We set off on our Super Cup tour to Germany early, leaving Roots Hall at 5am on Friday 4th June.
To many people, 5am would seem like an unearthly time to set out, but with a cloudless blue sky and a stunning rising sun, we decided that we were probably experiencing the best part of the day.
For many of the U9 squad (next seasons U10's), it was their first time away on tour and you could hear the buzz of excitement from within the minibus coupled with the fact that the boys had not seen each other since the end of the season, there was naturally a lot for them to catch up on.
We arrived at the Euro Tunnel terminal at Folkestone in good time and managed to get an earlier train to Calais which seemed to arrive in France in no time at all but gave the boys enough time to stretch their legs. From here we began our 4 hour journey crossing France, Belgium and after a couple of hours, Holland where we stopped for lunch. On our way back to the mini bus from the picnic area we stopped for a competition underneath the pine trees, the boys had 30 seconds to tread on as many pine cones as possible, after a contentious count up we decided that it was too close a competition to call and jumped back onto the mini bus where we continued our journey finally reaching our destination, Dorsten-Hardt, Germany at 2pm German time.
We were greeted by the Dorsten-Hardt locals who put on a lovely continental style buffet of crispy fresh rolls, cheese and ham. It was a much needed snack and a chance for the boys to speak their first words of German to the locals, thanking them for the tasty food. From here we were led to our home for two nights, the local school sports hall. After unpacking and setting out their sleeping areas, the boys changed into their training kit and headed out into the playground to play some street soccer, the 28°C heat we would be playing in over the weekend soon became apparent and the boys had to make sure that they were drinking lots of fluid. Before we headed out to Dinner there was just enough time to fit in an obstacle course time trial relay, another occasion which saw the boy's competitive side come out and another occasion which was very closely contested. Unfortunately, the boys would not let the coaches get out of getting involved. Taking part in a coaches time trial, we struggled to climb the rope wall and manoeuvre though the wobbly rope bridge and miraculously Bonz came out on top, although Stuart and myself are sure there must have been an issue with the stopwatch.
In the evening we headed into town and found a fantastic little Italian Restaurant called 'Mare Monti' where the boys had a high carb fresh meal and juice. It was another opportunity for the players to use their new Germany vocabulary and a perfect venue for our post match meals. After dinner we travelled back to our home for the weekend and prepared for the opening days games with a team meeting before getting some much needed sleep for the big day ahead.
Super Cup Day 1
Our 'Group B' qualifying opponents were VfL Bochum, MSV Duisburg, TuS Hiltrup, RW Ahlen, FC Köln, SV Dorsten-Hardt II and FSV Mainz 05. Saturdays qualifying round would see us play seven 12 minute games, the first being a tough encounter against Bundesliga giants FC Köln. In this game we were too slow out of the blocks leaving too many gaps for FC Köln to play through and the score showed with a 4 - 0 loss. Our remaining group games were: vs SV Dorsten Hardt (Won 6 - 0), vs FSV Mainz 05 (Drew 0-0), vs TuS Hiltrup (Lost 2-0), vs VfL Bochum (Lost 2-0), vs MSV Duisburg (Won 2-0), vs RW Ahlen (Won 3-0).
After returning from the Saturday evening meal, the players took part in a trust and communication session which we had set up in the sport hall. In pairs, one wearing a blind fold and one directing, the teams had to manoeuvre through an assault course and finish off with a strike into a goal to stop the timer. It was good to see the different personalities, the players who directed to their partner quietly and the players who shouted directions to their partner the whole way through. What came out of the session was that it is so important to communicate and there are many ways of doing it, if you want your partner to stop quickly before they hit an obstacle then you need to change the urgency and tone of your voice. Similarly, if you want to give them some simple, non urgent information then the voice may be softer and slower. These lessons transfer to the football field and day two saw a much better use of these skills.
Super Cup Day 2
After the results from the first day we had managed to progress into the last 12 group stage and Day 2 of the Super Cup tournament saw more high temperatures and five more games. In total contrast to the start day 1, the team worked like a well oiled machine closing the ball down as a unit and passing the ball well. Their reward was two good results against two huge Bundesliga sides, they drew 2-2 with VfL Wolfsburg and Won 1-0 against Bayer Leverkusen. The last game in the second round saw us face FC Köln once again and they proved a formidable force beating us 3-1. Learning the hard way, the team missed out on moving to the next stage to play for 1st-9th place by a goal difference of one, proving how important it is to score goals when the opportunity arises and prevent goals being scored when you are under pressure. Our last two games of the tour playing for 10th-12th place saw a 3-1 defeat to FSV Mainz 05 and a 2-0 defeat to VfL Bochum. In reflection on the two days games, we didn't get off to the best first day but the character of the boys came through on day two, with a number of good individual and team performances. The spirit and desire to win the 50-50 challenges was clear to see and the boys got their rewards with some excellent goals.
Before leaving for our journey home we watched the final between Borussia Dortmund and winners Arminia Bielefeld and attended the tournament presentation where Jon Benton took over the microphone to thank the tournament for having us and using a couple of his new found German phrases received a huge applaud from the Local spectators.
The journey home gave the coaches time to reflect on what had been another fantastic tour, an experience that the U9's travelling, many for their first time, would never forget. They will go away from the tour with a better knowledge of the German language, a better understanding of positioning and a realisation of the importance of good technique, drive and spirit. We hope that the independence and maturity displayed and learnt over the weekend will stick with them during their time at Southend United and remain skills that will benefit them for life.
Mark Mason
Technical Development Officer
Squad: Jon Benton, Kieran Stanley, Enrico Barnes, Callum Calder, Toby Donoghue, Jack Lanning, Lewis Martin Octave, Dylan Young, Joseph O'Kane, Max Reeve. Staff: Mark Bonner, Mark Mason, Stuart Fowler.
