By Kim J. Harmon

When Adam Ellison, 10, writes the standard What I Did This Summer paper for class at the Reed Intermediate School, he is going to have one heck of a tale to tell.

Adam was a member of the United Soccer Academy U11 team that traveled to Europe (specifically – England, Sweden and Denmark) last month to participate on the Gothia-Manchester and Dana-Watford Tours.

The United States Soccer Academy is a soccer organization run by soccer people for soccer people and it provides youth players with quality soccer experiences in the United States as well as abroad. The USSA sent some 14 teams (from Girls U12 to Girls U19 and Boys U11 to Boys U19) to Europe in a massive, logistical undertaking.

Tryouts for the teams were held December through February around the country; Adam tried out at the Sports Zone in Trumbull and was one of three players from the Connecticut to get accepted on the team.

The trip began with a four-day training camp at the Stow School, a private school located one hour outside of London in Buckingham, England. Since this was the time when players were just starting to learn each other’s names (never mind that they had never played together before), the coaches focused on techniques/skills, tactical awareness, fitness, and the psychological aspect of soccer. Teams took part in training sessions with coaches from the Wimbledon, Watford, and Arsenal Football Clubs (FC).

The first match – a friendly – for the U11 squad was a learning experience in itself, as the USSA fell 7-4.

After training, the teams flew to Gothenburg, Sweden, for the Gothia Cup. Some 1,400 teams (including a joint Israel/Pakistan ‘peace’ team) from 55 countries were on hand. During the Opening Ceremonies at Ullevi Stadium, more than 45,000 cheering fans were on hand.

“The Opening Ceremonies were my favorite part of the trip,” said Adam. “It was cool to see all the different people and stadium with 40,000 people in it.”

The U11 squad played four games and since the players were still feeling each other out, they did have some trouble. At least Adam could still smile a bit while remembering the beating the USSA received from the defending Gothia Cup champs.

“They play a really physical game (over there),” said Adam, who plays right-mid for the Newtown Crusaders travel team of the Newtown Soccer Club. “We’re not used to that.”

Following six days of competition in Sweden, the USSA team took a three-hour ferry to Hjorring, Denmark to participate in the 23rd annual Dana Cup. Coordinated by Fortuna, the top professional women’s soccer team in Europe, more than 800 teams from 45 countries participated.

It was there that things started to click for the USSA’s U11 team. After an opening round loss, the USSA tied a couple of matches and qualified for the ‘B’ bracket playoffs. There the victories came in rapid fashion – first 6-2, then 4-2, again 4-2, and finally 3-1 in the semi-finals. In the finals against Germany, however, the streak came to an end with a 3-2 loss.

“It was pretty exciting,” said Adam. “We started to trust each other and started to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

The itinerary was a little tight, but the USSA had an opportunity to do a little sightseeing before returning home on July 26. For Adam, he only had a brief respite before beginning practice for an upcoming Labor Day tournament and the fall travel season.

Oh yeah, all of that should make for an interesting What I Did This Summer essay.