Viva Italia!

Well... the Italians were a tough foe tonight.  The US lost 2-0, with both goals given up in the first half.  After a day of rain, wind and cooler weather, we faced Italy at a quaint stadium in a city outside of Toulon called La Valette.  This was a little east of Toulon and was a very nice area with great views of the mountain range.  The Italians are a formidable opponent and will be tough to beat in the Olympic games as well.  This tournament is unique in that not too many fans attend the games; rather, the stands are filled with scouts and coaches representing hundreds of teams from all over Europe.  This tournament is an ideal setting for them to scout young players to recruit for their soccer clubs.  Many of our guys were talked to by representatives of various teams, even Manchester United, which is a well-known  club in England's Premier League.  At any rate, many players will be heading home tomorrow or the next day.

This has been fun, tiring and an overall great experience.  I look forward to sharing more of my endeavors with the US Mens Olympic Soccer team in July and August as we play in Beijing.

This is Marcus Holliday signing off...

Tough loss to Ivory Coast

The US suffered a tough loss to the Ivory Coast 1-0 on Friday with the only goal coming from a penalty kick late in the game. The US goalkeeper, Chris Seitz, played a fantastic game and came up with great save after great save. He kept the US in the game the whole time with his high pressure saves. Today will be a light day with an easy practice so as to give the guys as much rest as possible before the match vs. Italy tomorrow night. A win vs. Italy would allow us to end the tournament on a high note. Most players and staff will head home or to their respective teams on Monday or Tuesday. We will do some sightseeing this morning or this afternoon if at all possible. There are some great outdoor markets offering food, linens, exotic fabrics, etc...

Beautiful day in the neighborhood

What a great day today in Toulon! Sunny, cool and clear all day with a nice breeze. The best day yet. Not a cloud in the sky. We had a light practice this afternoon, as well as an easy pool workout this morning. We play tomorrow at 12:30 Bradenton time. The kids from Oneco have really been sending some great questions. It's hard for me to remember each of them as I type, but I try to do my best. The desserts here are great. We have various sweets after lunch and dinner such as tarts, brownies, local cheesecake, chocolate mousse. Today someone bought some candies and sweets from a local shop that were absolutely amazing. We think they were candies made from carmelized apricots. They basically heated up some apricots and cooked them until they became liquid and then add sugar and then they can take that liquid and let it cool into whatever shaped candies they want. VERY tasty!
Mrs. Freer's Class Questions: What's the coolest thing you've seen so far? ... I think the view of the harbor from Mt. Faron.
Do they practice every single day? .... Yes, we practice every day, but on days in between games we practice at a lower intensity so no one gets hurt or gets too tired before the next game.
Does the food you eat smell bad?.... The food does not smell bad. We have eaten some strong smelling cheeses which may smell bad to some people, but I like those types of cheeses.
How far away are you from Paris? ....From what I've heard, we are about an 8 hour drive from Paris, which is pretty far. However, if you take the Bullet Train, which is a special passenger train that travels at speeds greater than 200mph you can get there in 3-4 hours, I believe. Ms. Freer can explain the bullet train to you.
How sore are your legs after a game? ... My legs are fine after games since I don't play. :) But, the players legs are very tired and sore after a game because they run so much and the game is very physical. A game of soccer has two 45 minute periods. There are no timeouts, except for injuries or fouls, like in other sports. During a soccer match, players may run up to 5-6 miles and they have to do that at a fast pace. It is a very physically demanding sport. I hope you guys have a great day and be sure to root for the USA tomorrow versus the Ivory Coast!!

Tough loss today

Tough match today. The US lost 3-2 to Turkey in a close game. We will have an easy day tomorrow, including a light practice and workout in the pool to help with some muscle soreness and recovery. We will play Ivory Coast on Friday; another tough team. Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to get a little rest and work hard to prepare for our next game. Thanks for so many comments today. FYI..they do not ride horses here, but use cars just like the US. They drive much smaller cars than we see in the US, I think because the streets are so much more narrow than ours. The time difference between here and Florida is 6 hours. So, right now as I'm typing this it is 12:15 a.m. (I'm ready for bed!!) and it is only 6:15 in Bradenton. It makes it difficult to go to bed at the appropriate time here because your body is not used to going to bed so early. Make sense??

Game Day Tomorrow!

