Day 6 - Gameday!  USA defeats Costa Rica 6-0
(Kate subs into match at 57 minute mark)
7/18/08

Today we woke up at 8:15am for an 8:30 breakfast in the meal room.  After breakfast we had down time until 1:00pm!  Courtney and I watched a few movies on TV and took a long nap!  We went to lunch in the meal room, and had a meeting with the coaches about the starting line up and about how they wanted us to play.  From the meeting we went to get our U.S. uniforms!  It was so amazing to finally put one on and everyone was so excited!  We met down in the lobby to leave for the game at 2:30pm where everyone was smiling and taking pictures.  We got on the bus and drove to the field.  Once we got there we went into the locker room that was just big enough to fit us all.  We could hear the Costa Rican team playing music and dancing in their locker room across from us.  We had about 30 minutes to just hang out before we were supposed to get ready to warm up. While we were in the locker room, the CONCACAF inspectors came and made sure that we looked appropriate, and then one of the referees checked our shin guards, credentials, and our numbers.  We were told that we only had about 25minutes to warm up on the field so Kaz came in the locker room and we did a little warm up by jogging in place and stretching.  After we did the mini warm up, we put on our cleats and headed out to warm up on the field.  We did some volleys, passing, juggling, played keep away, and took some shots on goal.  After the warm up we went back to the locker room before we had to walk out and do the walk on my adrenaline was pumping and I was so happy and excited!  We all got in a line and walked to the field where the starters did the international walk on.  They played the national anthem of Costa Rica and then our national anthem!  The game was so cool! It was amazing to play a team from another country and they were all speaking Spanish!  We won the game and scored six goals.  After the game we had to quickly get off the field so that Trinidad and Tobago could play El Salvador.  We went back behind the locker rooms where there was a small patch of grass to do our cool down.  I could barely stretch because I was still so pumped up from the game.  After our cool down we collected all of our gear and could either go to the bus or talk to relatives if they were at the game.  We rode back to the hotel and quickly got changed for our 8:00pm dinner.  After dinner we were instructed to get a nice ten-minute massage on our legs to help them recover from the game. It felt so good!  Our curfew was 10:30pm and Courtney and I watched TV until then.

 

Kate (7) with Rachel Nuzzolese (23)

Click here for the CONCACAF article on the match, or here for US Soccer article.

Day 7 - Practice and the pool

7/19/08

Today we woke up at 8:15am for an 8:30 breakfast.  After breakfast we had about an hour and a half to relax and digest our food until we had to get ready for practice.  We picked up our uniforms at 10:00am in the equipment room and went back to our rooms to get ready.  Everyone met downstairs in the lobby at 10:30 to head off to training at 11:30.  When we got to the field, El Salvador was just finishing their practice so we waited by the locker rooms until they finished.  While we waited Kaz told the people who played in the game individually what he thought they did well or might not have done well in the game.  Once Kaz had gotten through a couple of people, El Salvador finished on the field and we were told that we could start our practice, so Kaz decided that we would finished meeting later.  At practice we did a warm up where Kaz would point in different directions and we would have to go run forward, backward, and shuffle side to side according to the direction that his finger pointed.  At one point Kaz told us to go the opposite way that he pointed.  For the first couple of finger points we all had it, but after a while we were all going in different directions and were getting very confused!  After our warm up we did some ball work then we split the group.  One of the groups shot with Kaz, while the other played 3 vs. 3 the penalty box.  We then all came together to play a half field scrimmage.  After practice we boarded the bus to go back to the hotel.  Back at he hotel we were instructed to go in the pool to loosen our leg muscles.  At first the water was cold but we all got used to it and were swimming around for about five or ten minutes.  We got out and turned in our uniforms to be washed and then had lunch at 1:30pm.  After lunch we hung out in our rooms for a couple hours.  It was the usual for Courtney and I…. watch TV and sleep!  We got a phone call from Amy Griffin to meet in the meal room at 5:00pm to play a game with the team.  The game was charades and we were split up into teams to pick a noun and act it out.  By the time someone was acting out the last thing we were all jumping out of our seats and getting so into the game.  After charades we went back to our rooms until dinner at 6:30pm.  After dinner it was back to the usual of TV and napping and at 10:30pm my roomie and I were lights out!!

Check out http://ynt-ussoccer.blogspot.com/ for more stuff with pictures from Trinidad.

