FC Bascome Compete At NY Easter Tournament
FC Bascome’s Under-9 and Under-11 teams are testing themselves against overseas opposition at the New York Easter Football Extravaganza in Long Island and New York.
The tournament is part of an exchange programme between the local outfit and the Long Island Rough Riders, a USL League 2 franchise.
Peter Zaratin, the Rough Riders president, has visited the island on several occasions with his franchise for matches against the now defunct Bermuda Hogges and the Bermuda Under-20 side.
FC Bascome, who sent teams to the USL Academy Cup in Tampa, Florida, last month, return to the island on Friday.
They have played four matches so far, winning two on Monday and two yesterday.
Andrew Bascome, the FC Bascome head coach, said: “Our parent group organising the trip has done a fantastic job with a rather short preparation time, as many of us just came back from USL Academy Cup in Tampa.
“As we all know, the amount of time and energy you put into something usually corresponds to similar output.
“And it certainly has, the players and the coaches have been very focused, and they have had to quickly adjust and adapt to all local variations to the game; playing on large stadium field, playing 30-minute halves instead of our three times 20 minute “halves”, playing fast paced seven-aside indoor turf games with no through-ins.
“Our teams have been victorious in all matches, but more importantly they have been well-behaved, asserted themselves, and shown great respect for the game and the opponents. Equally our coaches, Sergio Goater, and Martin Brown for the Under-9 team, and Ken Mahadeo for the Under-11 team, have done a great job so far, but also learned a few things that will help them improve as coaches.
“We are now heading to New York and Manhattan, and we will play two different clubs over the next two days. We all feel good and prepared, and we look forward to the challenges of the next two days.”
