Having arrived at 4am on Tuesday the 20th, the Green Team had to quickly focus for their first game against Martin Methodist College (MMC) at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex at 4pm that afternoon.  The Ide lads took a 2-0 lead with goals from Jack Watson and Amir Khalifa and looked like they were heading for a comfortable win until former Colaiste Ide student, Stephen Doran, scored a cracker from 35yards to drag MMC back into the game.  As tiredness set in MMC scored an equaliser in the last minute of the game and the game finished in a 2-2 draw.

Next up for the Green Team was a game against Christian Brothers University (CBU).  The game finished in a 1-0 defeat for the Ide lads but it was a great workout for the whole squad.  While this game was going on our Ladies Team got to train and play a friendly game with the CBU Ladies.  It was a good experience for our students  to visit the CBU campus.

The following morning at 7am our Ladies Team played against The University of Memphis Ladies Team at SouthCampus.  The Memphis Ladies are ranked as one of the top teams in the country at the Division 1 level.  Our Ladies, along with our guest players, preformed tremendously well and the game remained 0-0 until 20mins to go.  At this point the Memphis Ladies took control of the game and their superior fitness levels and experience became apparent.  The game finished in a 4-0 win for Memphis.  It really was a great experience for our Ladies to compete at this level.

Later that morning the group were brought  on a tour of the University of Memphis.  The tour started at the Athletic facilities at South Campus.  Our students were very impressed by the quality of the facilities available to the Memphis sports programmes such as Soccer, American Football, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Golf and Track and Field.  The group also toured the main campus, ending the tour with lunch in one of the many restaurants available to students.

On Friday the 23rd the Blue Team played their first game of the trip against Rhodes University.  The lads put in a great  performance in very hot conditions and came away with a well deserved win.

Our annual game against the University of Memphis Men’s Team was held at 6pm that evening.  This game was a fundraiser for charity, with PeacePassers.org being the beneficiary.  PeacePasserscollect and distribute soccer clothing to people and communities throughout the world.  The game itself was a tight, tense affair with little to choose between the teams. The Ide lads were excellent on the night and played with great passion, commitment and enthusiasm.  The game finished in a  1-0 defeat.  The lads done a great job competing against a very good NCAA Division 1 programme.

The John Talley Showcase tournament started on Saturday morning at 8am. We played a total of 6 games on Saturday resulting in 5 wins and 1 draw. This set us up nicely for the Sunday games.  Unfortunately the Ide Ladies lost in a semi final on penalties.  They were excellent throughout the trip and were unlucky not to make it through to the final.  The story was different for the Green and Blue Teams, as they both made it through their semi finals to set up an all Ide final. The final was held on the stadium pitch at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.  Both teams performed very well in what was a very entertaining final.  The game finished in a 3-0 win to the Green Team with the goals scored by Gavin Mullen and Dylan Cassidy (2).

On Monday the 26th the group left Memphis at 9am and arrived back in Dublin on Tuesday 27th at 2pm.  A great trip was had by all, well done to everyone involved with the Association Football Course.