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 4 of our trip kicked off with a training session conducted by our Staff at Clayton Wood. The players were energetic and had a great warm up along with touches on the ball. The players were able to get back to the hotel and get ready for a day of football at Britannia to watch Wolves at Stoke. We had a great lunch at the Gatehouse where we had pre ordered lunches anywhere from fish and chips to burgers to steak.

We departed the Gatehouse for our tour of Britannia Stadium which started at 2 PM. The tour was led by guides who were knowledgeable of the history and all components of the stadium. One of the highlights of the tour was the Stoke City locker room. The players were able to take photos next to their favorite player's jersey and to sit in their locker. U12 player AJ Seals stated,"It was fascinating to see the players uniforms and to see the kind of boots they wear. I thought it was cool to imagine what it is like for a pro player to be in the locker room before the game."

After the tour, we began to feel the anticipation of kick off. Fans began to fill the stadium to watch Wolverhampton take on our Stokies. We began to take our seats which were mostly front row, right next to the tunnel the players come out of. Wolves came out with a goal early in the first half. Stoke quickly equalized with a shot from the big German, Huth.

Halftime provided for a once in a lifetime experience where all the players were introduced at half field and then paraded around the perimeter of the field waving at the fans. The Stoke fans loudly applauded our players as their team photo flashed on the big screen.It was truly a special moment.

Second Half, very much like the first half, was a very direct football match. The tie score was broken when tall and lanky, Peter Crouch, out-jumped a Wolves defender in the box and headed in the game winner. The win was a fantastic ending to our day. We now look forward to the Manchester United/QPR match at the Theater of Dreams,Old Trafford.

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