DAY 7-

Today was our last full day on the island and because of the hurricane; soccer for the day had been called off. We had a relaxing last day of sleeping in and lounging by the pool. Later on we went to Emily Weedon’s family’s house where we had a nice dinner prepared once again by Chris. We hung out outside and had fun playing random games as a team. Later that night the team went out together one last time before we had to leave for the airport this morning, Sunday August 23rd.

DAY 6-

Today we had a light practice in the morning, and then we took a bus ride around the island. We saw many different beaches that had huge waves due to the incoming hurricane. When we got back to the Sandpiper we got ready, relaxed a little bit and then we went back into Hamilton to check out some more shops. Later on we went out to dinner at a place up the street called the Swizzle Inn.

DAY 5-

This morning was nice because we got to sleep in late since we didn’t have practice in the morning. When we were all awake and ready to go we headed to Horseshoe Bay, which is a beautiful beach widely known for the incredibly blue water and pink-tinted sand. The whole team started out together and we spent a lot of time swimming in the ocean and taking on some pretty big waves. After being stuck in pouring rain for quite a while, half of the team decided to go back to the Sandpiper while the other half stayed at the beach, hoping the rain would pass. The rain did stop and it turned out to be very sunny and hot out so we all enjoyed a few more hours in the sun. Before our second 7 p.m. game we had a great pasta primavera dinner prepared by Chris. Tonight we played three, thirty-minute periods against the u-23 national team. Bermuda is a pretty small place with a women’s soccer program that is still developing, so we noticed that some of the girls we had played in the first game were also playing on this team. Once again Trinity women’s soccer won the game 5-0 with five different people scoring each goal (Jenny Ley, Leigh Howard, Lily Pepper, Morgan Sackman, and Lauren Olsen). In this game we tried very hard to work on our defensive shape in preparation for the season, while still creating many scoring opportunities.

DAY FOUR

When we woke up this morning we were all very excited because we had a full day planned. We did our 9 a.m. practice once again and then we headed back to the Sandpiper for lunch and to get ready for our day. At 1:30 we piled in to four different taxis that brought us to the Water Lot in South Hamilton. Earlier that morning Coach Smith had booked nineteen spots on a glass bottom boat and snorkeling excursion. The boat drove us seven miles off the coast and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the surrounding land and the marine life through the clear bottom of the boat. Once we reached our destination, we were given our flippers and snorkel gear and we jumped into the water. We snorkeled through coral reefs and thousand year old shipwrecks where we saw sea turtles and tropical fish. After about an hour of snorkeling, with thunder sounding in the distance, we got back on the boat and headed back to the dock. After all of our snorkeling we were offered a Bermudian original drink known as the Swizzle and it was very fruity and refreshing. Our bus came back for us at 6:30 and once we were all showered and ready we drove into Hamilton for dinner and to walk around. We ate dinner at a fun restaurant called the Pickled Onion and then we walked along the little shops that fronted a marina area.

DAY THREE

Today we had another early 9 a.m. practice and we got to work with a British trainer associated with the Bermuda Futbol Association. We worked on some passing patterns and all enjoyed having a practice with him. Our coaches figured that since we were to have a game later on that day, we should stay out of the sun so that we would have enough energy to play at 7 p.m. We called up a small bus to bring us to the dockyard, which is a little town area with many shops. It was surrounded by water and a marina, which was a popular stop for many cruise lines. After our little shopping spree we went back to the Sandpiper for another great dinner of chicken and vegetable kabobs prepared by Chris, our goalie coach. Back at the field, many of us were a little intimidated by the number of Bermuda national players that rolled in on their mopeds. We played three, twenty-five minute periods against a team of girls that ranged from about sixteen and nineteen years old. Although it was our first official game together since the fall, we played as if we had never been apart, dominating in all areas of the field. We were moving the ball well, and really starting to look like a team again, and we also had the most amazing sunset and ocean view background going for us! Trinity Women’s Soccer walked off the field with a 5-0 victory over the Bermuda team, and five different people scoring each goal (Jenny Ley, Leigh Howard, Lily Pepper, Lindsey Monaghan, and Lauren Olsen).

DAY TWO

Today we got up bright and early and made our way back to the turf field for an early morning practice. We were happy to be back and playing together however we had a bit of a hard time adapting to the Bermuda heat and humidity. After practice, we spent some more time in the pool and then we were off to the beach. We were at Elbow Beach for a good part of the day relaxing on the smooth sand and swimming in the clear blue Bermudian waters. After that we returned to the Sandpiper Apartments where we got ready for a nice dinner reservation. The bus brought us to one of Bermuda’s beautiful hotels that overlooked the beach. We walked down many flights of stairs until we reached the sand and a huge tent set-up where we would be eating. We enjoyed a variety of different dishes, mainly seafood, at the classy restaurant right on the beach.

Day One

On Sunday, August 16th, fifteen Trinity women soccer players, and four coaches set off from the Newark, Logan and Wisconsin airports all heading to beautiful Bermuda for a preseason soccer trip. We all reunited at the Bermuda airport around 1 p.m. after a long summer apart, and we boarded a bus headed for the Sandpiper Guest Apartments in Warwick, Bermuda. After settling in we got back on the bus and drove to a local grocery store to get breakfast and lunch food for the entire week. When we returned, we took advantage of the sunny, and hot Bermuda weather by taking a dip in the pool. We ate a team dinner of turkey burgers, provided by our goalie coach, Chris, and once again boarded the bus for a short practice at a turf field provided for us by the Bermuda Futbol Association.