They will play some international friendlies, tour the magical Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester and take in the semifinal and gold-medal FIFA World Women’s Cup soccer games.
After more than two years of fundraising, 10 Vernon Under 18 players and their coach, Ron Krause, leave Thursday on a 12-day fantasy sports trip of sorts.
For Kirsty Lewis and Cayla Brown, the trip will also represent a pretty sweet 18th birthday. They both mark the occasion July 11, a day the team tours the famed Theatre of Dreams known as Old Trafford Stadium, home of Premier League Manchester United F.C.
“It’s going to be so cool because we’re both Man United fans, I’m really excited,” said Lewis, a midfielder who earlier this year received a $1,000 Janet Tyrell Scholarship from B.C. Soccer. She earned 97 per cent in Grade 12 at Fulton.
Lewis, who has been to Disneyland and Spokane, but never overseas, brings speed and anticipation to the soccer pitch.
“I like the team aspect of the game, that’s what is cool about going to Europe, because most of us have played together since we were seven or eight. We’re really like a family.”
Lewis and Breanna Irvine will say goodbye to their teammates July 18 and say hello to almost a month of backpacking around Italy and Greece.
Vernon will play two games in England and two in Germany before attending the July 13 World Cup semifinal, and the final four days later, both in Frankfurt.
The pot for the Women’s World Cup is US$6 million, while the men divvied up US$420 million at last summer’s World Cup in South Africa.
Still, Krause believes his team will witness a high-profile tournament and soak in an atmosphere they won’t forget.
“I talked to them Sunday night about the World Cup ‘86 in Mexico and showed them my souvenirs and newspapers and asked how many of them knew who Diego Maradona was,” said Krause, 49, a longtime defender with the Camels men’s team.
“A few said, ‘Oh, the Hand of God.’ They knew all about the final, which Argentina beat Germany 3-2 (on Maradona’s controversal hand ball) I told them to bring lots of Canadian garb, to be proud of being Canadian. Show it off.”
The Euro girls raised $20,000 – half the travel costs – by doing a number of fundraisers.
“The hardest was doing firewood at Mabel Lake and Kekuli Bay,” chuckled Krause. “That was a long day. We did 23 cords of wood at each place.”
Rick Price, who was initially part of the trip as a coach, organized that money-maker. Price and Mike Moore, also an original organizer whose daughter progressed to a higher level of play, were a huge help in putting the trip together.
“The parents have just been fantastic on this whole thing,” said Krause, whose daughters, Lindsey and Ashley, are on the team.
Kristin Dyck is the manager who did mounds of paperwork for the tour, while Doug and Sharon Irvine are chaperones/trainers.
Brown spearheaded the committee that designed the team’s custom-made jerseys which weren’t ready for photo day. There is a large maple leaf adorned across the front and the word CANADA and the player’s last name on the back. The Canadian flag and North Okanagan Youth Soccer Association (NOYSA) logos are stitched on the sleeves.
“They should look really good,” said Brown, a centre midfielder who captained the United U18 Rep team this year. “I can’t wait to get over there. I’m pretty excited to see the Beatles Museum (in Liverpool).”
It was Brown’s uncle, in Holland, who went online and got the team tickets for the two playoff matches.
“I try and get everybody playing their best and not leaving anybody behind because you can’t win without everybody playing as a team,” said the Fulton grad.
The Vernon Euros have picked up one player – Lauren Griffith from Pennsylvania. The rest of the local roster includes: Katie Annand, Katelyn Dyck, Holly Ketter, Aynsley Orobko and Sachiko Ouchi.