We had our final practice today before playing our first game of the tournament tomorrow afternoon. Once again, some ominous dark clouds hung around most of the afternoon, but the rain and lightning held off. After practice we returned to the hotel and had dinner. We always have some great desserts with dinner. Tomorrow is game day, so we try to keep our schedule as simple as possible. On game day, after a mid-morning breakfast we will get the guys out of the hotel and go for a short walk around town to stretch their legs, etc...We'll have our pre-game meal around 12:00 and then begin getting players ready for the game (taping ankles, etc...) around 1:30 or so. We will leave on our team bus for the stadium in downtown Toulon around 2:45. Hopefully we will get a win against the turkeys from Turkey!!
Thanks to all of you for the great questions !!
First of all, MLS stands for Major League Soccer, which is the highest level of professional soccer in the United States.
I have seen a number of sites, but I am not sure if I have seen the Roman Cathedral/Church here in Toulon. I'll try to find it and take a picture of it for you.
There are some cheeses here in France that are definitely smelly. But, just because it's smelly doesn't mean that it tastes bad. :)
It sounds like you guys are getting just as much rain as I am here in France. Liam, I'll bet you had a rainout today, right?? I know Jonas did, which always makes him quite disappointed.
It will be tough for you to watch our game tomorrow, which is at 9:30 your time, unless you pretend you have a sudden illness. :)Maybe your parents can record it for you or TiVo it. Anyway, look for me whenever someone gets hurt because that is when I have to run out on the field and tend to them. Actually, hopefully no one will get hurt and I will be able to just stay on the bench and relax!!

Next two posts

This is Rachel, not Marcus...he has been updating the school blog that the kids' gifted teacher set up, but he had not updated this one in a couple of days, so I just copied and pasted. :) He is responding to comments and questions that kids from the program have sent him. Here is that website if you want to check out the kids' comments: http://xit.manatee.k12.fl.us/index.php?blog=holliday

Why we are in France

I forgot to mention that the reason our team is in France is because the US team was invited to play in the Toulon International Tournament 2008 from May 20-29.
This invitation-only event, held annually in southern France, is departing from its traditional under-21 format to feature some of the world’s top under-23 national teams in advance of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. It is considered the most prestigious youth tournament in the world.
Check Fox Soccer Channel, which will show all the games, for exact game times but our schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, May 21 - 3:30 p.m. ET United States vs. Turkey
Friday, May 23 - United States vs. Ivory Coast
Sunday, May 25 - 12:00 p.m. ET Italy vs. United States
Tuesday, May 27 - 12:00 p.m. ET Semifinals Tuesday, May 27 - 2:30 p.m. ET Semifinals Thursday, May 29 - 12:00 p.m. ET Third Place Match Thursday, May 29 - 2:30 p.m. ET Final

A new week

Sorry I haven't posted for a day or two, but I wanted to make sure the kinks were worked out of the system.
After a beautiful day of sunshine and typical Mediterranean weather yesterday, we had another day of rain and even some thunderstorms. If any of you are into the weather channel, you can see that Europe is getting a great of rain right now. France and Italy have really gotten some wet weather, which apparently will continue for a few more days.
Yesterday, the team was off in the afternoon which meant that we could go shopping, sightseeing, etc... and do some things on our own. I decided to go for a run into the hills toward Mt. Faron, which is the backdrop of the city of Toulon. Mt. Faron is not the tallest of the mountains in the immediate area, but is one of the most popular and most widely known. Much of the town is built into the side of the mountain, as you can see from photos of the city. Once one gets out of the busy downtown area near the water and the harbor, many of the residential areas are simply built along winding roads on the side of the mountain. I took some breathtaking photos of the city, harbor and surrounding sites as I gradually made my way along the mountain roads.
There are many questions to answer in your comments, so I will try to address those things now.
I have the privilege of working with the US Under-23 Mens National Soccer Team, which will also be the Olympic Team representing the US in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. The team is made up of professional soccer players who are all under 23 years old. They either play professionally in the US for the MLS, or for a team in Europe or other parts of the world. Currently we have American players on our roster playing professionally for teams in Mexico, Italy, France, Denmark, Germany, England Portugal, and Spain. My job is that of an Athletic Trainer, which means I provide medical care for the athletes. I am similar to a physical therapist, but my area of specialty is Sports Medicine. I focus on preventing, diagnosing, evaluating, treating and rehabilitating any injuries that may occur during practice or a game. Someone in my field needs to learn biology, anatomy, physiology, etc.. in order to know what type of injury an athlete has and how best to treat it and make it better. Athletes such as professional soccer players require much attention in order to stay healthy and play at their best. Some things are not very glamorous but must be done before we go to practice including preparing water, gatorade, injury ice and getting my medical bag ready. Many athletes have things taped for a practice, such as their ankles, which usually is done approximately 1 hour before we leave for practice. Other athletes perform rehab/corrective exercises or do other things such as stretching, etc... with me before leaving for practice. During practice, I have to be ready to handle any injury, big or small, that may occur at any given time. Most days guys stay healthy and don't suffer any injuries, which makes my job easy. Other days, such as two days ago, a player was hit in the face and received a bloody nose that we had trouble getting to stop bleeding. I use special nose plugs made of cotton that are actually made small enough to stuff into a nostril to absorb the blood. Pretty gross huh?!!? In the evenings after we have returned from practice and eaten dinner, I will do evening treatment sessions on some of the players including massage, ultrasound, electronic stimulation, rehab exercises, etc... Tonight I didn't finish my treatment sessions until around 10 p.m., which kind of made for a long day.
While getting out and about in the city, I have seen some French sailors. They are commonly seen in restaurants and are easy to spot because they have similar 'military style' haircuts. There are many young people around town, too, as the the elementary, middle and high schools are right in the heart of the city. Kids are seen walking to and from school and it seems like many high school age kids commonly use the public buses to go to and from school.
I do miss my family and my kids, Ashton and Jonas and look forward to seeing them soon.
I have not had any squid soup or any other crazy seafood dish. I've eaten a great deal of french baguettes (sp??), which is the local french bread. Most meals, including breakfast, include bread, cheese and various meats such as salami and bologna. Sounds kind of weird, but it takes great to eat bread and cheese for breakfast! The French Baguette has special meaning for French people about which Ms. Snyder can help you learn. I won't her fun, but there was an infamous French person who once decided that the poor peasants of France didn't need their precious bread anymore, which was their main sustenance at the time. She said, "Let them eat cake". Anyone know her name???
I noticed that someone mentioned playing soccer for Manatee Magic Soccer Club. One of our coaches, Tim Mulqueen, is the goalkeepers coach for the team and he has a son who plays for the Magic, as well, I believe.
I will do better at answering more questions tomorrow. It is 12:15 a.m. here in Toulon, so I need to be getting to bed. I hope there are no type-o's in this!!

