With Sunday having been a travel day, Monday was the youth squad’s first full day in Frisco, Texas, for the 2011 Generation adidas U17 Cup.
Having just been here for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs from June 24-28, it’s déjà vu for many of players on this trip. The hotel, restaurants, fields… It’s all comfortable and familiar for a good portion of the group. But there are also some new faces this time around, with recent signings C.J. Burnham, Greg Forgue, Nick Hoffman and Eric Martel joining the Revs for the first time.
The team ate breakfast at the hotel by 9 a.m. and had lunch around noon, enjoying a quiet morning and early afternoon between meals. Some players took the opportunity to stretch their legs by walking to the nearby mall, while others watched TV back in their rooms.
Everyone met up again at 3:45 p.m., returning to one of our favorite local restaurants for a pre-game meal.
The players boarded the bus again at 7 for their first game of the tournament. It was still 98 degrees at kickoff (8:15 p.m. local time), so everyone took some time to adjust to the heat before warm-ups started.
You can read more about the game – a 7-1 loss to Toronto FC – in theJuly 26 youth update.
The team returned to the hotel a little after 10 p.m., and went straight into a team meeting, followed by a postgame meal.
The Under-17s play their second group game on Tuesday, July 26, against the Colorado Rapids – who are coming off of a 4-1 loss to Chivas USA – at 7:30 p.m. ET.
