Reunion Party & Revoked Ambassador Status

Iceland gang will reunite at the Kathy and Ken's on Friday, September 16th 6:30p.  Thanks for hosting!

On a more serious note, I'm saddened to announce that Win Brandon's status as "Ambassador" has been revoked.  After considerable deliberation, it was decided that Win's failure and/or refusal to share his 1000+ photos justified an immediate demotion to "Assistant to the Assistant of Macy."  The Labeling Committee will consider reinstating Win if he chooses to cooperate with his sharing obligations.

There is further, yet so far unsubstantiated, suspicion that Win's "lost blog" post was perhaps a deliberate move on his part to avoid his blog posting responsibilities.  Nobody on the Labeling Committee ever saw his "draft" post that he claimed was lost to some mysterious "cyber" error.  Investigation is continuing.

Please be advised that the Labeling Committee has hired some highly regarded mercenaries to enforce Win's photo sharing responsibilities. The special operations team has been given full authority to use whatever measures necessary to persuade Win to cooperate ---- including gagging him and making him circulate at a cocktail party with the inability to engage in conversation with anyone.

Epiblog -- Greg's Top Ten

Here is my "Top Ten" for the trip:

10.  The "Wide Mouth Frog" Joke, told by none other than Mac Brandon.  

Thank you Mac for making me laugh day in and day out on this trip.

9.  Tim Putz.
We will never forget Tim's trash bag dance on Day 2 of the tournament --nor will any of our opponents.  Here's to Tim Putz, who kept us busting at the seams with his hilarious punch lines the whole trip -- except for that stressful moment when he swapped bags with some stranger at the shuttle stop. 

8.  The "Dance"
I'll never forget dancing like a fool and singing "Sweet Caroline" at the top of my lungs with Ken Peterson, Win Brandon, and Bill Ezell.  That band Rocked!  Who else can bust out Neil Diamond, Bob Marley, and all those traditional Icelandic folk songs.  I trust Win has deleted all incriminating photos from his digital camera!

7.  Sunburn
That's right…sunburn.  Erin and I put the fear of Mother Nature into our fellow travelers with warnings of rain, wind, rain, and more wind, and more rain.  After all the drama, it turns out we get nothing but beautiful sunshine. 

6.  Jack's Cheerleading
There's nothing better than starting a game with loud "U.S.A." chants in the background.  Jack's lead with all the marching cheers and Rush songs was awesome.  All the boys got into the spirit!

5.  Friends of Erin Parham
The success of this trip really had little to do with soccer and a whole lot to do with becoming closer friends with our group and experiencing all the sites and sounds of Iceland together.  We were blessed to travel with such a fun and caring group of parents and siblings.  Thank you to the entire group for pitching in and sharing all of the responsibilities along the way.

4.  Charlie's First Goal
The first goal of the tournament was scored by Charlie, just a few minutes into Game 1. As he ran back to midfield with his shirt over his head you could sense the relief felt by all of our players and spectators.  We had broken the ice and now we could move forward and enjoy playing and watching the game we love.  

3.  The Ambassador
Win Brandon could make friends with Helen Keller.  This guy talks to everyone, everywhere, and it was great.  Through Win's relationship building we became very well know to many of the other teams and chaperones across the island.  My favorite quote from Win:  "I love Soccer!"  shouted at the top of his lungs at the dance. I've sworn not to mention anything else he said at that place....

2.  Macy
Want to make trip planning look easy?  Have Macy do it.  Each time we had a tour, or a bus pick-up, or a new activity, Erin made sure that everything moved along like clock work.  My biggest fear heading into this trip was not being able to enjoy it due to the day-to-day management of everything involved.  Macy made it easy and enjoyable for everyone. 

1.  Playing with Character
On the championship day (day 3), I didn't give my usual pep talk.  I spoke to the boys about how much I have enjoyed coaching them for the last 2 1/2 years and what a privilege and honor it has been to coach such a positive, passionate, and talented group.  I presented the challenge for the day as striving to be the team that ends each game playing with the most character and confidence.  They knew that everyone would be looking on at the U.S. games and I wanted them to think about how wonderful it would be if they played with the most class, and the most confidence, no matter the score.   It was time to show off what they could do.   What I witnessed in the next four games was more than I could ever have asked for.  Thank you boys for giving everything you had and for playing fearless, attacking soccer.  You are my Champions!