Today we woke up at 8:15am to head town to breakfast at 8:30.  After breakfast we had down time until a 12:00pm lunch.  Courtney and I watched some more TV and took a nap until lunch.  After we ate, the coaches Amy, Skender, and Kaz told us the line up and finished the meeting from the previous day.  We were so excited for the second game and couldn’t wait to put on the uniforms again!  We got our equipment at 1:00pm directly after the meeting and quickly got ready to leave the hotel at 1:30pm.  We boarded the bus and because El Salvador was in the same hotel they boarded the bus next to ours and both teams headed to the field with a police escort.  When we got to the field, we had to wait in the locker rooms for about a half hour before the referees inspected us.  Just like the game on Friday, the refs checked out cleats, credentials, and our numbers.  After the refs left, we put on our tennis shoes and did some jogging in place and stretching.  We waited a few more minutes before we filed out to do our warm up on the field.  On the field we did some passing and moving, keep away, and then some shooting and before we knew it, it was time to get off the field and get ready for the walk on.  We went back to the locker rooms and everyone was excited and ready to go, but we had to wait five minutes before we were permitted to do the walk on.  Finally it was time to go out on the field! We walked out single file with El Salvador and lined up on the field.  They played the national anthem of the U.S. and then the national anthem of El Salvador.  After the national anthem we shook hands with the El Salvador team and the referees and then it was game time!  The game was just as much fun as the game on Friday and it was a great experience to play a team that was not from the U.S.  We finished the game with a nine to zero win over El Salvador.  After the game, we went to our little patch of grass and stretched out.  From our cool down we gathered our bags and went into the stands that were almost all full, and watched the first half of the Trinidad and Tobago vs. Costa Rica game.  At half time we boarded the bus and took off with a police escort to the hotel.  At the hotel we turned in our uniforms and went down to dinner, we were all starving!  While we were eating, the team manager, Amy Colquhoun told us that Kaz wanted us to jump in the pool to loosen up our legs.  We were not very excited to jump in the pool but we had to!  We were all freezing by the time we got back to our rooms where we took a hot shower and went to get a quick ten minute massage in the equipment room before going to bed at our 10:30pm curfew.

Click here for the CONCACAF article on the match, or here for US Soccer article describing the win.

Day 9 - With semis clinched, a day of rest
7/21/08

Today we woke up at around 8:15 to head on down to our buffet breakfast on the first floor. I had the usual: some cornflakes, lots of fruit, bacon and French Toast! After breakfast.  Courtney and I went back up to our room on the ninth floor where she took a  morning nap and I got in some quality TV time. At about 11:15 we got a call from our manager, Amy, who informed us that we were to go upstairs to the twelfth floor to watch a video in fifteen minutes. We headed upstairs to see what our entertainment for the afternoon would be.  It turned out that our game against Costa Rica had been filmed and Kaz, who wanted us to watch it in order to gain the necessary information to improve our game as a team as well as individually! It was definitely a nice break, as we were all tired from our game the previous day, and it was cool to be able to sit and watch our own games from a different perspective. After the film, we got ready to go out to a small theatre and shopping center called Movietown for the rest of the day. At Movietown we walked around for a bit, looking in a couple stores, and then stopped by Ruby Tuesday’s for a familiar dinner! Once we got back, we went to the equipment room, played a little guitar hero and went down to dinner, (mandatory even though we all just ate). A little while after dinner, Court and I went downstairs to get a massage from the massage therapist Ally! After the massage, we headed back up to the room, relaxed and at 10:30pm we were both fast asleep.

Day 10 - USA defeats Trinidad & Tobago 9-1
(Kate subs into match at 74 minute mark)
7/22/08