Another morning training session...more rain

Once again the weather in Toulon kept us wishing for some good old fashioned sunshine as the guys practiced during both heavy and light rain this morning.  Seriously, the rain did not begin until we stepped out the doors of the hotel to board our bus.  At the time of this post (2:55 pm), the clouds are beginning to thin and the sun is breaking through. The team was given off this afternoon, as the training session this morning was high quality.  There won't be too many more opportunities to have an afternoon off, as we begin preparation for our first match on Wednesday next week.  All of the guys are healthy, most merely trying to get acclimated to the time change and its affects on the body.  This afternoon most guys will walk around the city and shop or visit one of the open-air markets in the area.  The waterfront shopping/dining area is only a 10-15 minute walk from our hotel, so some of the guys will be heading that way.  Some of the staff may try to visit and tour (if possible) the French Navy ships that are docked in the harbor.  I will try to get some photos of the harbor today and post them later.

Rain, rain go away...

6:45 in Toulon as I write this. We are getting ready to head to dinner at 7:00 here at the hotel.  Dreary and wet in Toulon today. It's rained off and on, sometimes light and sometimes heavy.  Today was the first day of hard training for the guys, but everyone is remaining healthy.j

I was able to go for a run today (yes, in the rain--I'm dedicated!!).  Tried to get down toward the waterfront. Toulon has a major shipping port, with both cruise ships and French Navy ships docked in the port.  Toulon is the headquarter for the French Navy.  While the huge ships are great to look at, they do take away from beauty of the area.  Further east down the coast a mile or two are more traditional public beaches and waterfront attractions.  I'll try to get some good pictures if the weather is better tomorrow and the sun is actually shining. 

Whew...what a day...

Well, hello to all!!  I finally made it to Toulon, FR along with the majority of the players and coaching staff.  Some of the team will still be arriving over the next few days due to their individual team schedules, etc....  What a long day traveling!  I flew from SRQ to JFK on Wednesday afternoon with Tim Mulqueen, the goalkeepers coach for the US Olympic Soccer Team.  After a bumpy ride as we approached NYC (I'm not exaggerating, but we had a VERY bumpy 4-5 minutes--many people were crossing themselves, etc... :), we met up with about 8-10 players and staff for the next leg of the trip (NYC to Munich).  We had about a 7 or 8 hour flight to Munich which was very uneventful (hats off to the Lufthansa flight crew who took care of us well).  Lots of movies to watch on your own private screens, etc...  After a 2-3 hour layover in Munich, we completed the final leg of the trip to Marseille, ultimately making it there by 2:30 or 3:00. 

Traveling with a team such as this is no easy task.  Besides each player having his own piece of luggage, we must travel with 25-30 additional pieces of luggage (travel trunks, large duffel bags, etc..) that hold various practice gear, uniforms, medical equipment, etc... As I said, it is no easy task to  get loaded up and get out of the airport in our charter bus, but we did.

The afternoon consisted of getting people settled into their rooms, eating a quick lunch (late lunch) and then getting ready to go for a light workout at a local health club.  Check out the US Youth National Team blog and you can see some pics of some of the guys breaking a sweat! 

Tomorrow we will begin a two-practice-per-day routine which will allow the coaching staff to evaluate players and help the players get to know one another on the field.  Our first game is not until the 21st, so we have a few days to get some practices under our belt. We are still awaiting the arrival of a few more players into camp, as well.

Hopefully tomorrow's blog will be a little more entertaining.

Au voir. (did I spell that right??)

Testing, testing, 1-2-3.