Greg Brick, Director of Coaching for Orlando City Youth Soccer, will be checking in regularly from England as the OCYS group tours, trainings, and plays against some of England’s best youth teams. 

Day 2 - Liverpool & Everton Academy

The Orlando City Youth Soccer Group started their second day of their UK Tour with a trip to Liverpool. We visited Albert Docks, home of the famous Beatles Museum. Players and parents were able to visit local shops and had lunch at the Docks. The weather warmed up from the previous day and provided for a beautiful day out.

The players waited in anticipation for their visit to the famed Everton Youth Academy. As we approached the "Ground" ,the excitement built as we saw manicured fields and a state of the art clubhouse. Each team was escorted to their respective locker rooms to prepare for their experience. Under 10 Player Zach Perry, stated,"The locker rooms and fields were beautiful and knew the teams were going to be very good."

The Under 8 and 9 players were the first group to step out onto the Everton's Astroplay pitch for a unique opportunity to be trained by the Everton Staff. The Staff gave rave reviews of the technical ability of our younger players. Executive Director Brian Pederson stated,"Our young players really enjoyed training on the grounds at Everton. Soccer is a great game, and to see our players smiling and training well in a quality session was very pleasing."

Our Under 10 and 11 group played a very strong Under 10 Everton Academy team. Coach Craig Melton stated," The level of play of Everton's 10 year olds was higher than any 10 year old group I have seen. The experience was fantastic for our young players."

Orlando City's Under 12/13 team faced an Everton Academy Under 11 team.

"These young Academy players play well beyond their age,” said Brick.

With the score tied 0-0 at half, Orlando City's 12/13's played a very high level of football against the younger team and the game opened up to a 5-0 win for our boys. The score was not a real indication of the level of play of the game. It was a fast tempo, high pressure match where both teams were forced to play very quickly.

Brick explained," I told our boys to not underestimate the statement they made for American soccer today. Our kids were undoubtedly challenged by the younger team, but did not waiver from their possession style of play, and creation of scoring opportunities. Our defensive play was quite impressive against a highly skilled team."  

All groups enjoyed a nice trip home to Stoke on Trent at the end of the day. Our group gets prepared for a full Friday, starting with the experience of watching Stoke City's First Team prepare for Wolverhampton.

The 2012 OCYS England Trip:
Day 1 - Arrival
Day 2 - Liverpool & Everton Academy
Day 3 - Stoke City & Newcastle Town
Day 4 - Stoke City vs. Wolves at the Brittania
Day 5 - Man U vs. QPR at Old Trafford
Day 6 - The Dome