Shellmotid: Perspective from the coach after Day 2 of the Tournament

Here I sit after day two of the tournament.  We've won all games but one and we are playing for the championship round.  I could not be more proud of our boys.  Despite their travel and adjustment to new rules of play, they are playing better than I had ever imagined possible.

The logistics of this tournament have been difficult for an english speaking coach, but I've gotten a lot of assistance.  Not only from Gudmundur in the U.S., but also from coaches here in Iceland.  Kalli from the KR club and Steinar from Throttur have been quite helpful.  Our friends at Grotta and Sulfoss have also pointed us in the right direction a couple of different times.  Of course Google translate has been invaluable. Each time I receive a tournament update via text message I try to get to the computer so that I can figure out what we're supposed to be doing next. 

The tournament involves much more than soccer.  We've had boat tours, bus tours, parades, indoor celebration games, a relay race, dances, and an all star exhibition game, all packed between regular games and meals.  Keeping track of when we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner has been tricky enough.  Add in all the other stuff and my head has been spinning.  I mentioned to one of the other coaches about the difficulty of keeping on track with schedules when I don't speak Icelandic.  He replied that it's next to impossible to keep on top of everything even when you speak the native language.  There are just an endless amount of activities.

Despite the non-stop activities, I've been lucky enough to travel with some wonderful parents.  All of them are passionate about soccer, but also very grounded with making sure this trip has as much to do with soccer as it has to do with a fantastic life experience.  I think this tournament provides a good glimpse into Icelandic culture.  Football is huge here, so experiencing Iceland from this angle is particularly meaningful.  There is no question that this tournament is about the kids.  I admire all of our parents for their willingness to compromise and put the needs of the boys first. 

Tonight after two full days of games I met with several of the club coaches at a tournament social.  With 5 wins and 1 loss in the bracket of the top teams, we've gotten noticed.  Several coaches remarked about our style of play being "individualistic."   This description was first delivered to me as a critique at the friendly game in Reykjavik.  Despite some wonderful play, we lost both scrimmages because we had not become adjusted to the tactics of the 7v7 game played in Iceland.  The no offside rule is a huge change for our boys, who are accustomed to stepping up to trap strikers offside.  When they stepped up in the scrimmages they were punished by easy through balls to strikers that would have normally been 10 yards offside.  Based upon a couple of comments from the Icelandic coaches and one of the tournament directors, I sensed that they felt our "individualistic" play was our downfall.  As we played more games in the tournament, however, the "individualistic" nature of our play received more and more accolades.   Coaches admired the skill at which many of our players could attack 1v1 and I discussed with several of the coaches the differences in training philosophy that Rush takes to create confident 1v1 players.  

One of the most interesting questions I received from an Icelandic coach was how much time we spent working on running in our trainings.  He and his coaching staff had assumed that we spent a lot of time teaching our players to run fast, and that it was also clear we had conditioned them.  I confessed to him that we rarely run in training without the ball and that living a mile above sea level might have something to do with our endurance.

At the same time some coaches admired our creative attacking and 1v1 skills, I took notice, and I think some of our players and parents also took notice, of the simplicity with which the Iceland boys approach the game.  We were beaten by a team today - Bradeblik, that moved the ball incredibly well with one, two and three touch soccer.  Most of their goals were simple tap-ins after beating our defense with quick, intelligent passes.  1v1 soccer is not absent from the Icelandic game.  It's just not quite as noticeable because they only dribble when it makes sense to dribble, where our team finds itself dribbling sometimes when a quick pass would be much more effective.  

Another difference with the Icelandic players was their ability to finish goals.  My observation was that it took our team twice the opportunities in and around the box to yield a goal versus the opportunities from some of the higher level Icelanders.  Their ability to finish one time balls from the outside was impressive. 

