pitches, where the professional level teams train and play matches. The indoor pitch, however, is rarely used due to the advanced heating technology under the pitch that allows field temperatures to be regulated and rapid draining to occur. The technology is so superb that using information from weather forecasts, the staff can emulate gameday conditions. In addition to this, the field itself is modeled after Wembley Stadium and the grass is cut strategically depending on the opponent. We learned that tall grass limits the speed at which the ball can travel from player to player, and therefore it is desirable to play a match against a faster team with high grass rather than trimmed grass.

The final destination on our tour was a practice pitch. Here, we were introduced to some basic drills to develop our skills. Soon after, the ball was rolled out and we played a full scrimmage against each other. Everyone seemed to enjoy the competition and the opportunity to get some exercise surrounded by the greenery, which is something we have missed in urban London.

It was a tremendous experience to tour St. George’s Park. While we toured the state of the art facility, we learned about the core values which the English team prides itself on. These values include discipline, respect and preparation: all of which are values that extend beyond the realm of sport.

Watford Match at Vicarage Road

by knystrom

Today we traveled out to Vicarage Road Stadium in Watford to watch Watford FC take on Everton.  The weather was warm, a great day for a football match.  The stadium was nearly sold out as black and yellow filled the stands.  It was a beehive, but as you looked around there was one packed section of royal blue (the Everton colors).  Once the game began, Watford took the lead early with Adam Masina scoring in the 10th minute, and then they continued to dominate as Roberto Pereyra expanded Watford’s lead to 2-0 in the 42nd minute. The Watford fans were ecstatic while the Everton fans had gone completely silent.  Everton wasn’t out though, and they managed to score twice in extra time before the first half ended.  Yerry Mina put the ball in the back of the net for Everton both times.  Songs rang out from the visiting section, silencing the home crowd into stunned submission.  Coming out in the second half, Watford still seemed to be a marginally in control given that Everton was playing a man down for the majority of the second half. (Fabian Delph was sent off for receiving two yellow cards. We seemed to be heading for a draw until Theo Walcott capitalized off a Watford turnover and a few nice passes on the counterattack to score the game winning goal for Everton in the 90th minute. There was nothing more that Watford could do with 5 minutes of extra time due to Everton adopting a very defensive playing style for the remainder of the game. Home supporters were left speechless after the game winning goal and many of them began to yell out in anger and disappointment. The away victory pushed Everton to 9th in the premier league table, while the devastating loss dropped Watford down to the 19th slot (out of 20). Given their unfortunate position in the table thus far, Watford seems a candidate to be relegated to the Championship after the conclusion of this season unless the club can find a way to dramatically turn things around. Overall this was a fantastic experience for our group because it allowed us to once again experience high level English football, however, this time we were able to do so from the unique vantage point of sitting two rows back from the pitch, and with two teams whose playing style was more rough and opportunistic than the skillful, methodical style of a team like Manchester City. 

  • Vicarage Road from our vantage point in the stands
  • The home end of Vicarage Road, home of Watford FC
Action on the pitch of Watford v Everton