Forty girls from the England U19 National Academy programme are currently on a tour to the USA in preparation for the 2018 U20 European Championships next month and next year’s 2019 Under 19 World Championships in Canada. Each day, members of the squad will be tracking their experiences on tour.
Day 3: Blog
By Amy, Cece, Millie, Victoire
Following another delicious breakfast, we got ready to see the sights of Washington.
Our coach driver, H, took us first to the Washington monument, otherwise known as the ‘pointy thing’ and to the World War Two memorial.
We explored the memorials of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Junior and Thomas Jefferson and we then saw the Capitol building and of course the iconic White House, taking many photos and doing many different poses to update our fans back at home!
We stopped off at Whole Foods on the way back to the hotel to pack and prepare for the match later against Capital Lacrosse club at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes school.
After a delay in starting the match due to unexpected thunder, we were ready and raring to go. The As started the match well, going up 2-0. In the humid conditions the team kept fighting and the game finished 6-6.
The Bs were soon to start with winning the first draw and scoring the first goal of the match. The opposition were experienced and well-practiced giving the Bs a tough match in which they fought to the end to finish with the score of 1-13.
We enjoyed a delicious picnic whilst mingling with the opposition, ending the day with a fun but competitive riff off on the coach. Today was a particularly special day as it was also Victoire’s birthday which we celebrated with a yummy cake!
Day 4: Blog
By Zoe, Alex Mc, Anna S, Emma S
On our last morning in the Georgetown Inn, we enjoyed our final breakfast and finished packing for the camp at University of Maryland.
After a short delay due to the coach breaking down, we set off for the camp via Dick’s Sporting Goods. We were let loose in the store to discover some great bargains, followed by buying lunch (with Panda Express being a popular option).
We then made our way to the University of Maryland for day one of the lacrosse camp.
After checking in and meeting our college athlete coaches, we started with a stick work drill which was unfortunately interrupted by warnings of thunderstorms nearby.
We headed inside and were treated to a highlights video of the Maryland 2017 National Champions’ season and an informative talk by head coach Cathy Reese.
There was a very wide selection of food available to choose from for dinner, which some found slightly overwhelming, but the squad enjoyed a delicious meal all the same. Birthday girl Millie Hughes even managed to find some carrot cake, and the whole dining room sang ‘Happy Birthday’.
Following dinner, we headed outside for night games where the girls played competitively in matches in mixed teams with the other girls at the camp.
Exhausted and very sweaty, we returned to the dorms and were given the option of buying pizza and other American snacks, as well as Maryland Lacrosse merchandise.