At the 7v7 level in Iceland the rules allow for pass backs to the goalie and the goalie can pick it up with his hands.  On goal kicks, the goalie also has ball in hand rather than kicking the ball from the goal kick.  My personal view, and the view shared by every Iceland coach I spoke with, was that the pass back rule actually hurts development.  They complained that the goalies do not learn enough about how to handle the ball with their feet because they never have to.  I observed that every team we played had a dedicated goalkeeper that played both halves.   Perhaps these players are unable to play any other position because they lack the foot skills. I prefer the no pass back rule in the U.S.

Tomorrow when they play for the championship they will be playing before many curious Icelandic coaches, spectators and players.  I confess that winning is nearly the last thing on my mind.  I so desperately want them to play confident creative soccer -- because that is why they are getting noticed.  As the games have gotten more and more difficult, the soccer has gotten more and more stiff.  The boys are playing less creatively and more fear is creeping in.  Of course this is natural, but I'm hoping that the play in the championship round is full of confident attacking soccer.  

Greg P.    June 24th

Last Day in Iceland

Today was our final day in Iceland. We started the day with a whale watching tour, which turned into a puffin island tour because of rough seas. We embarked on the planned 2 hour tour on the "fast boat", which cut through the waves & delighted the kids with amusement ride-like bounces and jolts. We were below deck because of the speed and waves and it looked like we were in a car wash as the waves hit the boat. We stopped at Puffin Island to view puffins on the rocks and in the water. We had a bit of excitement when Tim Putz inadvertently left a life jacket on deck, which immediately blew into the water (no child inside...whew). The captain notified us that we would have to turn back after Puffin Island because of the rough seas, but not before conducting a search & rescue for the life jacket. Thankfully, the life jacket was rescued in one piece and seemed no worse for the wear. Tim said he was making sure it worked......

After walking around the city and having lunch, the group headed to the airport for another Iron Maiden voyage. While the airline claimed the flight was on time, it was not meant to be....we knew things were amiss when the computer at the gate wasn't working & the line to board the plane was backed up for what seemed like miles. Then we sat & watched the ground crew close the baggage hatch, open it again, and unload about 40 pieces of baggage while they searched for one bag, which was eventually removed and picked up by the guy in the orange vest w/ the van. One hour, 45 minutes after scheduled take-off, we eventually were airbourne and ready for our 5hour, 25 minute flight. We arrived without incident in Newark and eventually managed to take the hotel shuttle to the hotel....blurry eyed & weary, we arrived at the hotel at approximately 11pm local time, which was the end of our Iceland portion of the trip. We head back to Denver tomorrow, Tuesday June 28th.

The trip was fantastic and we're all looking forward to finally reaching home. Thank you again to Greg & Erin Parham for organizing the trip and giving all of us a wonderful experience that we'll remember forever.

Successful Tournament

Today was another gorgeous day with sunshine and spectacular scenery as a backdrop during soccer. We were placed in the championship bracket and were playing for the Shell Cup, the highest honor for 10 year olds in Iceland. We played 4 closely contested games today and the boys displayed their skill and fighting spirit throughout the day.
Colorado Rush placed 6th out of 104 teams—Spectacular!!!!!
The boys were also successful trading Rush USA jerseys with the Icelandic players and they all had huge smiles with their new Icelandic friends. At the closing ceremony, Colorado Rush was honored with the Sportsmanship Award and they walked to the stage among a standing ovation and chants of USA by parents and players. This was a great experience for the team and they were rewarded for the exemplary behavior, on and off the field. Finally, Alex Dunda was selected to the All Tournament Team, comprised of 10 players from the tournament. With over 1000 boys in the tournament, this was a great accomplishment for Alex and Colorado Rush.
They team ended their day with guess what….more soccer! After the closing ceremony and hot dog dinner, the boys headed back to the school for midnight soccer on the turf fields with siblings and the other Icelandic teams. What a great way to end the day!
We have to thank our coach, Greg Parham, for successfully leading our boys in this tournament. Their focus and determination showed in their strong performance and they were respected by the Icelandic coaches and players. What a great honor for Greg and Colorado Rush.