Today we woke up at 8:15am to go down to the buffet breakfast on the first floor.  After Breakfast it was back to the usual of napping and watching soap operas and other shows on TV.  This continued until about 12:00 when Courtney and I got hungry and set out on a quest to find food!  We had a quick snack and were informed that we were supposed to stretch as a team at 1:15pm, before lunch at 1:00pm.  After we finished eating the usual, pasta, bread rolls, and chicken, we had a meeting with the coaches.  They told us the starting line up and gave us a little pump up speech.  After the meeting we had another hour to relax before we got our uniforms from the equipment room.  After getting gold and navy blue uniforms, we went and got changed and ready to leave for the game.  We met in the lobby at 4:30pm and boarded the bus.  Today we had a huge bus! It was probably the tallest bus I’ve ever seen!  We had a police escort to drive us to the game and we were all amazed at how the police car turned on it’s sirens and we were weaving easily through traffic to get to the game as fast as possible on the busy Trinidad streets.   When we got to the parking lot, we weren’t surprised that the massive bus didn’t fit, so we grabbed our gear off the bus and went into the stands to watch Costa Rica and El Salvador, who had just started the first half.  Just before half time we walked down to the locker rooms and put on all of our equipment to be inspected by the refs.  After the refs checked our credentials and shoes, we did our mini warm up in the locker room.  We were all so excited and it was hard for us to focus while we jogged in place and did some stretching exercises.  After we did the locker room warm up, we quickly laced up our cleats and walk over the practice field, which had since been mowed and cleaned up from the our first day in Trinidad.  We did some passing drills, some shooting, and keep away before our 25minutes was up and we had to head back to the locker rooms.  It felt like we were in the locker rooms for about ten minutes, but it was more like five, until we walked out the field, heard the national anthems, and started the game.  From the minute the whistle blew to start the first half, the Trinidad and Tobago band started to play and it was hard to communicate with anyone over the sound of the drums.  The game was amazing and it ended in a nine to one victory over Trinidad and Tobago! The stands were packed and everyone was screaming! Playing with the girls on the National team is so much fun! They are so talented and are all great people off the field.  The goals that were scored were so amazing and I had my jaw dropped for most of them.  The Trinidad and Tobago team was skilled as well and was a very athletic team.  After the game, we headed back to the locker room and cooled off for a few minutes before doing a stretch!  We walked out of the locker rooms to meet our parents and board the giant bus, which was waiting around the corner from the field.  We rode the bus back to the hotel, again with the police escort.  Once we got back we were instructed to change and turn in our uniforms and then jump in the pool before dinner.  We were not excited to jump in the pool but it wasn’t so bad once we were in!  We quickly went back up to our rooms to change again and had to rush to eat dinner before they restaurant in the lobby closed at 10:30pm.  Court and I ate pretty fast, showered, and got to sleep a little after 11:00pm.

USA will play Mexico on Thursday in the semi-finals.   Click here for US Soccer article on the win.

Day 11 - "Prepping" for semi-final
7/23/08

Today we woke up at 8:45am to have breakfast downstairs at 9:00.  Once we had finished with breakfast, Courtney and I went back up to our room for a little bit and relaxed.  At 10:00am we went to get our uniforms for practice and went back upstairs to get ready.  We met the team in the lobby of the hotel to leave at 10:30 for an 11:30 practice.  We boarded the bus…we didn’t have the big bus today, and rode the long ride to practice.  At the fields, we were informed that we couldn’t practice on the turf so we went over to the practice field just around the corner.   We laced up our cleats and got ready to train.  At practice we did some passing drills, 4 vs. 4, and some juggling games.  After practice we rode the bus back to the hotel, ran quickly upstairs to change, and then did our usual pool routine.  We were a little more enthused about the pool today!  After we did our pool work out, we went back up to our rooms to change and then ran downstairs for lunch!  Court and I were very hungry!  At lunch we had the usual, pasta, rolls, and chicken, and then we went to our rooms to relax!  I bet you can’t guess what we did during this time!  At about 5:30pm we got a call from our team coordinator, stating that we were supposed to go up to the twelfth floor and watch video of our game vs. Trinidad and Tobago.  Even though I had already seen the game my mouth still dropped at some of the goals that were scored!  While we watched the video, Kaz commentated on a few things that we could have done better and what we should do to play our best against Mexico in the semifinals.  After the video, we went down to eat dinner at 6:30pm.  After dinner we went back to our rooms until we got a call at about 8:00pm that everyone was playing games in the meal room.  When we got down to the meal room, there was a table full of girls playing spoons and a table playing apples to apples.  Courtney, Taylor Vancil, and I started a game of UNO.  We only got through a couple of intense rounds of UNO before we were kicked out of the meal room by the hotel staff.  After our game time, we went back up to our rooms, got ready for bed, and were fast asleep by 10:30pm.

