Artfully stylish headphones, pristine sportswear and chuckling banter are nothing new on a football coach travelling to face opponents on their patch. What's different on this coach - a modern double-decker replete with onboard "facilities" (no number twos please) - is that the players are 11, 12 and 13-year-old girls. Teddington Athletic's two well-regarded female teams are headed for the continent, and the continent had better beware.
The midnight meet in a swimming pool car park was a nervous affair. Would everyone turn up? Was there the requisite paperwork? And where was the coach? Turned out it was marooned outside, but players, staff and family trooped on and set off for Europe.
Nobody knows how well the girls will do. But they are fine players and just as importantly fine people. This will be a learning experience, and a bonding one. Good luck to all concerned: the girls comparing smartphones, the parents pooling lagers, the coaches plotting victory on foreign fields. May they all do Teddington proud.
Glad you're on the road!
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