Premier SuperCopa Part 3- Good times in Rockford/ Rochelle, IL
The actual playing of soccer only takes up a small portion of the time during the course of a tournament weekend. I've never traveled with Alyssa for a soccer tournament before so this was my first time seeing the non soccer action that occurs during tournaments.
For this tournament, all of the players and their families were going to stay at the same hotel. Then all of our rooms were taken away by the hotel (long story) and the new hotel that was offered to us was further away from the fields. Many families opted to not stay with the team and instead found hotels closer to the tournament site. Donnie felt like we should stay at the hotel that our travel coordinator arranged for us even though it was much less convenient for us. The downside (besides being further from the fields) was that there were fewer of Alyssa's soccer buddies staying at our same hotel. The upside was that there were fewer of Alyssa's soccer buddies staying at our same hotel. It was bad and good. Bad because the girls weren't all together but good because Alyssa and the girls at her hotel really bonded and had a great time together. The whole team did a few activities together and I'll list those below:
Thursday: Right after our first game, all of the girls went to a party facility to celebrate one of Alyssa's soccer teammate's birthdays. The birthday girl's parents paid for all the girls to play laser tag and play miniature golf. And, they had cookies ;). This was a great activity for the girls and parents (great for the parents because this was a free activity in an expense laden span of several days :)).
After the birthday party, we made the 30 + minuet trek to Rochelle (the town where our hotel was), had just a bit of downtown and then drove back up to Rockford for a team dinner at a place called Thunder Bay Grille. The food and service was good; we had a private room that was loud and naturally whenever there's a big group, everything takes longer so we were at the restaurant for quite some time.
Friday: Friday was a busy day as the girls played two games. This was the day that Alyssa (and all the girls) got to see Chloe for the first time in 2 + years. Chloe played soccer with Alyssa and a few of the other girls who are currently on Alyssa's team several years ago. Chloe's family moved to California and we didn't know if we'd see Chloe or her family again. Chloe texted Alyssa about a month ago and asked her if Alyssa's team was going to this tournament. Chloe said that her team was going to it. So, the girls knew they'd get to see each other. After our team's first game on Friday, we met up with Chloe. The girls enjoyed seeing each other after two years and we enjoyed catching up with Chloe's parents (our teams never played each other in the tourney). For lunch, we went to one of the hotels that someone on Alyssa' team was staying at that was much closer to the fields than our hotel (it wouldn't have made sense for us to go all the way to Rochelle and then have to come back shortly after that). We all brought in food from whatever restaurant we wanted and then took it to the lobby/ breakfast area of the hotel. The girls played card games to fill time while the parents chatted. For dinner, those us who stayed in Rochelle all went out to dinner at a Rochelle restaurant rather than drive back to Rockford.
Saturday: Nothing too exceptionally memorable happened outside of soccer (this was the day we beat the NUMBER 2 TEAM IN THE NATION); soccer that day was the high point :). For dinner, we did drive back to Rockford for a team meal this time at WoodFire Pizza Bar and Bakery. It was good, but once again, long :). The girls had fun. I noticed that at both of the team dinners, Alyssa found another teammate who doesn't enjoy running around and is more chill and hung out with her. When we ate at WoodFire, especially, it seemed like the majority of the girls were running around for a good part of the time.
Sunday: As soon as our game ended (which we lost, which meant we were done, we headed home).
Here are some pictures:
Thursday:
Lunch before the game at the hotel with a couple of the girls who were also at our hotel...
Cleat cleaning before the girls used the restroom at the tournament site...
We also go to see Baby Ocie- he's the brother of Aniyah who's on CUP's 05 team which was also at the tournament. He was as not thrilled to see me as he appears here..
I meant to get a lot of pictures at the birthday party but I only took a couple...
Dinner that evening with the whole team; the girls from our hotel posed together in the porch portion of the restaurant.
Friday:
The girls who used to play with Chloe met up with her after our first game...
The girls play "Don't Take My Card" in between our first and second games on Friday
After the girls' second game, they were able to watch a little bit of Aniyah's game. Baby Ocie wasn't too thrilled with Alyssa either...
I think he wanted his mama...
He liked the company of others when his mama held him
Blowing kisses...
Saturday:
Alyssa saw Chloe once again. Chloe's team didn't make it to the semi- finals. They were defeated by Chicago Fire (the team that would beat us on Sunday). Had Chloe's team beat Fire, we would have played Chloe's team on Sunday morning. Chloe was sad her team lost but she was such a trooper and brought presents for the all girls.
We chatted with Chloe's family and then we started to walk away since we weren't going in the same direction. Alyssa turned to us and said, "We're not going to see them again are we?" We told her that we wouldn't see them again in this tournament and we didn't know when we'd see them after that. "I have to give Chloe one last hug," and she ran up to where Chloe and her family were walking. So naturally, I got my camera out...
...and zoomed in as much as I could (I didn't have my big lens on my camera so I had limited zooming capabilities).
So...
so...
sweet!
Chloe brought the girls candy and this California pin (which I could not photograph well)
Dinner Saturday evening at this good place...
One mom asked a waitress to take a picture of the crazy CUP crew...
I'm grateful that I was able to see Alyssa and her team play at the SuperCopa. For the next season, her coach has already identified several travel tournaments that he wants the team to participate in. I'm not counting on being able to go to any of them; I'm so glad that this one worked out for me to attend. Loved seeing Alyssa play her heart out, have fun and gain new experiences. Happy that the teens navigated life at home without us. They missed us but gained the confidence that they can get by without parents for a few days.