Success on Tournament Day 2 - into the highest bracket we go !

The morning started with our first clear view of the Eyjafjallajökull (Ey-ah-fet-ley-ooh-hook - I think) the volcanoe that erupted in June 2010. We could see steam rising from areas on the volcano - at least we think that's what it was ... sure that's what it was - FIRE AND ICE BABY.

What an incredible trip this has been for weather and scenery. We came prepared for what Iceland has to offer, but today was probably the best day yet. Sunny and warm. The unique beauty of Iceland might be lost on the boys who are having a great time goofing with their friends and playing some competitive games that are really fun, but it's not lost on the adults. Below is a bit of an idea of the spectacular tournament location.



I'll give a tip of the húfu (hat) to our goalkeepers today, being a salty old Icelandic goalkeeper type myself. Mac and Simon have been outstanding, keeping us in games that might have gotten out of hand early which gave us time to find our game. Below are a couple quick clips of outstanding saves made for Colorado Rush USA.

Our first match against Afturelding was a pretty demanding start to the day. The first half started with the team on their heels a bit as the Afturelding midfielders were getting the ball quickly to their forwards putting our defense on ... well, the defensive. Mac came up with 3 huge saves, two diving and one knocking the ball out of the upper 90 to give us a chance to advance.

The entire tournament, our goalkeepers Mac and Simon have been outstanding. In this format the ball can be played back to the goalkeepers when it gets too hot, so the keepers have to be on their toes at all times. They have done a great job of directing the defense. Also, with no offsides and frequent goalkeeper punts, they face a lot of shots. We wouldnt be moving to the final highest bracket without these guys playing so well.





Gradually, NIck, Ben and Beau began to turn the tide of the game with terrific tackling in the back. Alex won the ball at midfield drove and layed a beautiful pass to Kevin who chipped a nice ball amost in. The gargantuan (no exaggeration, this kid was BIG) Afturelding goalkeeper got a piece of it, but Alex was there to volley in the rebound for a huge goal, the only goal of the game. Colorado Rush USA 1-0

Between game, the siblings tried out the renovated Westman Islands pool. This pool has a slide that drops onto a trampoline then into the pool, a climbing wall that falls away into the pool and of course 3 hot tubs of varying temperatures. Jack Parham was able to master the trampoline slide and surf down it on his feet. He's going to leave soccer now and pursue trampoline slide surfing as his true sport. Later the siblings hoofed it up one of the steep grassy slopes that surround the soccer fields to watch some of the game with the puffins. Well, they didn't see any puffins, but you know, they could have.



In the second game against Fylkir the boys put it all together and dominated from the start. You got the impression Fylkir was holding on for dear life and the certainly held our forwards and mids (not called ;-)) Ben and Kevin kept their cool, avoided Icelandic curses and kept the ball moving foward to Charlie, Alex and Beau who eventually proved too much. Alex broke through with a rip to the far post and that was that, another 1-0 win.

The final game against Breiðablik was was the end of the road for the undefeated run. Breiðablik is a strong club and the boys fought them to a stalemate in the first half. However, they opened the second half with a quick goal. In this format, the tiebreaker is whichever team scores first in the, so if you go down 1, you need 2 for a win. They boys pressed up to get the two goals, but there is risk with that and Breiðablik went up 3-0 during the press. Beau broke the shutout and gave the boys energy and hope with a penalty kick, but a 4th goal doomed the effort Breiðablik 4-1.

The good news is we still qualified for the top bracket, and many Icelandic coaches and parents complimented our game and said how surprised they were that our boys played such solid football. They said making the top bracket on the final day to play for the Shell Cup where only 8 out of 104 teams advance is a great honor. They congratulated us, and surely hoped we would not advance much past that.