Day 12 - US Team defeats Mexico 1-0 in Semi-final
7/24/08

Today we woke up at 8:45am for a 9:00 breakfast at the hotel.  After breakfast we had until 2:00pm to relax and do what we wanted in our rooms.  At around 1:00pm, Courtney and I went on another food quest to help solve our boredom and our hunger.  At 2:00pm we had lunch at the buffet and while we were waiting for Kaz to finish his lunch we went outside to do a stretch next to the pool.  After our poolside stretch, we found a nice quiet area outside for Kaz to tell us the starting line up and what he expected.  After the pep talk, we headed back up to our rooms.  Court and I felt like we had enough time in our room so we went to the equipment room to just hang out!  After awhile in the equipment room we got our uniforms and went back to our room to change and put everything in our bags that we needed.  At 4:40pm we met the team in the lobby to leave for the game.  Once we got to the fields we had a lot of time, so we watched the first and a little of the second half of the other semifinal game with Costa Rica and Canada.  Amy, our coordinator was nice enough to make us all peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so we ate while we watched the game. When it was time to get ready, we went down the stadium stairs and into the locker rooms.  We put on our shin guards, cleats, and credentials to be checked by the refs and then it was time to do our locker room warm up.  We did the usual, jogging in place and stretching and then it was time to do our field warm up.  When we were playing keep away, the rain started up all of the sudden and within minutes we were all soaked!    After our 25minutes was up, we jogged back to the locker rooms, leaving puddles of water in our wake.  After a few minutes, we walked back on the field, the national anthems played, and then the game started.  The Mexican national team was a very good team and it was a close game but we finished in a 1-0 win by scoring in the last minute of play.  After the game we were all so excited because we won and because we had just qualified for the World Cup in New Zealand!  We did a nice stretch, gathered our things from the locker room, and then boarded the bus.  We got back to the hotel at about 10:15pm and rushed to get changed so we could eat before the buffet closed at 10:30.  After our late dinner, we went back to our rooms, showered, and went to bed.

The US Under-17 Women’s Team has qualified for the U17 World Cup in New Zealand after defeating Mexico today 1-0, and qualifying for the final.  Crystal Dunn scored the game-winner in stoppage time! Click here for article on the victory over Mexico.

The CONCACAF Under-17 Championship final will be on Sunday, with the USA playing Costa Rica, who defeated Canada today 2-0. Since the US has already finished in the top 3 in Trinidad, Kate and the US U17 National Team are New Zealand bound.

Day 13 - A day at the beach
7/25/08

Today we woke up at 9:15am!  We ate breakfast at 9:30 at the buffet.  After breakfast we went back up to our rooms to have our daily TV and naptime until lunch at 1:30pm.  We had lunch in the buffet and after we ate we had a quick meeting about nutrition.  From our meeting we rushed upstairs to get changed for the beach!  At 2:15 we boarded the bus and made our way into unfamiliar territory from the usual bus ride to the fields and back.  We were all mesmerized by change in scenery.   It wasn’t long before we made our way from the busy city that we were so used to, to the winding roads entangled in the mountains.  The bus took us higher onto the mountaintop and it was a beautiful ride!  We stopped at a sight seeing spot and took pictures about a half hour into the bus ride and then stopped fifteen minutes later at a place not only good for sightseeing, but also where there were a few street vendors and a shop where they sold a whole bunch of exotic foods like spiced pineapple and other tropical treats!  A little while after the second stop we arrived at the beach.  The beach was much better than I expected and was probably the best beach I have ever been to.   Once we stepped on the sand we were all so anxious to get in the water.  The water was so warm and we all body surfed for a long time.  I felt like I wasn’t really riding the waves but I was just getting bowled over by them.  By the time we got out of the water I had sand everywhere!  After bodysurfing there were a few men selling bracelets on the beach and we all bought a couple as souvenirs.  After our beach bargaining, we went back to catch the bus and we took the long ride through the mountains.  When we got back to the hotel, we were all salty from the water so we jumped in the shower before our 7:00pm dinner at the buffet.  After dinner we headed up to the twelfth floor to watch video of our game vs. Mexico.  We watched the first half and then the last 15minutes of the game and talked about what we could do better.  After watching the video, Kaz recapped about what he expected from us and how it is important to be great both on and off the soccer field.  After the meeting, Courtney and I went back to our room, watched some TV, and fell asleep by 10:30pm.

