Day 1: Wednesday July 28, 2010

After an interesting start to the day, the YouthLink Up Top Street Soccer team was off to the races. KARE -11 showed up in the morning and took video of the youth celebrating their departure.  We showed the crew how we get hyped up–Up Top style!

In a circle we did “call and response” to the tune of, “When I say up, you say top: Announcer: Up!  Team: Top!” Pancakes were provided by the lovely Marney Thomas (program services/drop-in coordinator at YouthLink) and oh, did they hit the spot.

Our first stop on the trip was at a rest stop in Wisconsin.  The energy for the trip was alive!  After a great bag lunch, the team came together again for some bonding. We formed a team pyramid, did some gentle gymnastics and created our pre-game dance! Yes, we practiced two dances that will be used to bring the team together. Minneapolis Up Top will represent!

The rest of the day consisted of heavy driving. In our van, youth kept the energy going by dancing to reggae on the radio. The players were tired by the end of the day, but spirits remained high in anticipation of our arrival in Washington, D.C.

Go Youthlink Up Top!