During the tournament tour officials watch games and evaluate players to be given the opportunity to play in an All Star game played on Friday evening. Our team must have made their head spin with so many amazing soccer plays made all the boys. As it was, Nick was chosen to represent Team USA in the All Star game. This was an amazing experience for Nick as the entire tournament turned out to watch the game. He also received a soccer kit with a Shellmot All Star 2011 jersey. Nick made a few nice plays during the game and his Team USA teammates really made it special for him by cheering as hard as they did for him. Thanks boys, that was the best part. Nick's team lost 4-1, but I don't think that mattered at all. After the game, lots of Icelandic boys were crowding around Nick, talking to him and hugging him and it was really something. An unforgettable experience for Nick, as the entire trip has been for our family.




After the game, we went into the green box (?) a metal gym and had a rally. There was a magician doing card tricks ... on a stage ... in Icelandic ... so ... you know ... limited accessiblity. But then it was the hamburger eating contest in which Simon represented Team USA. Sadly, Simon had just had some delicious lamb at dinner earlier at the dining hall. Had we thought this through, we certainly would have starved him in preparation. Simon came up a little short and a lot full.



After that, to bed for the boys. A huge day tomorrow in the top tournament bracket against the best teams in the tournament. Can we win it all? Stay tuned and go Colorado Rush USA.

Day 6 -- Steller Soccer and Happy Birthday Annie!

Well the day the boys were finally waiting for, day one of the tournament.  For those who aren't aware, there are a 104 teams in this tournament, with 103 being from Iceland and then there is our team.  Three clubs in this town of 4,000 alone.  Needless to say there are a lot of 10 year old boys running around "supervised" by their coaches and chaperones - a bit of chaos.

We met up with the boys for breakfast at 7:30.  They seemed well rested and ready to play.   We had played a couple of friendlies in Reykjavik on Monday to try to get the boys accustomed to the rules in this tournament (no offsides, 15 minutes halves and goal kicks are ball in hand) and although we dominated those games we lost them both.  This is a new day and these games count.

The first game started out with a bang against Vikingur.  Charlie scored almost immediately and then again.  Alex scored another to make the game 3-0.  The boys were playing great.  Connecting passes, staying back on defense.  It was a great game to watch.  Second half, Alex scored another goal followed by Beau and then Simon got in two goals.  All and all a great game.  Final score 7-0.

Second game was at 10:20 against Breidablik.  This game was a bit more challenging.  They scored first although it was very late in the first half.  We had quite a few opportunities to score but it just wasn't happening.  The first half ended 0-1.  The second half started out about the same with neither team able to score.  Alex finally put one away to tie up the game 1-1.  Charlie soon followed with his second goal and then Breidablik tied it up.  Time was quickly running out on the second half when Beau managed to sneak in a goal to put us up 4-3 - final score.

Our third game was after lunch (fish balls) and this was against Throttur, who we had played in a friendly match early in the week.  The boys were ready for revenge.  They did have a couple of tall kids in the back field.  Throttur scored first and had the only goal of the first half.  Our defense was working extremely hard.  Simon was the goalie first half and was moved to the outside midfield for the second half.  We're not sure if he was upset that they scored on him, but whatever was going on with him was great because he came out the second half and marched down the field to score and tie up the game.  He scored another shortly after to go up by one.  The last couple minutes of this game seemed to go by extremely slow and we were all greatly relieved when the final whistle blew.  Final score 2-1.

The boys all went and had an ice cream to celebrate a victorious day while the parents found various things to keep themselves occupied until dinner.  We had an early dinner (spaghetti) so we could book down to the harbor for our boat tour.  It was short but informative.  10,000 species of birds breed on this very small island (including 30% of the world Puffin population). 

After the tour a quick break before the opening ceremonies.  These ceremonies were a great thing for the boys, parading down the streets with 103 other teams into the stadium where we saw fireworks, air show and a professional soccer player do some amazing dribbling.   This is where the boys received their first loss of the day.  At the end of the ceremonies all the teams had to do a relay race where each player on the team had to run down the length of the soccer field, pull a bag of chips out of a garbage bag tied to the fence, run back and hand the baton off to the next player.  Beau got us an early lead, but he had an issue getting the chips out of the bag.  This continued to be a problem for us and clearly the coach should have spent more time on working with the boys on how to get small bags of chips out of a trash bag tied to the fence.  Well, guess you can't win them all.

post by Suzy