Soccer group going to England

The local 12-under team will travel to England and Scotland in summer of 2010.

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN — Neil Fowler is the kind of guy who knows that failure to plan is just another way of planning to fail.

Last fall Fowler approached a group of girls and their parents about traveling to England and Scotland on a soccer excursion.

The trip will occur in July 2010, 19 months from now.

“It takes a lot of planning,” Fowler said.

“You have to organize. You have to give them enough time. Financially, you have to have at least a year.”

Fowler, who moved to the area in 1991 from his native Durham, England, has trained several young soccer players for many years.

He’s asked other players about making the trip but always failed before.

“It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a number of years,” Fowler said.

“All the parents wanted to go this time. That’s what the requirement is — all must want to go; it’s all in or all out.”

Once he had the commitment from the families — he has 12 girls in the under-12 age group involved — he began to work on their itinerary.

Currently they practice at an indoor baseball facility (Sluggers on Western Reserve Road in Boardman) and play indoor soccer games in Hudson where they’re 10-2 this season.

In July 2010 they will be competing in the U-14 division. They’re called the Simon Futbol Club.

Fowler is more than just an organizer. He’s the only person living in the area with an “A” soccer coaching license — the top available.

While he’s laying out the logistics of the trip (15 players and maybe as many parents), the girls are involved in a series of fund raisers.

Fowler is searching for a major sponsor since he feels the trip will cost $30,000.

But, he insists the players do their share of the work.

“We’ve got to keep them active and involved,” Fowler said.

The group’s 10-day tour to the United Kingdom will begin in Glasgow, Scotland and will progress to the historic capital of Scotland, Edinburgh.

There will be a friendly game of soccer, or two, against teams of the same age group and they will spend a night in a 14th-century medieval castle in York.

After a few more “friendlies” they will watch two professional games and travel to Chester.

Fowler has already arranged for a visit to Manchester United’s “Theater of Dreams” playing field.

“It’s one of the 2-3 most famous [soccer] grounds in the world,” Fowler said. “They won’t let anyone walk on the grass.”

The trip, which will include plenty of sightseeing to go with the soccer, will culminate in two nights in London where they will play a local team.

While there are 12 players now in the group, Fowler hopes to travel with 15 girls.

Players now are from Boardman. Mineral Ridge, Lordstown, Poland and Western Pennsylvania.

For details on the team, call Fowler at (330) 318-4158 or (330) 207-9750.