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Yesterday was a full day of travel.  We woke up at 6:00 a.m., ate breakfast at 6:30, then boarded the bus at 7:30.  Those boys that didn't pass room inspection got the nice gift of loading everyone's luggage from the hotel lobby to the bus.  It was a fitting consequence.

As we were preparing to leave, I was able to get a picture of the last sunrise in Spain.

The last team picture.

The flight to Newark from Madrid was 8 hours.  It seemed forever before we were even able to take off.  I watched a couple of movies, ate some gross airplane food, and slept.  Not much else to do.

Once we touched down in Newark, it was weird to read English again and not be surrounded by Spanish.  We got a final pic with the Florida boys and of course Yvonn because he just loves being in pictures.  Gianni felt the need to give me his pink neck pillow.

After getting our luggage and getting through customs, we had about an hour to get to our connecting flight to Chicago.  It took forever to get through security again, and of course we had to take a tram to our terminal.  Poor James got squashed in the tram.  Once it took off, everyone's centripetal force was directed towards James, and I think Marshall tried to blame James for something, when he was the victim, ha ha.  We ran to our gate, and I had the boys stall so I could hurry and use the restroom and change out of my fun polo and into some comfy clothes.  There was no way I could hold it for two more hours and I will NOT use an airplane bathroom again.  We made the flight and the boys from there on out really took care of me and my bags.

Once we landed in Chicago, food was a priority.  We'd had nothing substantial to eat all day, and were craving some good American food.  We searched for our best option, and decided on Chinese.  It. was. delicious.  We reminisced about the last two weeks, and re-told our funny stories.  It felt good being a group of 5 again, instead of a group of 30.

We got to our gate, only to find out they moved our gate again back to where we came from.  Not only did they move our gate, but our flight was delayed an hour due to lightning.  Once we boarded, we found out that the plane we were supposed to fly in was actually still in Atlanta, and they had commandeered the plane we were in.  I guess we were lucky it was only an hour.  Brandon, Marshall, and Alex were out as soon as they sat down.  I think James an I lasted until we took off.

Once we landed in Salt Lake, it was 11:30, which would be 7:30 Madrid time.  That meant we had been traveling for 24 hours, plus an hour and a half car ride home.  We barely managed to step off the plane.  All of our legs didn't want to work.  We made our way down to baggage claim, where all the parents were there holding up signs for their sons.  It was touching, and I'll be honest... I was holding back tears, as it had hit me what we all had just accomplished, and that I was a big part of that.  The boys hugged their parents, parents hugged me, and I was so thankful and glad I got each boy back safely.

I was a little sad to say goodbye to the boys and this experience.  My head was reeling from the ride home and all day today on what I could say in my final Spain blog entry.  There's so much that we experienced, but I think what hit home the most was one thing.  When we coach, we educate the kids on the four pillars of soccer, which I believe are advanced to six in the "A" course.  Those six are:
1- Technical - You've got to have a solid technical foundation to be successful, and in Anson Dorance's words, "You can never be technical enough."
2- Tactical - The decisions you make on the field.
3- Physical - You've got to be able to match body for body.  The soft just don't survive.
4- Mental - You've got to be mentally fit as much as physically fit.  As Yogi Berra would say... "Ninety percent of the game is half mental."
5- Fitness - Having the discipline to get your body in shape and prepared to play at your very best.  This aspect is where most players fail because they are too afraid or too lazy to put in the work.  This aspect is where players should THRIVE.  How well your body is conditioned dictates not only how well you play, but how quickly you can think on the field.
6- Lifestyle - How you live is important.  How you take care of your body from the inside out.  Making sure you are properly rested for game days, making sure you get the proper nutrients for performance and recovery, being a student of the game.  Soccer is very much part of the culture in Spain.  Everywhere you turn, you see someone playing.  Part of lifestyle is also how well you prepare.

Coach Neil added a 7th, which I agree with very much.
7- Heart - You've got to play with heart and develop a passion for the game.

