Good morning from Australia!
I woke up to this face at 4:00am. Alright, it was closer to 4:30am but I was still half asleep. Full disclosure – I slept on the coach last night. I fell asleep watching the San Jose Earthquakes vs FC Dallas. That wasn’t due to the quality of the game, as I’ve really enjoyed watching the Quakes play the past month or so. It had been a long day, waking up early to watch games, heading to the coast with the family and packing for my departure on Monday. But I digress…
Australia was playing Italy at 4am and I didn’t want to wake my wife, Renee. She loves soccer but she has a big week of Kinder Kickz Soccer camps this week, so she was happy skipping out on the 4am game. I set an alarm and woke up right on time for the kickoff. I made the mistake of staying horizontal and shortly after the first goal I fell back asleep.
My doze didn’t last last as my phone was ringing and before I could get my bearings I was face-timing with my good friend Geoff Stanmore in Australia where I think it was 10:00pm.
Geoff worked with the US team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, serving as the team liaison for the late Clive Charles and his team. Geoff was put in touch with me when he organized a US tour shortly after and the rest is history. He has made six trips to the US, bringing both boys and girls groups. Let’s just say he is keeping score and currently it is Australia/Team Stanmore 6, USA/Team Ziemer 0.
One of the players on the 2000 USA Olympic team which Geoff worked with – US great Landon Donovan
Geoff came this past January with his family and a group of boys from Kemps Creek Soccer Club. They were a fun group – as they always are – and I had the pleasure of running a session for them and hosting a game at Sonoma Academy where they took on Santa Rosa United. Soccer is the world’s game and it is always fun to interact with players and coaches from around the globe with soccer as the connection point.
Kemps Creek from Australia vs Santa Rosa United at Sonoma Academy in January 2019
One of the coaches on Geoff’s early tours was Leigh Wardell, who played in the the first official Matildas team that faced New Zealand in 1979. It was nice to hear she was recently inducted into the Football Federation Australia (FFA) Hall of Fame. Congratulations Leigh!
Leigh Wardell, original Matildas player and recent FFA Hall of Fame inductee
Geoff coached Emily van Egmond as a 12 year old in New South Wales State U18 School Girls Squad.
Emily van Egmond Australia captain
Stanmores (Sydney, Australia) and Ziemers (Santa Rosa, California) in January 2019
The Stanmore and Ziemer kids united through soccer
I was gutted for Geoff when Australia gave up the winning goal in the last minute of the game, but hopefully they can bounce back against Brazil in their next game.
The world unites through soccer once again!
