The Arsenal Football Club of PA U13 Boys and U15 Boys teams competed this past summer in the International Yorkshire Cup, August 4th-6th, in England. Teams in those age groups were from England, Ireland and Italy. The player’s families also came along which resulted in a travel group of over 80 people. The teams were coached by Mark Taylor, Dan Brower, and Graeme Dunlap. The Yorkshire Cup was chosen because Coach Taylor is from Huddersfield, where the tournament is held, and played in it 3 years. His team won as U15. The trip was great fun and it was a great experience for all of us, parents too!
We arrived in London July 30th, several days ahead of the tournament to get over the jet lag, to practice, and to do the usual tourist things. Then on August 3rd we were off to the tournament in Huddersfield, a small city in the center of England, east of Manchester.
The U-13 teams played four tournament games against Linthwaite JFC, Littleborough JFC, Hyde Park Knights, and Park Tigers FC. These teams were very skilled and our team performed well in each game and provided their opponents with good competition. The coaches and parents remarked that they improved with every game. After each game the boys presented Arsenal patches to the opposing teams. After the tournament the U-13s participated in a friendly against an Italian team from the other tournament bracket. There was also an impromptu jersey exchange after the match.
The U15B team played 6 games in 2 days against tough competition from English teams from Manchester, Doncaster and Huddersfield This age group in England includes boys whose birthdays January 1st instead of August 1st like in US Youth Soccer. So many of the opponents were a year or older then most of our players. Despite this, the Arsenal U15 Boys won 2 games and were very competitive in the others. The players, and parents, discovered very quickly that soccer (football) is more physical and faster in England. After posting 2 own goals in the first half of the first game and making 3 defensive errors, our players caught on to the difference in the game quickly, so by the 2nd half with Macclesfield (a Manchester team) they were on to it and held that team to only one goal that half. The next game, with Linthwaite (a Huddersfield team) our boys were ready, played a very physical, skilled team and beat them 2-1. In the third game that same day, they gave up an early goal and missed a PK, which would have tied it in the first half. Our boys played better in the 2nd half but ended up with a loss.
On the second day, we played the same teams in the same order with the same outcome. In the first game our boys scored the PK but lost the game. The second game was nil-nil until a free kick lead to our player scoring on a header and winning with only 27 seconds left in the game. By the 3rd game that day, the 6th in 2 days, our team was tired, but put up a good fight against the team that turned out to be a finalist in the tournament.
Playing soccer overseas will most likely be a once in a lifetime opportunity for our boys. The tournament was well organized and staffed by very friendly and helpful people. All of us had fun on and off the pitch, and the players also learned a lot more about playing soccer. We would recommend this tournament and the experience of playing in England to everyone. Also, we wish to give special thanks to our numerous sponsors, especially Giant Eagle, Delp Powder Coating, and Klingensmiths Healthstores for the large monetary gifts, for helping us make the trip possible.
The Arsenal FC is planning the overseas tour to be a semi-annual event and hope to have two teams competing in the Yorkshire Cup next year.
