The San Jose Earthquakes 02B Pre-Academy group lead by Head Coach Simon Tobin toured England for 9 days and returned with long lasting memories. The tour began on March 25, 2016, when the group of 70, including 25 players arrived in Manchester, United Kingdom. The players were on the move right away and began their competition in the Manchester Easter Cup on March 26.
The players were comprised of two teams, a U14 and U13 team. The U14 team played a year up and competed against teams from Ireland, Cheshire, Knutsford, Lancashire and Yorkshire. The U13 team competed against teams from Derbyshire, France, Staffordshire and Yorkshire and on Easter Sunday the team was awarded a first place trophy for their Plate Championship.
On March 29, the players and families continued their tour as they traveled to the southern portion of the United Kingdom, to Deal, Kent. The players and families enjoyed the ocean view, the quaint the accommodations and the small town hospitality as they used this point as their home base when they traveled throughout the Southern portion of the United Kingdom.
March 30through March 31, the group did some local sightseeing in Deal, toured the Canterbury Cathedral, did some sightseeing throughout Canterbury, they visited London and visited sites such as the London Eye, Tower of London and the London Bridge. The two days also involved soccer, soccer and more soccer for the players. The boys played matches against Sittingbourne FC at the University of Kent. They played matches against local teams in Deal, Deal Town FC and Deal Town Colts. Their final match of the tour was against the West Ham United Academy team, where the match ended in a 3-3 draw.
Friday, April 1st the group traveled to Dover Castle and spent a couple of hours exploring all facets of the castle, some players reaching the top of the Castle. To end the day, the players trained with UEFA Darren Collins at the University of Kent.
Saturday, April 2 the group traveled to Upton Park, Boleyn Ground to watch a Premier League game, West Ham vs Crystal Palace. Prior to the game many visited the team store, and explored the Stadium, as this is the last season the team will play in the current stadium before West Ham move to their new stadium next season. The fan-filled Stadium held more than 30,000 people. It was spectacular to hear the roar of the crowds, and the chants of the people as their cheered their local team on to 2-2 tie.
On Sunday, April 3rd the group rose early for their final English breakfast. They took their last few pictures of Deal and boarded the bus to Heathrow Airport in London and headed home.
