St. Albans

If you don’t like to wander around perfectly charming small English towns looking at historical sites, eating in small cafes and supporting independent shops under partly sunny skies and 60 degree weather then a day like today may not be for you. For the rest of us it was bloody right indeed.

The St. Albans Cathedral founded in 1509 was an architectural masterpiece, absolutely stunning to look through. When your son comes home with an interest in the architecture of 2, 3, even 6 hundred year old structures, don’t be a bit surprised. They have made particular mention of these sightings in their Journals and asked why everything where they live is so new? They now understand that those who built cities like Chicago, NY, and Boston had their beginning right here.

It almost seems redundant to say the boys shopped in St. Albans, but they did-if briefly, some for themselves, but most for family members. We had a bite of lunch, a good look around and now are in the coach on the move to Queens College for the match.

The boys have been preparing since last evening for this match as a professional side would. A team meeting, stretching and a good night’s sleep, first steps all. Today, limited activity, a decent meal, and a good warm-up are all part of the ongoing plan. We will pick up their kits on the way, washed and pressed and will precede them into the dressing room and set up their kits as would be done for a professional club. All part of teaching them the preparation that goes into any worthwhile effort for which you work toward a positive result. As I mentioned earlier, this week is about much bigger things than simply playing football.