Alabama ODP Visits , tours and trains at Real Madrid and Real Sociadad

Alabama ODP Visits Spain

During 9 days from March 25 through April 2, Alabama ODP sent 32 players to visit the beautiful country of Spain. The trip was open to any returning state team player that attending Region Trials in the 2015-2016 season. The boys’ team was comprised of 18 players from across the state in the 2001 & 2002 age groups, while the girls’ team had 14 players in the 2000-2002 age groups. There were also 19 parent/family supporters that joined in on the trip as well.

The group started in Madrid, Spain where they almost immediately hit the training pitch with ASA Technical Director Zac Crawford to get adjusted to the difference in time zone (7 hours earlier). After that, the group was on the move from sun-up to sun-down to experience the most they possibly could while in Spain. Much of the experience was centered around soccer including a lot of time spent with the global brand Real Madrid, one of the oldest and most accomplished clubs in the history of soccer. After training twice at Real Madrid City, the home training grounds for both youth and professional players, the players also enjoyed lunch in the R.M. cafeteria one day and also had lunch and a all-access tour of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on another day. This included a tour of the museum with the many trophies and cups, as well as a visit to the player’s locker-room and onto the sideline to take pictures on the bench. The trip concluded with attending a professional match with R.M. playing Alaves in a Match-up where R.M. won 3-0, but the Alabama players came away impressed with the support that Alaves received non-stop from their supporters.

In the middle portion of the trip, the group traveled north to San Sebastian, home of Real Sociadad, a club that was in the top 5 of La Liga fighting for contention in European championship play for next year. Touring the R.S. museum and another all-access tour of the stadium were highlights as well as training twice with the 16U Academy coaches, who were fantastic.

The R.S. coaching staff opened their entire facility and program to the Alabama ODP players, players, and coaches. After reviewing their club mission and philosophy, they talked about how they measure success: player development. The surrounding 12 clubs in San Sebastian work together to promote players up the system and they measure their success based on how the number of youth players that make it to the top team, versus results.

Zac received all access to their philosophy, curriculum, and training periodization, “It was really refreshing while also some confirmation of sorts to see what we we’ve been doing with Alabama ODP and Alabama Elite is very similar in design to the R.S. Youth Academy. Clubs working together for the betterment of the player and the periodized training schedule were what stuck out to me the most.” The 16U teams train 3 times per week and play one match on the weekend. For the 17U, it’s 4:1, and for 18U+ it’s 5:1. Everything is based off of a multi- season/multi-year curriculum instead of coaching match to match trying to get a result. “There were also some similarities with what we have been doing with the ASA Youth Academy for 9s and 10s,” Zac said. “The training to match ratio that is favor of player development and teaching from a curriculum are just some things that come easy to them in Spain because of their great soccer culture, and it’s something that we have to strive to change here in the U.S.”

The trip wasn’t just all training and watching soccer, but both teams played 3 matches against Spanish competition. The Alabama ODP Girls team played their first match against the Spanish National Team Academy, and lost 5-0. The match was well-played by both groups and after the game, the two teams spent about 20 minutes together talking and exchange contact information. This was a theme throughout the trip as both boys and girls would spend time after the highly competitive and fiercely played matches to show mutual respect. Both teams had never played together before this experience, but because they had all been trained in the ODP Curriculum and the 1-4-3-3 system and possession style all players seemed to plug right into a role and understood what was required. The girls improved drastically each game and really bonded both on and off the field. They lost their 2nd game 2-0, but won their final game 1-0 with a great team effort. With only 14 players, and battling through injuries, the girls gave great effort in each match and worked hard to support each other. They even found two players from the 2nd team that came to play as guest players in the 3rd match. The cultural exchange was a fantastic opportunity for the players to meet a new friend from across the world.

The boys had 18 players, but a few came in banged up with prior injuries from their H.S. seasons. They played very good possession soccer and created more scoring chances as the week progressed. The first match was a 2-0 loss to a small club outside of Madrid named Cabeja. It was an intimate setting with many of the local residents showing up to support their local academy players; it was a battle to the very end and the fans from both sides showed great appreciation by applauding the efforts of both groups after the match. The 2nd and 3rd match saw the Alabama ODP boys dominate possession in both matches, but both matches ended up in 1-1 draws. Harrison Scott (2002), a center-back from Montgomery, AL said, “The level of matches was high compared to high school or lclub level matches, or even region pool matches themselves. I found myself challenged as a defender to be quicker, and to be more communicative. It created an atmosphere I would love to play in again.”

“The Real Sociadad coaches were really complimentary of the way we played, especially in defense. They told me that they’ve had teams come over from Arizona and Chicago from huge clubs, and that our players excelled in many categories,” Zac said. “It was also really fulfilling to see a sign of mutual respect after the game, when both teams had just been clawing it out with each other, to come together not just for an obligatory handshake, but for photographs, jersey swaps, or even contact info.”

The trip also included more than just soccer, as the group also received a historical tour of Madrid, and an afternoon visit to the historical city of Toledo, the "City of the Three Cultures", which has been influenced by a long-time co-existence of Christians, Muslims and Jews. Toledo also has a history in the production of bladed weapons/swords. In downtime, the group also spent time playing “sand soccer” on the beaches of San Sebastian and touring the many great restaurants in the “Old Town.” On another afternoon, they traveled to Biaritz, France, a beautiful surf town and spent hours touring the city and beach.

One of the highlights of the trip was staying for 2 nights at the City of Futbol Hotel, the home of the Spanish National Team. The players were displaced one night because the National Team decided to stay there on their way back from a World Cup qualifier against Israel on their way to play France in a friendly. Since La Roja felt bad about bumping the Alabama ODP players out, Captain and the rest of the team signed a soccer ball that they presented to Coach Zac.

Another highlight was that the group received free tickets to a Women’s Professional La Liga match where the host club, Oiartzun K.E., from a small community located in the Basque country of Spain hosted power=house Atletico Madrid. The setting was quaint and the locals were very friendly and happy to have us support their hometown team. It was also very important for the female players to witness first-hand a highly competitive women’s professional match so that they can continue to aspire to play at their top level.

Upon returning, many players were exhausted, but recognized how much fun that they had experiencing a different culture and being immersed in the sport that they love. This was a trip of a lifetime for this group of players that they will never forget. Alabama ODP hopes to take another international trip for the 2017-2018 season, possibly to a different country.

Alabama ODP hopes to return to Spain this next spring of 2018.