The last two are the two that stuck out to me.  My goal is to find a way for people in this valley to embrace soccer as part of their lifestyle.  There's so much more to the game than the game itself.  It's the discipline to train, to eat reasonably healthy, to develop team unity, to make sure you get adequate rest, to purely watch the sport.  The list goes on.  I want to develop a passion in my players that no matter what, they'll run themselves into the ground before they will ever surrender.  To play their hearts out.  I came across this video today, that pretty much sums it all up.

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."

-Henry David Thoreau

EIGHT DAYS OF SPAIN: MADRID DAY 8

Today was another early day.  The two teams each had their final match this morning vs Yuncos FC.  Both teams played extremely well and won 1-0, each game the goals came from a corner kick.

Brandon had a good showing here in Spain.  There were times he loses focus on his defensive shape, but he's worked hard and improved so much.

You can always rely on his strength and played consistent throughout the week.  I'm proud of Brandon's growth and that he's finally gaining and understanding of the relationships on the field and how important it is to stay connected.

Marshall played on the wing, and created a couple of goal scoring opportunities.  He's definitely grown as a player and come out of his shell a bit.  We were teasing him yesterday about his weird hand positions, and joined in the jokes with us.  I hope he'll take this experience and continue to build from it.

Everyone loves Marshall and cheers him on.  He's made an impression on everyone by his thoughtfulness and good attitude and how hard he fights on the field.

James remained as right outside back, and played a great game.  I received so many compliments on the way he played from Kevin Schoensee.  He liked his style.

James really showed his strength this trip.  All the boys loved him, and I know he always made me laugh.  He played a position he's not familiar with, and was solid.  He played every minute here in Spain, and I hope he's learned the value of leadership.

Alex had one of the toughest jobs on the team.  He was relied upon to be the main communicator.  Today he played a defensive center mid, which is a new position to him, but he probably played his best game.  He made sure the team moved together and filled the gaps defensively when necessary.

Like I said, Alex showed tremendous progress these past two weeks.  His touch has improved, his understanding of the game has improved, and he truly values this experience.

Gianni scored again today on a corner kick, and the team played so well as a whole.  The defensive held the shutout, and the boys walked away with a win here in Spain.  They ended up running this team into the ground, as it seems the players here are so amazing technically, but lack in fitness.  The past month and hard trainings last week really payed off this game, and it showed.

The boys made a shirt for Harold, who was unable to come on the trip.  They've really come together and become a team in such a short period of time.

These past two weeks have sort of felt like two months, and I feel like these boys have matured so much, and I hope they bring this experience back home to their team.

After the match we headed back to the hotel for lunch.  Gross pasta again.  I cannot wait to get back home and away from "cafeteria like" food.  I'm getting lunch and Hu Hot!

In the early evening, we headed back to Madrid for a few hours.  I wish they would have given us more time.  When I come back, I'm going to make sure we get a little more time to enjoy the cities we visit.  The boys were also excited to enjoy Starbucks once again.

We ended the evening back at the food court by our hotel, where Neil and I had to enjoy one last trip to Haagen-Dazs.  Together we're the ice-cream dream team.

I've loved being able to spend a little bit of time with the boys each day to stay in their heads.  Today's question:

Sly:  "It's the last day of the trip... what do you think you've learned the most?"  "What was your favorite part of this whole trip?"

Marshall:  "Passing the ball around on the ground and moving and all that."  "Favorite part was winning against the Spanish team."

James: "Discipline."  "My favorite part was Santiago.  Visiting the Real Madrid Stadium."

Alex: "I learned how to receive out of the air better.  I'm better at that than I was before, so I don't know how to describe that as like... 'learning.'  What did I learn???  I learned a LOT."

Sly:  "What do you think is the biggest thing that's changed about your game?"

Alex:  "The different ways to communicate, like the way I communicated as a center back."  "My favorite part about the trip... can I say two?"

Sly:  "Yes."

