Toddy Goes Stateside

What started off as a pipe-dream last winter, finally became reality this week when Chris Todd, the outstanding find of last season, flew into Philadelphia Airport.

Day 2: Sunday 24th June 2001

It's late Sunday night here - or 4:00am at home!.

I remember looking at my bed last night with deep longing, but I don't remember anything after that until I woke this morning. It did not take long for me to realise that I was in a bed & breakfast that, if it were in the U.K., would be a 5-star. Definitely! 5-star in every way.

During breakfast, the Amish and Mennonites (religious people who will not use certain modern conveniences like cars or electricity) were on their way home from religious services. A steady stream of horse-drawn buggies went past our front porch. Again it was like watching a live performance of scenes from the, "Witness."

Today was a combination of "jet lag day," brief tour of the area, visit to the training ground and other training facilities, planning for Monday's camp, and the "Sponsors Dinner."

The training ground is about the area of a football playing area, and the pitch is in near-perfect condition. We have practised and played on many much worse.

We also visited the school's Stadium, which is used exclusively for football -- 5 games a year for American football, 8 games a year for Boys soccer, and 8 games for Girls soccer. The pitch was superbly cared for and showed it.

I had a tour of Mifflinburg High School, with emphasis on our camp facilities. The very spacious Gymnasium and Auxiliary Gym will be our indoor ground in case of very bad weather or thunderstorms. The Coaches' Changing Room and the Boys and Girls Changing Rooms look just like they do in the films.

We met Laura, the Physio (called a "trainer" over here), who showed us the Training Room, which had a "whirlpool" in a corner. This is a large bathtub-like device in which warm or cold water can be made to circulate at various speeds, and is used to ease muscle and ligament injury. She told me that nearly every Training Room in the US has one, and that they are in use most of the time. (Whaddya think of that Rich?)

Tony told me that he has known and worked with many Trainers in his years of coaching, and Laura is one of the best. He told me that it is not unusual to have a woman physio in the US. Don't know what the lads at the Vetch would make of that - we're used to Rich Evans and his cold hands :-)

She was kind enough to offer me the use of the school's Weight Room every day, and I accepted.

For lunch, I had my first "hoagie." Popular across the States, but under different names, it's closest food item is the baguette du jour. I am learning that I'm involved in a serious eating exercise. And enjoying it.

For most of the afternoon, I worked on specific planning for our training sessions. We're working on individual skills, but with an emphasis on team skills.

Four school coaches -- Boys and Girls, High School and Middle School -- will be working with me, and all are keen to get started. This is a sports-mad town, which is reflected in the enthusiasm for this camp.

In the evening, I attended the Sponsors Dinner at a nearby restaurant. (By they way, they call "dinner" "lunch," and they call "supper" "dinner." Just a little confusing.) I had a lovely steak. I met the school's coaches, as well as the school's Headmaster (a former footballer and coach himself, and presently a college-level official), and his boss, the Superintendent of Schools.

We talked football over dinner, not surprisingly! They were very eager to learn about our youth system and peppered me with questions. Everyone had a pleasant time.

Earlier in the day, during what you seem to imply is the "vacation" part of my stay here, I visited a Weis "supermarket" which can best be described as an American Tescos, and looked at a Walmart store, similar to Wilkinsons. I could not believe some of the prices! Some items are incredibly cheap compared to back home.

We also visited a "flea market." This is hard to describe. It's an American combination of Clydach Market, a boot sale, and a jumble sale. One of the things that struck me was the farmer who sold watermelons broken into two groups -- large and small. The "small" ones were just a little smaller than the "huge" ones.

On the way back from the Sponsors Dinner, at night, we passed several fields ablaze with "fireflies." I hadn't seen these before and didn't know they existed. They are hard to describe. Imagine a light show spread across dozens of acres. Imagine that the light show consists of tiny green-phosphorescent lights appearing suddenly out of the blackness, glowing for 2 or 3 seconds, then fading to black. Imagine that while appearing and glowing, the lights move upward, then to one side or another, before fading. The sparkling, moving blanket of tiny lights is an amazing sight.

It's not difficult to see why small children could think they were fairies.

They show up in early Summer and are gone in a few weeks, only to return the next year.

Well, Gary, I'm beginning to sound like my old biology teacher, so it's back to bed, looking forward to my first day of camp.

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