The first part of our adventure in England was attending a game at Vicarage Road Stadium, watching the home team of Watford FC take on Plymouth. Our seats were at field level with just enough room between the seats and the actual grass. I'm pretty certain that we will never get the chance to be so close to professional player again. Watford is currently in the Championship League, although with pro/rel, it was part of the Premier League only two years ago. The game was an exciting 0-0 draw and it was a great way to battle through jet lag.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Monday, August 28, 2023
England Adventure
On August 11th, Emily and I, along with 100 of our closest Sporting soccer friends, flew to England for a ten day trip to train, play and explore London and Manchester. Although Emily has been talking about this trip for months, I had very low expectations - and boy, was I taken by surprise. We had a really great time on this trip - the training was very high end, the games were excellent and the time spent with our friends was priceless. Follow along for our UK adventures!!
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Connecticut Draft Rescue
This summer, Elizabeth spent between 12-20 hours per week working at a rescue organization for horses. She's loved horses since she was a little girl but we were never able to make the commitment to riding. When she returned from Europe, she was unable to find a place that would hire her for the six weeks before she headed back to college, so this was the perfect solution. She has loved every minute of her volunteer work, even though it is very labor intensive and sometimes, heartbreaking. Elizabeth is already scheduled to work shifts on her breaks and holidays.
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Summer Conditioning
Summer conditioning had a smaller, but just as dedicated group this year. The girls wanted to switch to morning sessions to free up their days, but summer soccer and work commitments prevented the larger group from training together on a regular basis. It was usually Emily and two or three other girls - depending on schedules - three mornings a week. They worked hard and powered through the humidity and bad air quality to bring up their fitness just in time for high school preseason, and our trip to England.
Monday, August 14, 2023
NWC Summer Soccer 2023
For the second summer in a row, the NWC girls soccer team finished undefeated in summer league play. It was a bit more impressive this time around, as they played most games with only 11 players, although they were sometimes lucky enough to have as many as three subs. This regular season starts in about a month, with a new head coach. We are hopeful that Emily's final season at NWC is her best yet.