Alex:  "Okay, so like... just kind of being like with the Utah people and joking, and all the jokes we got, you know... all the fun laughs and jokes we had.  And then... But like the professionalism.  How professional it felt going to the locker rooms to get ready.  And it felt professional riding the busses around, I liked that a lot."

Again... I know I'm a broken record, but I'm so thankful for this experience and a quality group of boys to share it with and to bring back to our club.  To answer my own questions, the things I've learned the most is that I need to trust my instincts more.  I'm really doing everything right, and I need to always have that confidence in myself and not sell myself short.  I've learned a new approach to educating players, which is all "A" Course material, and I've learned that even though less is more... sometimes more is better in the long run.  My favorite part of the trip is the connections I've made with new people, and the boys I brought.  I loved the downtime with Neil and Nikki, where we could joke around and make each other laugh.  I loved the time where I got to wander around the cities with the Utah boys and like Alex said, have our own jokes, and I loved listening to the Real Madrid coaches talk and encourage the boys to open up to different styles of play.  Of course the Spanish style is very possession oriented, which is how I like my teams to play.

"Your body hears everything your mind says."

-Naomi Judd

MADRID DAY 7

Other than having to wake up super early, today was fun.  We had to be down to breakfast by 6:15 a.m. as the boys had their final training at Real Madrid at 8:00.  They warmed up, did some shooting activities today, and ended playing 5v5.  The time went by so fast.

After training, the coaches all had certificates for the boys with their evaluations.  I haven't seen the Bayern boys' yet, but I'll get the low down of where they are at and what they need to improve on.

All the SDI coaches (Coach Neil, me, and Coach Felix) along with the Academy Coaches in the white and light blue, and our ITP guides, Juan in white and black, and Carlos (aka David Villa) in blue.

The Schoensee family, Nikki, Kevin, and Sam.

After training, we headed to the city of Segovia.  I love visiting all these older cities.  The first site we came to was the Aqueduct, which was pretty cool.  The birds flying around were pretty creepy, though.

We visited the castle there, and went up the Tower of John.  It was 152 steps in a very tiny spiral staircase.  I'm not sure what's going on with Brandon's eyes, ha ha.

We spotted Coach Neil and his group below taking pictures.

The three stooges...

This is what the other side of the picture looks like, ha ha.

The view from the bottom.  The girl taking the pic did a pretty bad job, but at least it's something.

The full castle.

We ate lunch at a Cafe, and wandered for a little bit.  The only bad thing was that everything closes in the middle of the day, so we really couldn't buy anything after eating.  I DID make Marshall buy himself a wallet though.  He lost his debit card two days into the trip.  These kids have so much to learn...

After visiting Segovia, we headed back to the hotel where we had a little bit of down time before dinner.  Dinner was again... pasta with their gross "tomato sauce."  It's like eating really bad cafeteria food.

The boys and I agreed that the event of the day would have to be when we were eating lunch in Segovia.  We were out on a little patio on the edge of Plaza Mayor, where it's a big open square.  Well, a lady held her kid up over by a nearby tree, holding both legs and her back against her so her daughter could pee in the middle of the square.  We were all appalled.  That is so gross.  I think there's even a possibility of the girl going "number two."  The mom wiped the girl's backside, then put her shorts back on her.  The girl had to be at least 3.  That's just something you'd never see back home.  At least I hope not.

I spent time in the lobby with Coach Felix, Juan, Kevin, and another parent.  It's so nice to network with people who bring a different perspective to the table.  We're all talking about the possibility of making something work out and meeting up again at some tournaments in the U.S.  I'd love for parents on my teams to meet other parents I've met.  We can all learn so much from each other.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Madrid.  I miss a lot back home, but I'm going to be sad to leave Spain.  It's been fun to communicate as much as I can in Spanish.  I definitely need to keep up with my Spanish when I get back home.  

"I know there is strength in the differences between us.  I know there is comfort where we overlap."

