In January, we had already taken 5 groups away to Austria and Germany to top international indoor 5-a-side tournaments. Over the coming weeks we will share our experiences with you, beginning with the Under 15's trip to Austria from January 1st - 5th.

Friday 1st January

Happy New Year! We left Southend at 9.00am travelling to Stuttgart, where we stayed in a top class Youth Hostel for our overnight pit stop. Tomorrow, we complete the final leg of the journey to Austria. I met the boys before they went to bed to explain the plans for the weekend and set a few house rules.

Saturday 2nd January

We travelled to Austria from Stuttgart driving through the snow! We arrived at 4.00pm and unpacked and sorted our rooms. We found an area at the tournament venue where we could do some movement patterns and co ordination work, this was very important having travelled for so long. We felt physically ready having fuelled and prepared our bodies well for the past few days. The hotel was fantastic; the boys were in rooms of 2 with a beautiful view of the Austrian town of Scharding on the border with Germany separated by a huge river. In the evening we had a team meeting, having discussed Sunday's itinerary and looked ahead to our targets on and off the court, I took the players through a deep relaxation and visualisation activity. Designed to send home an important message, we set a code for our meetings which we all agree to follow all week. The boys demanded that all meetings were serious, with a 'say what you feel' attitude and open minded an honest environment. After 2 long days without football, this was an important activity to re-focus our minds and prepare us for the challenges that lie ahead during the weekend.

Sunday 3rd January - Sonnenland Cup

We left the hotel at 7.45am and changed on arrival to practise on the pitch before the tournament began at 9.15am. We were 3rd on at 9.44 with all games 12 minutes long.

vs. Stuttgart Kickers (won 1-0)

Jedwards scored a lovely goal, driving through the centre before shifting the ball out of his body line and drilling it across goal. It was a 1st performance that we learnt lots from discussing the importance of possession, being calm and clinical and time management. We created chances to kill the game with Mitch and LDV's penalty, but did not take them. Joe played really well in goal making some good saves with his body and looking assured.

Greuther Furth (drew 3-3)

We led in this game 3 times only to be pegged back. It seemed conceding goals had a negative affect on us and threw us off track. We gifted them the equaliser late on and were punished in what was 2 points dropped. I was however pleased with our attacking play, our best yet and the quality of our goals, Mitch scoring twice, once from passing it in and once lifting over the keeper from Lyle's terrific lofted pass before Lyle scored also.

Vs FC Dingolfing (lost 4-0)

I have not seen such a disappointing performance from this group. No energy, no desire to win and a pass the buck mentality in a game littered with mistakes and very little quality in possession. We'd been de-railed!

Vs Eintracht Frankfurt. (lost 3-0)

It was a game which we played well in. We had lots of possession, but were in truth a little naïve tactically with their 3 goals coming off the back of our attacks. I was happier with the performance in possession, but used the evening meeting to front up to the issues going through the team;

1) Does anyone fancy breaking through the pain barrier?
2) The "me first", "I'll do it later" attitude
3) Managing games through time and possession
4) Over obsession with score lines (don't panic it's only important at full time)
5) Defending as a team / individual responsibilities

Monday 4th January - Scharding Tournament

We had an early start. I woke the boys at 6.30am. I knew today would show me a lot about this group of players. I was so pleased that everyone was on time for breakfast, eating big and seemingly 'with it'. I sensed a good feeling, togetherness, a determination. This excited me. With the venue just 5 minutes away we left at 7.40am for an 8.11am kick off.

Vs GAK (won 1-0)

We defended resolutely and improved in the areas highlighted the previous night. Lyle scored a great free kick bending it in the top corner with good disguise. I urged the players to continue, we needed to stay disciplined in our shape as the games came to a close, this was causing us problems. I told them, if you have a job, do it! Too often our front 2 were flat when pressing with no cover.

Vs Karlsruhe (lost 1-0)

Karlsruhe capitalised on an error from Dom in the final minute. What a killer! We played so well. I was pleased with Dom in these 2 games, he played very well today, much more with it. With just 10 minutes between games, we quickly had to re-focus for our next challenge, this helped us with little time to dwell or reflect, we simply had to look forward, think forward and concentrate on what's important now ( a theme from the last night's meeting).

Vs Slavia Prague (lost 2-1)

This was another classic game at this level. Fine margins, the chance that's missed and the mistake that's punished. We took the lead only to be beaten 2-1 by Slavia Prague. It was close and competitive and we played very well. The boys were gutted with mixed opinion afterwards. Joe thought we just weren't as good as these 2 teams, Lyle disagreed. The fact that they weren't making the damaging mistakes and were taking their chances perhaps does put them above us, we must learn. With the table as it was, we had a chance of progressing as one of the best 3rd place teams, but we had to win.

Vs Donnaufeld (won 2-1)

The players dealt so well with that pressure and a 2-1 victory secured us 3rd place in the group, one goal better than them! They showed a never say die attitude, an ability to stay in the game, unlike yesterday, and a knowledge of how to win. I was delighted with their focus, determination and skill level. Ryan put us ahead after 10 seconds. We stayed calm and kept playing. We conceded half way through and using our newly found steel, made sure that the game did not run away from us. We showed both possession and emotional control and when Jedwards scored with 2 minutes to go, had sealed a fine victory off the back of a top performance. We'd done all we could.

The games finished at 9.45am, we relaxed in the hotel and ate in a local restaurant.
With 5 groups and 10 automatic qualification places, the remaining 2 places came from the 2 best 3rd placed teams. All the boys slept in preparation for the next stage. We did not know if we were there yet but prepared as if we were. This group are mature and understand, this is one small example of their professional standards, open mindedness and willingness to succeed.

We found out at 5.00pm that we had qualified, I woke the boys at 4.30pm, met them at 5.00pm to tell them and made our way back to the tournament at 5.15pm for the next stage.

Vs FC Basel (lost 1-0)

We lost in the final minute. Our performance was excellent against yesterday's winners. We played both of yesterday's finalists and lost 1-0 to late goals in both games. FC Basel's GK was the man of the match making some fantastic saves in what was an open and exciting game, which having taken a few minutes to settle in to, we dominated. The draw would've been a great result and put us in a good position, we went for it. A poor choice, we should've seen it out! The players were disappointed, but took it well and fuelled it for future motivation.

Vs Sturm Graz (drew 1-1)

Going 1-0 down wasn't great, but we played some good football and created chances. A late equaliser wasn't enough. We were out. A little game experience and composure in the final third cost us our place in the quarter final. We all felt a little downbeat; we thought we could handle more, could deliver more, and could progress further and that perhaps our performances deserved more points. It ended up being one goal that knocked us out.

We made our way back after a chat and shower and met to discuss our week once everyone had packed.

We left after breakfast at 8.30am for home on Tuesday.

I believe there are some very talented players in the group. We've seen some top performances. What will the year ahead bring, will the teenage lifestyle and all its distractions be too much for them? Will they surrender to peer pressure? Have they got the true dedication to say 'no' and sacrifice certain things to keep developing and performing at this level? Will they make poor decisions, choose the wrong mates, wrong habits?

It seems from discussions both formal, informal, and through performance that this environment has been the platform to develop and learn many new skills. Can they transfer the knowledge back home in a different style of game, with other players, with a more individual lifestyle?

This group have kick started the new decade for Southend United Football Club, the first players to play in club colours in 2010, and a decent start it's been.

Mark Bonner

Squad; Joe Langenhan, Dominic Iorfa, Jack Edwards, Aaron Tatham, Mitchell Pinnock, Jack Bridge, Daniel King, Lyle Della Verde, Ryan Sharman.