For this tournament, all of the players and their families were going to stay at the same hotel. Then all of our rooms were taken away by the hotel (long story) and the new hotel that was offered to us was further away from the fields. Many families opted to not stay with the team and instead found hotels closer to the tournament site. Donnie felt like we should stay at the hotel that our travel coordinator arranged for us even though it was much less convenient for us. The downside (besides being further from the fields) was that there were fewer of Alyssa's soccer buddies staying at our same hotel. The upside was that there were fewer of Alyssa's soccer buddies staying at our same hotel. It was bad and good. Bad because the girls weren't all together but good because Alyssa and the girls at her hotel really bonded and had a great time together. The whole team did a few activities together and I'll list those below:
Thursday: Right after our first game, all of the girls went to a party facility to celebrate one of Alyssa's soccer teammate's birthdays. The birthday girl's parents paid for all the girls to play laser tag and play miniature golf. And, they had cookies ;). This was a great activity for the girls and parents (great for the parents because this was a free activity in an expense laden span of several days :)).
After the birthday party, we made the 30 + minuet trek to Rochelle (the town where our hotel was), had just a bit of downtown and then drove back up to Rockford for a team dinner at a place called Thunder Bay Grille. The food and service was good; we had a private room that was loud and naturally whenever there's a big group, everything takes longer so we were at the restaurant for quite some time.
Friday: Friday was a busy day as the girls played two games. This was the day that Alyssa (and all the girls) got to see Chloe for the first time in 2 + years. Chloe played soccer with Alyssa and a few of the other girls who are currently on Alyssa's team several years ago. Chloe's family moved to California and we didn't know if we'd see Chloe or her family again. Chloe texted Alyssa about a month ago and asked her if Alyssa's team was going to this tournament. Chloe said that her team was going to it. So, the girls knew they'd get to see each other. After our team's first game on Friday, we met up with Chloe. The girls enjoyed seeing each other after two years and we enjoyed catching up with Chloe's parents (our teams never played each other in the tourney). For lunch, we went to one of the hotels that someone on Alyssa' team was staying at that was much closer to the fields than our hotel (it wouldn't have made sense for us to go all the way to Rochelle and then have to come back shortly after that). We all brought in food from whatever restaurant we wanted and then took it to the lobby/ breakfast area of the hotel. The girls played card games to fill time while the parents chatted. For dinner, those us who stayed in Rochelle all went out to dinner at a Rochelle restaurant rather than drive back to Rockford.
Saturday: Nothing too exceptionally memorable happened outside of soccer (this was the day we beat the NUMBER 2 TEAM IN THE NATION); soccer that day was the high point :). For dinner, we did drive back to Rockford for a team meal this time at WoodFire Pizza Bar and Bakery. It was good, but once again, long :). The girls had fun. I noticed that at both of the team dinners, Alyssa found another teammate who doesn't enjoy running around and is more chill and hung out with her. When we ate at WoodFire, especially, it seemed like the majority of the girls were running around for a good part of the time.
Sunday: As soon as our game ended (which we lost, which meant we were done, we headed home).
Here are some pictures:
Thursday:
Lunch before the game at the hotel with a couple of the girls who were also at our hotel...
Cleat cleaning before the girls used the restroom at the tournament site...
We also go to see Baby Ocie- he's the brother of Aniyah who's on CUP's 05 team which was also at the tournament. He was as not thrilled to see me as he appears here..
I meant to get a lot of pictures at the birthday party but I only took a couple...
Dinner that evening with the whole team; the girls from our hotel posed together in the porch portion of the restaurant.
Friday:
The girls who used to play with Chloe met up with her after our first game...
The girls play "Don't Take My Card" in between our first and second games on Friday
After the girls' second game, they were able to watch a little bit of Aniyah's game. Baby Ocie wasn't too thrilled with Alyssa either...
I think he wanted his mama...
He liked the company of others when his mama held him
Blowing kisses...
Saturday:
Alyssa saw Chloe once again. Chloe's team didn't make it to the semi- finals. They were defeated by Chicago Fire (the team that would beat us on Sunday). Had Chloe's team beat Fire, we would have played Chloe's team on Sunday morning. Chloe was sad her team lost but she was such a trooper and brought presents for the all girls.
We chatted with Chloe's family and then we started to walk away since we weren't going in the same direction. Alyssa turned to us and said, "We're not going to see them again are we?" We told her that we wouldn't see them again in this tournament and we didn't know when we'd see them after that. "I have to give Chloe one last hug," and she ran up to where Chloe and her family were walking. So naturally, I got my camera out...
...and zoomed in as much as I could (I didn't have my big lens on my camera so I had limited zooming capabilities).
So...
so...
sweet!
One mom asked a waitress to take a picture of the crazy CUP crew...
I'm grateful that I was able to see Alyssa and her team play at the SuperCopa. For the next season, her coach has already identified several travel tournaments that he wants the team to participate in. I'm not counting on being able to go to any of them; I'm so glad that this one worked out for me to attend. Loved seeing Alyssa play her heart out, have fun and gain new experiences. Happy that the teens navigated life at home without us. They missed us but gained the confidence that they can get by without parents for a few days.
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