Capers Abroad: Sightseeing, Soccer and Stadium Tours.

Capers Abroad: Sightseeing, Soccer and Stadium Tours.

With the 2019 season having just passed the halfway stage the second place CBU women's soccer team are continuing to benefit from a bond they forged over 3,000 miles away.

Aside from the obvious on-field tactics and performances, a team's success often hinges on the atmosphere within a locker room.  It was Pep Guardiola who said; "Tactics are so important because everybody has to know what they have to do on the pitch. The relationships and behaviours off the pitch between team-mates have to be as good as possible." 

As a head coach going into his 23^rd year in charge of the Capers, Ness Timmons has overseen his fair share of pre-season training camps, but with a tour of England having been announced earlier this year, 2019 would prove to be anything but routine.  Reaffirming the importance of creating an early bond within a locker room, Timmons explains why he believes in setting the highest of standards at the earliest possible stage.   

"The start of the season really sets the tone. Your first meeting, your first practise. I think getting off on the right foot is very important. Establishing what is most important for your team and setting the tone early, goes a long way towards creating that culture you are looking for."

With such high stakes surrounding the pre and early parts of the AUS season, it makes sense to provide players with the best possible platform and for the CBU women's soccer team, 2019's platform was to be constructed, cultivated and cemented in the United Kingdom. 

Despite the incredible number of off-field activities organised for the team in England, fifth-year goalkeeper Rachel Yerxa's number one focus for the pre-season was always soccer. With a team practise at Leicester City Football Club and position-specific training from former Ireland goalkeeper coach Seamus McDonagh, Yerxa reflects on an experience that she believes reinvigorated and refocused the squad prior to the start of their 2019 AUS season.

"On the field, we were coached by a number of different people.  Me and the other goalkeeper were coached by the former Irish national team coach and he gave us a lot of technical tips that we haven't gotten here.  We've been doing a lot of the same drills here, which is great, but it was nice to see a different perspective.  As a team, the practises were a lot more intense. I think the fact we were training with such high quality coaches almost flipped a switch on us where we had to turn things up."

Commenting on the level of training his team received, Capers head coach Ness Timmons said that he was not only impressed by the subsequent improvements within the squad but was also grateful to observe such highly respected coaches at work.   

"We had a couple of sessions with the professional staff at Leicester and it really was a learning experience for everyone. The facilities, the approach, the quality was top shelf. It is always good to take in these sessions as a coach, there is so much you can pick up. I always enjoy the professional development part of it. I think some of the priorities and approach that the players have to training has improved."

With the training session behind them and a renewed sense of energy permeating the squad, it was now time for the Capers to take on the team that had showed them such great hospitality.  This was sure to be a huge challenge for CBU as Leicester City Women's Football Club play in the second-highest division in England.  With the game finishing 1-0 in favour of the English side, the Capers can hold their heads high and be proud of their overall performance against a team with much greater resources than themselves. 

For fifth-year midfielder and 2018 AUS MVP, Ciera Disipio, the time with Leicester City was not only seen as a once-in-a-lifetime experience but also as a platform for the team to build upon going into the 2019 season.

"Not everyone gets the experience of being coached by a professional coach in England on the Leicester City training ground.  I think the overall experience showed everyone the bar they can set for themselves.  It's easy at university to maybe get a little bit complacent and comfortable but when you are faced with new coaches, a new coaching style and a different practise set up it pushes you out of that comfort zone and brings out some qualities that you'd never seen in yourself before.  So now everyone holds themselves to the standard we had in England and it's a good way for us to set goals as a team and individuals."

After Leicester, the Capers headed to Manchester to face one of England's elite.  Manchester City have been a powerhouse in English soccer for well over five years now and their women's team is no exception having won the Women's Super League in 2016 and the Women's F.A Cup in 2018/19.  Once again, CBU would hold their British counterparts to a one goal differential, with the game finishing 3-2 to the hosts.

On top of the myriad of on-field experiences, this pre-season excursion also offered the CBU players an opportunity to experience British culture.  Whether it was the touring Old Trafford or sightseeing in London, there was something for everyone to enjoy.  For Psychology student and self-confessed history enthusiast, Rachel Yerxa, the number one highlight was getting to explore the storied streets of England's capital city.

"My favourite thing to see would have been Buckingham palace. When we were in London we actually walked to Buckingham Palace which was really cool. I'm a big history nerd so I liked that.  From there we walked past Big Ben to the London Eye and then we broke into groups to do some sightseeing on our own.  I went with one of the girls to a farmers market and after that, we walked all the way to the house where Ben Franklin lived."

Ciera Disipio believes that the positive atmosphere surrounding the trip represented the cementing of a team bond, a bond that strengthened throughout the season and has since led the Capers to their strong standing within the AUS.

"In past experiences and even just personally in my opinion, I think travelling and spending a lot of time with the same group can do one of two things for a team.  It can either bring a team closer together or make them drift apart. For us, thankfully, it did bring us closer together. Even when we got back from England we wanted to spend even more time together. If anything, we wanted to get together again and retell stories and laughs that we had in England or experiences from the games or practises. So where we sit now, in second place, without that trip we would have been a completely different team."

With the final word on this unique adventure, Capers head coach Ness Timmons extols the virtues of this special journey, not just as a pre-season experience but also a prerequisite for better team cohesion and a wider reach for the university as a whole.

"This trip was about more than just football for sure.  We realize that we are ambassadors of the University whenever we travel, and getting our brand and positive image out there is always important to us. Personally, I enjoyed everything about the trip. The time spent with the team, the tours, the history, the games, the social event, the training. It really was a complete package. From a student-athlete perspective, in the sport of soccer, you would be hard pressed to find a more complete experience."

Make sure you come out to show your support for the women's soccer team as they take on local rivals, St F.X, on October 18^th at 5.00pm.

Josh Lines/ CBU Athletics