Shipley girls’ soccer team bonded in England, off to fine start

Bryn Mawr >> A month ago, the Shipley girls’ soccer team boarded a plane and headed across the pond for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to England to prepare for the fall 2019 season and bond as team.
With a week that featured many unique bonding opportunities that included touring Windsor Castle, stadium tours of three Premier League teams along with the National Football Museum (known as soccer in the United States) and training with the Academy teams of three Premier League teams, it was an impromptu stop at Build-A-Bear that seemed to be one of the most valuable in terms of team bonding.
“The trip to Build-A-Bear wasn’t planned at all,” said junior Mackenzie Medina. “We just kind of went out and decided to make a Build-A-Bear and even though it was so on the whim and did not mean much at the time, it just shows now that we put all of our team values and trust in each other when building the bear.”
“We decided to go to Build-A-Bear and use some of the leftover money we had to make a bear,” said junior Abby Aughe. “He basically came to every one of our games and we did well in England, so we brought him back and we still embrace him and we wanted to carry our good play back here.”
When they were finished building the bear, they dressed the bear in Manchester City jersey (the favorite Premier League team of the Shipley soccer team), named the Bear after their bus driver, Dave, and had their tour guide supply the “Go Gators” cheer when squeezing the bear.
With their new mascot on the bench the team proceeded to win all of their games in Europe. Since the team returned to the United States, the team has started the season 5-2-1 (as of Sept. 30), including 2-0 in Friends’ Schools League play.
“I think that it’s great they were able to put their team values to use in something as simple as going to Build-A-Bear,” said Shipley girls’ soccer head coach Dakota Carroll. “Everyone chipped in and it’s great to see them bond as a team.”
With their mascot in hand, the Shipley girls’ soccer team played three matches throughout the course of the week against Crewe Alex, AFC Wimbledon FC and Bromley FC, with training sessions at Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC mixed in.

Additionally, the team had the opportunity to see their favorite team, Manchester City, take on West Ham United.
“To have this opportunity was a really good experience, especially before pre-season,” said freshman Mackenzie Paine. “It gave me a chance to get to know the whole team, especially the other center back who I would be paired with on the field. It made for a great time.”
“I was so excited when I found out about the trip,” said Medina. “It was great for team bonding and it gave us a chance to see famous stadiums, famous locker rooms, famous landmarks and I am totally grateful.”