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To New Zealand and back A teams final trip together.
The journey to New Zealand started 5 years ago when Sean Dick took over as the teams head coach because the original head coach was being transferred to Germany on business.
Sean recognized the talent on this team and wanted to get them with a club that had a national reputation. He and the boys moved to NHB. And every year the boys got promoted from silver to silver elite, then to gold and finally to premier. The core of the team has stayed together and they act like brothers. They look out for each other on and off the field they have become very close.
In 2005 the team traveled to England to play friendlies and tour the country. The team’s goal was to come back to the United States with a greater passion for the game. The trip did the job.
In 2006 NHB was approached by the Ole Soccer Academy in Porirua, New Zealand. The offer, to set up an exchange program to give the teams of NHB some international experience, and to give the players from the academy some exposure to college coaches by having them play in the NHB tournament.
After a year of planning, it happened. The boys left on June 24, 2007 for Wellington, New Zealand. After crossing not only the equator but the international dateline, the boys arrived safely. They were greeted by Mike Wilson a Stanford graduate and a player for the Minnesota Thunder. He took the team to the Ole Soccer Academy where the boys found out that the New Zealand U-20 national team had just stayed and trained before heading out the U-20 world cup in Canada.
The boys were treated to scenic tours of the country, and what a beautiful country it is to travel. They rode ATV’s in the rainforest, hiked in the rainforests, they were given a Lord of the Rings tour where they got to go directly to the locations where the movies were filmed. A Maori cultural day was put together for them, and they were cooked a “Hangi” and they had a “Haka” performed for them along with having some of the Maori songs sung to them. What a beautiful language. This all took place at PGA player Michael Campbell’s golf course.
The boys also went to “Te Papa” the National museum in Wellington. This gave them some knowledge of how the islands were formed and how they evolved, and what creatures live in New Zealand. They also learned how the Maori people arrived in New Zealand.
They were also given the opportunity to catch fish on the other side of the planet. They did! And they ate them too!
The boys were fortunate enough to have their own personal chef at the academy. The boys treated him with respect, and in return, he fed them like kings!
The boys played a total of four matches while down in New Zealand. If you have been watching the U-20 world cup, and you have seen the New Zealand team play, you would have heard two clubs mentioned Hawke’s Bay and Western Suburbs. NHB was fortunate enough to play both of these clubs. NHB went 2-2 in their four matches. Not bad for a team traveling with only 12 players.
And when it was all done, six of the boys were asked to stay and play soccer before heading off to college.
And in keeping with NHB tradition, the boys on the final day cleaned the academy leaving it in better shape then before they arrived. They were thanked by the owners and the chef for taking pride in their work and doing such a good job. The boys were respectful towards the staff of the academy and their opponents.
On July 6, 2007 the boys boarded the plane for the flight home knowing that this could have possibly been the last thing this team will have done together. But what a way to end your club experience!
In this writer’s opinion, the boys were outstanding ambassadors for NHB, Cal South, Coast Soccer League, and the United States of America. They matured in to fine young men that have respect for the game, fellow players, and most of all themselves. I believe that they have a very strong foundation to get them started on their life’s journey. They are all going to college, and some may even go back and play in New Zealand next summer.
These experiences will stay with them for rest of their lives. I am glad that this writer got to share it with them.