-Ani DiFranco

MADRID DAY 6

Today marked the 12th day we've been away, and I was feeling it a little bit.  I didn't wake up super great, but I've also been up late nights to take care of club stuff and of course updating the blog.  We ate breakfast, luckily it wasn't until 9:00, then got ready to go to Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, which is where Real Madrid plays.  I'll be honest, it was pretty surreal to be there.  To imagine that's where some of the top players in La Liga and Champions League play.  I was disappointed that we couldn't spend more time there to soak everything in, but it was still so awesome to even have the experience at all.

The stadium really is so amazing to step inside of.  They have people mow the grass with push mowers.  That's how much they take care of the field.

We toured all the trophies and memorabilia.  They had some HUGE trophies, but for some reason I didn't get any pictures of it.  I think we were rushed through because we had to be back at the bus at a certain time.  All in all, there was some awesome history we saw.

I'm pretty sure I'm sitting where Ronaldo has been.

This is the SDI group out on the field... sort of.

After the tour, we got about 10 minutes to shop at the Real Madrid super store.  Yeah... that wasn't enough time.

Tonight we had our second matches.  We played against the Real Madrid Tech Camp.  They were good.  I coached the U15 team today, and they had their work cut out for them.  We had some challenges as we battled sickness, injuries, and some Spanish guest players.  We basically played two 35 minutes games.  The first game we lost 2-0.  We just made some defensive mistakes, one created by one of the Spanish players, the second goal was actually offside, but we only had one center ref.  The second game we lost 2-1.  We played better, but again made some mistakes and didn't mark far post, then didn't get proper clearance which led to the second goal.  We had our opportunities as well, but just didn't get it to fall our way.  The Utah/Bayern boys played fairly well.  They each did some good things, but each have some room for improvement.  I'm still proud of them, and can see the growth in their game.  The U14's won their game 3-1.

Here's a group pic after the matches with the opposing U15 teams.

After dinner at the hotel, we had a surprise room inspection.  Each coach supervised a floor as the boys were instructed to wait outside their rooms for Coach Neil to come inspect.  I was assigned the 3rd floor, which only had one of the boys' rooms, along with the coaches' rooms.  This room happened to be Alex's, Ryo's and Nathan's.  They were hilarious.  Alex was pacing the whole time, and Ryo would just drop his head agains the wall.  Nathan was completely oblivious.  Their room ended up not being "bad" compared to some of the others, but it wasn't great, either.  Our goal is to teach these boys to take pride in their lifestyle, and I'm trying to stress the stink factor.  These boys are so smelly.

Not a lot of pics today, but I do have some player interviews.  Here's the questions of the day...

QUESTION 1

Sly: "How do you think you played today?"

Alex: "It could have been better, but I think I fixed what Coach Neil was kind of asking me to do, so that was better improvement."

Marshall: "I think I could have done better.  I should have ran more."

James: "It was good.  I haven't played this position for awhile.... or at all."

Sly:  "You did well... way to step up and fill in."  (James has been playing Right Outside Back)

Alex:  "Saturday Kyle will be back, so..."

Sly: "Yeah, Saturday will be better."

Alex: "Kyle will be playing Outside Back on Saturday."

James:  "REALLY?!"  *Huge smile

Alex:  "That was like... the most excitement I've seen James have ever."

James:  "I want to score in Spain SO bad."

Brandon: "I don't think I did very good, honestly."

Sly:  "Why?"

Brandon:  "Because I was out of position a couple of times, and the outside runner got around me a couple of times as well."

Sly:  "What do you think you did well?"

Brandon:  "I think my short passing was well, and my two touch passing."

QUESTION 2

Sly: "So far, we've got two full days left, what do you miss about home?"

Alex: (without missing a beat) "American television, and free water at restaurants."

Marshall:  "Food."

James: "I don't know... probably nothing.  I miss having coffee in the morning."

Brandon: "Well I've already seen my family, I've done FaceTime.  The only thing I miss, probably would be the dogs."

Sly:  "The dogs?  People don't count, it's the dogs?"

Brandon:  "Yep."

