Rhys was selected to participate in the Whitecaps training camp as part of a group from the Okanagan area. He has been doing training as part of the program for a few weeks now and last weekend they conducted a series of training opportunities in Vancouver.
Rhys and I left Vernon Friday night for the long 5 hour trip to Vancouver. We arrived late Friday night, found the hotel and went to bed. The next day he needed to be at a local university stadium for the first training session. The coaches divided the training squad up into groups according to age and gender. They trained the kids hard but Rhys had a heap of fun.
The kids were provided with lunch and then they did another 90 minute training session. Following this we headed back to the hotel to wash up before going to BC Place Stadium, the home of the Whitecaps (and the BC Lions). We took the Skytrain into the city. The train runs on a special track which is raised up above the ground. This is a quick alternative to having to find parking.
The atmosphere at the stadium was great. It was almost full with Whitecaps fans. The kids got to meet a couple of the players before the game and get autographs. The stadium had its roof open. It has a massive video screen and scoreboard hanging above the centre of the pitch which has four sides so everyone can see what is happening.
The game was very exciting but a bit spiteful. The New England side committed a lot of fouls in the first half with numerous yellow cards given out along with a red card which meant New England had only 10 men on the pitch for most of the game. There were lots of goals scored with the final result being 4-3 in favour of the Vancouver Whitecaps. On Sunday morning we were up early as the training session was help at BC Place Stadium. This was a special treat as the pitch is rarely available for anyone to use. The kids loved playing on the same surface that they had just watched a professional match take place.
After training we headed back to Vernon. It was a memorable weekend.
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