What our past Players, Coaches and Parents said about the Mayor’s Cup!
Craig Johnston – Ex Liverpool First Grade Player
The trip the girls had to play in the Mayors Cup in Las Vegas was just invaluable. From a football perspective it gave them a taste of international competition and an important insight as to the style and dedication of other national under the pressure that an overseas tournament brings, the girls also learnt a lot about themselves on and off the field as regards their temperament, dedication and commitment to the game and to each other as a squad. The trip was well organised, rich in culture as well as football lessons and it brought back some nice memories for me personally.. as a proud father I probably enjoyed it as much as the girls did ..
C. Bullivant, North West Koalas – Under 16’s
I attended the Mayor’s Cup in February 2012 and found the whole experience great. It was quite challenging but also fun as I made lots of friends who I still keep in touch with on Facebook. It was challenging because it helped me get out of my comfort zone and made me more confident to deal with new people and to travel. Following the Tournament I was asked to try out for the Westminster College Team in Salt Lake City, Utah but as I am still young I’m going back in 2013 to follow up with this team and meet some of the others.
S. Davis, North West Koalas – Reserve Grade
I had a fantastic time in Las Vegas. I was a guest player in one of the local teams and made some great friends with the local Las Vegas girls. I’m definitely going next year and am looking forward to new challenges with my own Australian team. Plus the shopping was the best!
G. Butt, North West Koalas – Reserve Grade
I’ve been to USA many times but this experience has been the best. We got to travel together as a group and the team bonding and team spirit was just wonderful. I can’t wait to go next year and catch up with old friends and impress the college recruiters some more.
H. Johnston, Manly Reserve Grade
Just got my photos developed and I can’t stop thinking about how great the trip was, thanks to everyone who was there and made it the best time ever and a special thanks to Valerie and Gerry for a great job of managing and coaching! I look forward to see you all around xxx
S. Selby
As a parent of one of the girls who attended the 2013 Mayors Cup, the whole tour was superbly organised and overall a wonderful experience on and off the field for the girls and parents! The girls had the opportunity to make new friends and to experience playing soccer in the USA against teams from around the world and to hear what college recruiters are seeking.
The format of the tour meant the girls had time to bond and the parents had time to discover Las Vegas! I highly recommend this experience for any girl who loves playing soccer at a high level and enjoys new experiences. We will definitely be trying out again for the 2014 USA Mayors Cup
S. Mackay – Captain of Sydney All Stars
Thank You Valerie- Overall, the tour was incredible and a wonderful experience for young Australian girls, like myself. Personally; as it was my first time overseas, this trip was outstanding on every level; from the tour guides at night along the Vegas strip, to the plane trip to the Grand Canyon, the shopping at the premium outlets, competing in the Lord Mayors cup and of course Disneyland. This all wouldn’t have been possible without the exquisite organization and management of the trip and people involved- Courtesy of Valerie Davis, Coach Gerry Gomez and drivers Murray and David.
The itinerary of the tour gave us time to experience life in Vegas and also allowed time to prepare for the Lord Mayors Cup showcase. The showcase gave u19 girls the opportunity to perform on the world stage and experience playing against USA teams- in hope to be recruited by US colleges. As Captain of The Sydney All Stars, we played and performed extremely well in representing Australian football. I have been fortunate enough to be scouted by 3 American colleges; which have provided me the chance to consider studying overseas and also play the sport I love. This trip has been life changing for me and on behalf of the other girls, I’m sure they would all agree that we would do it again in a blink of an eye. I hope many other boys and girls consider going on this Trip as I assure you won’t be disappointed. It certainly is a trip of a lifetime for anyone under 19 years of age.
Gerry Gomez – Coach of North West Sydney Koalas
My name is Gerry Gomez I have been involved coaching since my retirement from the National and International competitions. I currently coach the North West Sydney Koalas in the NSW Premier League competition.
I have been coaching and travelling around the world in the last 10 year learning and enhancing my knowledge about the game.
Last year I was invited to coach in February 2013 the Sydney All Starts U/19 Female Team. The team was invited to go and play in the prestigious tournament in Las Vegas USA.
I did not know what to expect from the tournament and I didn’t know how our team would perform in the tournament.
We had a very mixed team in ages and level of football ability but the team performed very well. I was impressed by the way the Americans play football, tough, quick and direct. But it was great to hear that our girls in Australia are better technically.
We played 5 games and we won 2, drew 2 and lost 1, the girls had very good time learning to adapt to different environment I was very proud of our team because they step up to the mark and performed very well.
I think the girls also learn to play very good football as well as matching the USA team in all aspects of the game and a lot of times we did so much better technically.
I learned a lot while I was there and seeing girls playing tough football games it really changed my mind that our Aussie girls can play tough as well.
What I would like to say is that our girls got a lot out it, we trained and played just about every day and we also had a lot of fun, eating out, visiting great places like the Grand Canyon and let’s not forget the shopping in Vegas.
Finally the girls go scouted by very well-known colleges in USA and we think that in the near future some of them will be selected by colleges and study abroad in USA. So if you want to study overseas this will be a great opportunity for you.
I was very impressed by the professional manner the tournament was done and I believe our team had a great time , learned a lot and also were given opportunities to go back to USA and study there.
I would highly recommend Pure Sports Travel as the tour was professionally organised and well run, leaving us with nothing to worry about but our game. Thank you, Valerie.
