Home sweet home

8On Monday evening it was finally time to travel back to the UK after my Dallas Experience.

In the morning Jack and I were treated to a trip to the George Bush library in Dallas by our homestay Carol Toler. This library is home to numerous items of George Bush during his time as president of the USA, along with a walkthrough of his life as president including the horrific scenes of 9/11.

In the afternoon, Jack and I returned to Carols to pack our final belongings and say our goodbyes.

I have to say Toby, Carol, Will and Ben Toler were nothing short of amazing. No other word can describe them. I was honoured to stay at their home, and they simply couldnt do enough for me. I will be keeping in touch with them, and hopefully can meet up again in the near future as they are one of the nicest families i have ever met.

At 8pm, it was time to board our plane home from the Dallas Fortworth international airport, returning to London Heathrow at 11.15am English time on Tuesday. The flight went fairly quick, as i had a kip on the plane.

I catched a few more trains to get me back to Manchester where i met my girlfriend and gave her a massive cuddle!

i then returned home to my mum and dad, telling them both how fantastic the trip was.

Reflecting on Dallas, it was an honour to be part of. The whole experience both on and off the field was one to remember. I am a firm believer that you only get out of life what you put into it, and i felt i have ny absolute all in Dallas to make the right impression, which will hopefully be reflected in the coming years.

Everyone who attended Dallas from the FA were such nice people, and i have definately made friends for life.

Thank you to George McCaffrey and his team who have worked so hard to make the best experience of my life.

Mike B.

Day 13 - Peters Final and closing of Dallas Cup 2015

Sunday - the final day of Dallas Cup 2015.

A fairly early pick up tine of 9.15am to go watch Peter Bankes referee the U17s final at the Toyota Stadium. Congratulations to Peter on a great appointment.

Now Peters game was very different to Jacks the day before, as he sent off 2 players and cautioned a handful! To be fair to him, he was left with no option but to do so, and again did the FA proud...

From this game, we returned to our homestay, where the rest of the group were invited round to have Easter Dinner. You could clearly see today how much the group has jelled over this 2 weeks, and how we have all learnt so much and become great friends in the process.

After the meal, we all went back to the Toyota stadium to watch the final game of Dallas Cup 2015 - the Gordon Jago Superground 19s game between Monterrey (Mexico) and Cortiba (Brazil). We all met Gordon Jago last week, and he was a true inspiration to us all. Unfortunately Gordon lost his wife recently, and has set up a charity in her name to help support the Dallas Police Department as this was her area of work. Throughout the 2 weeks, we have used a "fine system"when people have made silly comments / wore bad clothes etc ... a bit of light hearted fun. The money raised from fines for the group was $400, and we have given $250 of that to Gordons charity. Gordon was very appreciative of this.

After the game, we made our way to the farewell referee party at the inter continental hotel. I have met many friends in the "referee family" over the last 2 weeks, and will now keep in touch with lots of referees from all over the world.

That marked the official end of the Dallas Cup 2015.

We returned to our homestays, relaxed and played lots of pool. Our flight is at 8pm tomorrow evening, so another busy day is ahead of us tomorrow, and i will update you all again soon!

Mike B.

Day 12 - Jacks Final

Saturday morning i had the privaledge of a lie-in until 10am.

I was picked up at 11am to be taken to FC Dallas ground - The Toyota Stadium to watch Jack Nield referee the U14s cup final. Upon arrival at the ground, i was nothing short of impressed at the 22,000 seater facility.

Jack refereed very well, issuing no cards throughout the game and managing each situation which could potentially escalate.

We then returned to our houses, where we got showered and changed ready for our big family meal. The family meal was a gathering of all the homestay families, referees and coaches. The meal is paid for by the referees as a thank-you for the kindness and generosity our homestays have showed us over the last 2 weeks.

Our meal took place at the Texas Life and Cattle resturaunt, where each of us had a gorgeous sirloin steak.

After the food, each of us did a speech infront of the group about our homestays and how great they have been. I cant thank Toby, Carol, Will and Ben Toler for allowing me to stay with them for 2 weeks. They are absolutely amazing people who i will forever look up to, they simply cant do enough for you. I will be keeping intouch with them all, and they are always welcome back at mine in the UK!

We all then passed over our presents to our homestays, and i gave Toby and Carol my gift of a Bolton Wanderers football shirt signed by Kevin Davies.

After the presentations, a few of us refs and coaches went out for a drink to celebrate an amazing 2 weeks.

