Once all the players, parents and chaperones arrived, we went to the field to train briefly prior to the Opening Ceremonies, which were attended by over 400 players from 28 teams from Rush clubs across the country. It was very cool to see all the players representing various states.
On Thursday, we had a very full day, beginning with the boys team beating New Mexico Nike and the two girl's teams splitting, beating Texas Swoosh and losing to Pikes Peak Nike. The Virginia kids clearly had the most support from one another, with goal celebrations, 'ole' cheered for consecutive passes and even lending support for other Rush clubs in need.
Following the games, we had lunch at the fields, then went to Target to get out of the sun. The boys then went back to the fields to train, the girls to the classroom on a talk on what it means to be a Rush Player. The two groups then swapped, with the girls training and the boys learning in the classroom.
Between the afternoon sessions, we had a special guest, Kevin Hartman. Kevin is the goalkeeper for the Kansas City Wizards and has seen some National Team games. He will be tending the net against Beckham, Donovan and the LA Galaxy on Saturday. There is good chance some of our players will be invited to join the players in the tunnel prior to the game.
We returned to the hotel for some pasta dinner and some swimming followed by phone calls home and bed. All the player seem to be settled in nicely, with anxiety waning, excitement building and the boy's rooms stinky and messy.
Look for some photos as soon as I can figure out how to get them off the new phone.
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