I'll add to what I miss.  I miss my workout schedule and I REALLY miss doing laundry.  I have a need to have clean clothes at all times.  Washing in the sink just doesn't cut it.  I think I miss my shoe collection too.

As frustrated as I may have been at times, the day ended well.  The group from Florida have treated me so well.  Kevin and Nikki Schoensee, who is little Sammy's parents really made my night, as well as Coach Felix.  I walked down to the lobby to get a Kit Kat out of the vending machine, cause chocolate helps me feel better sometimes, ha ha, and there was that group at the bar area chit chatting.  They invited me over, and we got to talking.  Kevin started it off commending me on my job coaching the 15's.  I obviously hate to lose, and didn't take the loss too lightly, but the fact that he saw the adversity I had to deal with was huge.  Coach Felix has been such a huge support as well, and I'm so grateful to be on this journey with him.  I can only hope to continue to build these new relationships that have been formed.  There's so many great people out there.  I'm really lucky to have this experience, and I have Coach Neil to thank for believing in me and trusting me.  Two more days to soak it all in.

"Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you."

-Aldous Huxley

MADRID DAY 5

Today wasn't too eventful.  We woke up (too early), ate breakfast, and headed to the Real Madrid Training Center.  The boys worked on finding their center mid, then played a possession game I run all the time.  Training went by incredibly fast today, though.

We came back to the hotel, had a little down time before lunch.  After lunch, we made the boys all take a little rest time and hopefully sleep for 45 minutes or so to prepare for their match.

The one thing that sucked was both teams were playing at the same time.  I was coaching the U14 team today, so I didn't get to watch the Bayern boys play.  Coach Felix coached the U15's and Coach Neil bounced back and forth between the two teams.  Both teams played a Fundacion Marcet team.  The U15's were actually playing against U17 players, who also play for the Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid Academy Teams.  From what I heard, these players were beasts on the field.  I was able to get someone to take some shots of the boys playing, so that was nice.

How much do you want to bet that those are Marshall's fingers on the bottom right hand corner?

This is the most determined look I've ever seen on Marshall's face.  And look... a Marshall sized opponent.  :)

The U15's ended up losing 3-2, but I heard played well.  The Bayern boys all did well, which makes me proud.

The U14's struggled a bit in the beginning.  We ended up playing 20 minute quarters.  The first 20 minutes was a bit rough.... back up... the WARMUP was a bit rough.  I almost had 2 injuries just playing a possession game with in a minute span of each other.  The boys were pretty on edge.  I called them out, settled them down a bit, before going back into the locker room to change.  Now... the first 20 minutes was rough, partly because we had to make some changes to the line up due to injuries and basically who we could trust on the back line.  It took that time for me to adjust to coaching the boys and figuring them out, and vice versa.  We ended up giving up a goal in the first half, but got it back early in the second half.  By the fourth quarter, I felt like we had it sorted out and I got them to understand their roles a bit better.  The game ended in a 1-1 draw, but we did do a penalty shootout.  I gave my speech about everyone focusing on the one thing they needed to.  If you were a kicker, it was putting the ball in the back of the net, if you were a keeper, just getting one save for the team.  We ended up winning 5-4 in penalties.  Everyone did their job.

That's right... my coaching in action...

We were also a bit lucky as we took the field to play, the clouds came out and cooled off the temps.  Otherwise it's so hot playing on those turf fields.  I even felt a drop or two, but not much past that.

This pic is both teams after they played.  The kids in black are our injured players and little Sam.

We headed back to the outdoor mall for a late dinner.  The boys wanted Chinese tonight, so we hit the buffet.  Coach Neil's dad joined us.  He's a funny guy.  Hard to understand, but still funny.

Tomorrow will be a more eventful day.  We hit Santiago Bernabeu Stadium where Real Madrid plays, then the boys have their second match vs RM tech camp.  The matches are at the same time again, but we may switch it up and have me coach the U15's tomorrow.  You never know what's going to happen with Coach Neil.  Until tomorrow...

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader."

-John Quincy Adams