Following our long day of travel, and after everyone checked in at the Holiday Inn Express, after getting a good night’s sleep, the team was energetic and ready for their breakfast. Surprisingly, everyone woke up and got ready in time for breakfast. At the hotel, we had a classic Sunday breakfast: British bacon, sausage, eggs, beans, a medley of breads and grains. Everyone found something delicious to enjoy, some preferred the American bacon over the British bacon, while others filled up on yogurt and granola.
Next on the agenda was a brief training session at the nearby fields. The fields were absolutely stunning (the fields were perfectly cut artificial grass), and the team had a great time. Training consisted of agility training, a round of rondo, and ended with a short scrimmage. Everyone played extremely well despite still adjusting to the time zone. The group was split in to 2 teams for the duration of Manchester, and will be changed on the arrival of the group in to London. The orange team won session 1, resulting in the green team writing today’s review.
After the training session, the group headed back to the hotel to have some lunch and wash off. Representing British culture, meat pie and chicken pasta were the stars of the meal with roasties (roasted potatoes) and salad supporting them. Desert was much needed, for a post session sugar intake to replenish the energy expenditure of the practice session, and muscle glycogen stores. The Imperial War Museum was the next event of the day. A huge building filled with ancient war artifacts fascinated the group. Topically, we found ourselves in a book reading from an author of many books which based his writing on the relationship between sports and war. The museum was a humbling experience. Next up was the main event of the day, the football museum, a multistory building of football’s roots, greatest moments, and interactive games. The football museum was a blast; there was plenty of football memorabilia and football related challenges for the group to challenge each other. At 5:00pm, and no injury time to be played, the museum closed, so the group trekked to the nearby shopping center. While some travelers went to the indoor mall section, others walked around the outdoor area. Lastly, the group met up at Nando’s for a delicious dinner to unwind from the fun events that filled our day. Looking forward to what tomorrow brings!
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