Mike B.

Day 11 - The Semi Final

On Friday i was appointed as referee for the U15s semi final. The game was between FC Dallas and Golden State.

I felt I gave my best refereeing performance of the tournament, so i saved best until last! I felt my management of the game was very strong and i got some good feedback. This was my last game of the tournament, so its time to relax and recover.

From then, we went back to our homestays, got a quick shower and change, then went to a place called the "Chicken Scratch". It was a bar with live music on. It was a great atmosphere. I had a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. To my surprise, i soon realised i had ordered chicken inside a Scone... yes a Scone! They call this a sandwich in America, so i was taken back by how bizzare this was!

From here, we went out to a place called Top Golf which is a driving range, where there is live music and a bar. It was really good, and we all had a laugh!

One final word for Jack Nield, who i can confirm has been appointed as referee for the U14s final on Saturday, to be played at the home of FC Dallas - The Toyota Stadium.

I have homestayed with Jack, and i can say i came here as a colleague of Jack, but i will return home with him as a close friend. He is a great lad, and i will be keeping in touch with him when im back at home. Congratulations to him.

Mike B.

Day 10 - Shopping and 4th Official

So i got up at 9am for a change today ... a lie in, and god it felt good!!!

I first went for a leg massage at one of the homestays which helped greatly and was so relaxing!

The FA Academy did a spot of shopping in the morning at Allens outlet mall, which is very similar to Cheshire Oaks for those who have been.

We then made our way to moneygram which is a state of the art brand new complex consisting of 12 pitches. I was placed on a U14s Quarter final with 3 American officials. I was fourth official on this game. The game went to penalties, so the game ended up being very long so at times got difficult due to the baking sun beaming down on us.

Next we returned to our homestays to have some lovely deli sandwiches, then got ourselves ready for the Dallas cup casino night. This was where we all got $2000 fake money, and gambled on games such as roulette, poker and blackjack. The more chips we had at the end of the night, the more chance we had of winning prizes such as a signed referees shirt from Howard Webb. I didnt win nothing, which didnt surprise me!

Thats another day gone ... 3 days to go!

I have a U15s semi final as referee on Friday, which is a great appointment that i am very much looking forward to.

Mike B.

Day 9 - Assistant Referee X2

Today i had 2 further games as assistant referee - one at 10am and one at 2pm.

The first was a line for Peter Bankes (again!), with a Scottish elite list assistant referee, and Rob Jones as 4th official. The game went a bit sour, with 2 players disagreeing over a decision, which ended with both players spitting at one another. In my opinion this is one of the worst acts a player could do, and rightfully so Mr Bankes issued both players with red cards. Apart from this, the game went well.

The 2nd game i was on the line for a Fifa referee from New Zealand. I was impressed by him, even though he clearly wore the wrong shoes as he fell over 3 times during the game! This game was an U19s super group game between Everton and a Japanese team. Everton won 2-0, in a very frantic, fast paced contest.

After this, we all went as a group to the "Go4it" sports bar. We all had some food and played killer pool. I was my usual grumpy self when i lost at killer, as i expected to win!

At 10:30pm we made our way back to our homestays and off to bed.

From now onwards, the tournament is knockout as the group games have all been played. Next up is the semi finals and finals, so fingers crossed i receive one of these appointments! I will of course keep you posted.

Mike B.

Day 8 - Further games and Mr Webb!

Another 8:30am get up ... ready for my only game of the day at 10am ... between San Jose Earthquakes and New Mexico.

Keith Stroud coached me during this game, i received good feedback regarding my management of the game and my fitness. I had some development points regarding my positioning which is a working progress, along with some advice about giving the "easy free kicks". Overall the advice given was positive and i was pleased with my overall performance, apart from the fact my feet were very sore!!! I also got some positive feedback from Howard Webb!

At 12pm, Mr Howard Webb volunteered to referee a game, so of course i had to watch! I was so impressed by how relaxed he was, and his presence impressed me.

For the rest of the afternoon we spent it at our homestay, being met by Jacks Dad and Grandad, who have travelled to Dallas for 1 week. We all settled and had a lovely meal.

At 7pm it was time to get picked up to go to a referees party as a hawayian theme. Fair to say the English officials were the best dressed up!!! We had a great time on the kareoke, and it really brought the referew family together.

So tomorrow i have 2 games, both as assistant referee. One is assistant for Peter Bankes, and one is for a Fifa referee.

Mike B.