Three teams of players from the Valley Soccer Club recently returned from a four day soccer trip to Ottawa, Canada.  The club has a sister club relationship with the Ottawa Internationals Soccer Club, who are based in the Canadian capital.  Valley sends teams to Ottawa in the summer,

while the Canadian club sends teams to our area in the fall.

            This year's Valley trip included 47 players and 10 staff members.  Participating teams included the Valley Crew (Under-14 Boys), Valley Vikings (Under-13 Boys) and Valley Voodoo (Under-13 Girls).  The group departed Friday morning by bus, arriving late afternoon in Ottawa, with a brief stop at the 1000 Islands Tower, a 400 foot structure overlooking the St Lawrence River.  Friday evening saw the teams getting training sessions from staff members of the Ottawa Internationals.

            Saturday morning, each team had a game against local sides.  The Vikings took on a team from the hosts OISC, the Crew fell to Cumberland and the Voodoo defeated OISC.  In the afternoon, the teams got to attend a professional match between the Ottawa Fury and the Rochester Rhinos in United Soccer League (2^nd tier of professional soccer) action.

On Sunday, each team saw action twice.  In morning matches, all three teams were in action against OISC teams (being one of the larger clubs in Ottawa, they have multiple teams in most age groups).  The Voodoo and Vikings both won their matches, while the Crew were defeated in theirs.  In the afternoon, playing their second games of the day, all three teams dropped their final matches, with the Crew and Voodoo both falling to Ottawa South United and the Vikings defeated by Gloucester Hornets.

            The Ottawa Internationals also recognized a player on each team as "Most Outstanding Participants," taking into account their performances on the field as observed by officials and coaches, as well as their conduct and cooperation off the field.  Award recipients included Griffin Love (Vikings), Keiran Rea (Crew) and Sarah Edwards (Voodoo). 

            When not at soccer activities, the teams also took part in numerous sightseeing activities.  The team got to see the city's major sites on a double-decker tour bus, seeing the various museums, the Rideau Canal, the Prime Minister's residence, parts of Gatineau in Quebec, the Supreme Court and Parliament to name a few.  On Monday morning, the teams witnessed the changing of the guard ceremony on the grounds of Parliament, followed by several hours of free time in Byward Market, Canada's oldest continually operating open air market. 

            This trip marked the third time Valley teams have travelled to Canada, and the club looks forward to an October visit from various Ottawa International teams.