Day 14 - Day before the final
7/26/08

Today we woke up at 8:15am for an 8:30 breakfast.  After breakfast, Court and I went back to our room on the ninth floor and watched a movie on TV.  At about 10:30am we got a call from Olivia Klei, who is a player from California, to come and think of what to do for our skit.  Earlier in the week, both Amys  (Colquhoun and Griffin) made groups by splitting us into regions and told us to make up skits to perform later in the week.  Today on the schedule it said we would be performing our skits so we left the planning of our skit until this morning! After we hung up with Olivia, we went down to her room to meet up with Sam Johnson, Tani Costa, and Cloee Colohan, all girls from region IV.   We had no idea of what to do, so we ended up watching some more TV until we could think of something!  We finally decided on a rap song involving some of the high lights of the trip and of the past training camps.  We spent the rest of the time until our 12:30 lunch rehearsing or skit.  After lunch in the buffet we went back to our rooms for a bit and then went down to the equipment room to grab our uniforms.  We left for our 3:00pm practice at 2:00.  When we got to the field, Kaz wanted us to all get together for a formal team picture so we put on our gold uniform tops and smiled for about a dozen pictures.  After the pictures, we changed back into our blue training tops and played 5 vs. 2 keep away and did some passing drills.  From the passing drills we split the group and half did shooting with Kaz, while the other half played 5 vs. 5 with Skender and Max, the equipment manager.  From there we came back together to play a game with four goals and then we did a half field scrimmage.   We did a little stretch and then boarded the bus to head back to the hotel.  When we got back we dropped the equipment off and jumped in the pool. After about ten minutes in the pool, we headed back to our rooms.  After about a half hour, Court and I got another call to go and practice our skits in Olivia and Cloee’s room.  We rehearsed our rap and than were eager to get down to dinner because we were all so hungry!  After dinner we went back to our rooms until 8:00pm when we all came together to perform our skits.  Each region performed and then the staff surprised us with a skit of their own.  It was hilarious!  They put nametags on of different girls on the team and of other staff members and imitated them.  We all laughed so hard and wanted an encore!  After our skit night we headed back to our rooms to relax and get ready for bed before we turned the lights out at 10:30pm.  Courtney and I were excited for tomorrow not only for our game but to be able to say tomorrow we are going home!!

Day 15 - Final against Costa Rica
(Kate plays 80 minutes on way to championship)
7/27/08

Today we woke up at 8:45am for a 9:00 breakfast.  After breakfast we had until 2:00pm to relax in our rooms.  At around 12:00pm, Courtney and I got really hungry so we raided Olivia and Cloee’s room, which was conveniently loaded with snacks.  With snacks in hand, we headed back to our rooms to wait for lunch.  After we ate lunch we had our pre game talk.  Kaz told us the starting line up, told us how we could be the first U-17 Concacaf champions, that we had already done a great job, and to keep up the good work.  After our meeting we all headed up to the equipment room to pick up our white uniforms.  At 3:30pm we met in the lobby to board the bus.  We left for the fields with police escort and got there shortly after we left the hotel.  We had so much time before our game that we watched the first half and part of the second of the game with Canada vs. Mexico.  A little bit after the second half we headed down to the locker room to get focused for our own game.  We put on our shin guards and our cleats to be checked by the refs and then it was time for our “mini” warm up in the locker room.  When we had finished our little warm up, we stretched and got ready for the field warm up.  When we were permitted to use the field, we quickly got into our passing drills, and then played keep away and finished with some shooting.  Our 25minutes was up and it was time to play the championship game!  We waited in the locker room until we were allowed to line up for the walk out, my stomach was in knots! I was excited and nervous at the same time.  We finally walked out to the cheering of the crowd and stood waiting for the national anthems to play.  They played the U.S. national anthem first, then the Costa Rican, both teams shook hands and then we were ready to play.  Just a few minutes after the whistle blew, we scored, which was a huge relief!  Costa Rica played a good game and scored on a free kick in the second half.  We finished in a four to one win over Costa Rica!  After the game everyone ran out on the field and we were all so excited!  There was a quick metal ceremony for Canada, Costa Rica, and the U.S., all teams that had just qualified for the world cup.  We all gathered for pictures and were hugging the staff and all of our teammates!   After the medal ceremony we gathered our things and boarded the bus for the last time to go back to the hotel.  Back at the hotel, we changed out of our uniforms and headed down stairs for our last dinner at the hotel.  I will never take mom’s cooking for granted again!  After dinner we went back to our rooms to pack and get ready to leave for the airport at 4:00am the next day.  Overall the experience was fantastic!  I learned so much from the trip and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity.  Thanks everyone for your support and for reading my blog!

The US Under-17 Women’s Team defeated Costa Rica 4-1 today to win the CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s championship.  Kate played the entire match in the big win over Costa Rica in the finals. The US women scored in the 1st minute and added 3 more before Costa Rica got a score in the 72nd minute.  Click here for the US Soccer article on the victory.  The CONCACAF article is here (note they have the score wrong at the beginning of the article.)

Congratulations to the Women’s team and now it’s on to New Zealand in October in the inaugural FIFA Under-17 World Cup.  Kate’s final comments will be posted as soon as they are received.