And what a crazy weekend that was...

Well where to begin? The last few days have been a little mad and frantic to say the least. It was that one weekend in the year where teams from all over congregated at the annual Bispham Juniors Football Federation tournament. Apparently the club I coach at holds the largest tournament in Europe for grassroots football, with over 350 teams participating throughout the 3 day event. Having had a gruelling 5th week at Birlow Soccer Camp I decided that Saturday would be spent 'relaxing' having a good old mong day doing nothing but place a few bets and watching the football scores roll in. I was actually supposed to be at the event on Saturday however didn't as I was in desperate need to recharge my batteries.

For some reason I woke up with the intentions of making the Sunday a memorable day and had a taste for alcohol early in the morning while seeing a cheeky offer on Budweiser at Tesco's on the way to the tournament. I decided against buying them and drinking through the day and spent my day mainly on a stall called beat the keeper. Kids and adults would pay one of the Queens finest pounds to take 3 penalties against a goalkeeper in 7 a side goals. That lucky keeper was me! If the player was able to score 3 out of 3 penalties they would double there money and in return get 2 quid. 2 out of 3 meant the players money was refunded and had the opportunity at another 3 attempts. score less than 2 and the money went into the clubs coffers!
I spent a good four hours in goal diving around putting my body on the line. After all the diving around it was suggested that me and a few close friends went to the pub for a quiet couple of drinks. In my head there was only going to be one outcome. TOWN!

so we went to the Hoar's Bed casually drank for a few hours. Everyone after a little Whitters persuasion decided while the pub had closed the night was still very young and we headed into town after a few poses by a push bike and basket recreating a very famous scene from a film about an extra-torresterial. Many funny things happened that night including me throwing up on a friend, eating the wrong order in the takeaway and meeting a friend who had just walked away from the casino with 1400  pounds and ending the night with a fiver after indulging in expensive bottles of champaign in Revolution.

Having been carried away with the night 4am soon rolled by and we needed to be up in 4 hours as it was the day of our teams tournament journey. As a coach I feel very blessed to have such a talented bunch of players and great group of lads. I have watched these young lads develop from their very first steps in football, having coached a lot of them since the age of 5 and 6 to where they are now (aged 9 going on 10). In a sense I do feel like an older brother to all of them, something which is quite strange to me being an only child but in a good way, in another way I feel I have the responsibility as a male role model for them with a few being unfortunate through no fault of their own to have an absent father. In a way I imagine that's what being a dad feels like shallowed down, Im still too young in my opinion to even consider the thought of a child, but im sure I was just as proud as each parent stood there in the rain today.  I enjoy teaching them what I know about the game I love. Many of my players will go on to have a far greater ability to play the game then myself but hopefully in years to come they will look back on there early experiences of football and will remember the part I have had in their development as not only players but also young people. Each individual brings something different to our squad, whether it be a mature head on young shoulders, brutal physical strength, flair and natural talent or the ability to produce at times outrageous banter. Especially for 9 and 10 year olds! There is a special bond there between all our coaching team and the players. The coaches go through every up and down with the boys whether it be success or disappointment.

Today I witnessed our blues team narrowly miss out on qualifying for the knockout stages having looked strong in the early stages. The whites team however did manage to progress, both teams playing a high standard of football beyond their chronological ages. The whites progressed through to the semis after a nail biting penalty shootout which would see us pitted against one of our rivals in the local area, YMCA. Amazingly after going a goal behind our captain inspired the rest of our team to fight back ending the game 2-1 winners going into the final of our own tournament.After a close 15 minutes the teams were locked at 0-0 and went into yet another penalty shootout for the trophy. Unfortunately we were beaten from the spot on this occasion and there was a few sad faces at the end of the game and the players that missed did need a reassuring arm around them, but as in all things in life you dust yourself off and go again. There is no doubt in my mind that these boys can go on to be very successful on and off the pitch. WELL DONE TO ALL MY PLAYERS TODAY YOU WERE OUTSTANDING. I for one am very very very proud of each and everyone of you!

What an eventful weekend... 

Ciao x