Crimson Booters Depart For First English Tour

As most students toddle off one by one to their spring break roosts, 22 members of Harvard's varsity and junior varsity soccer teams will be flying en masse to England to start the program's first four in 10 years

The booters will meet four English teams in the 11 day four--four teams that have just concluded a 96-game winte schedule. The Crimson, on the other hand, has been continued to indoor practice during the winter months Former All Ivy midfielder Michael Smith '82acting coach for the four said yesterday that the team expects, "rough going"

A tour of England is "an idea that has been floating around for about five years," trip coordinator and forward Alberto Villar said yesterday. He added that at the end of the season last year, "the coaching team kind of dated me to try to organize the trip."

Coach George Ford's connections in his homeland gave the team a $600-per person package deal, $300 of which will be footed by the fruits of the team's fundraising efforts.

The team's most successful fundraising effort resulted in approximately $6000 in donations, received in response to letters sent to Harvard soccer alumni

The team will be staying in Bristol, a port town in the southern eastern corner of England--just one hour away from most of the team's matches. Bristol is the same town in which Harvard's rughy team will be staying during part of its four "We should be meeting up at all the pubs," said Smith

The acting coach expressed some regrets that last year's 10-4-2 team did not tour "We could have heaten every team," Smith speculated. The present tour, however, will allow junior varsity members to "show themselves," said Smith

Lance Ayrault, captain of varsity team admitted that "trying to get practices together during midterms has been kind of rough" But, he said, "everybody is ready to go play"

Despite the bleak prospects for actual field triumphs, Smith expressed confidence that "the experience the team will get playing against the English teams will be very valuable."

Villar commented that tours such as this one act to solidify a team, as well as to attract new members to the program. "Beyond that," said Villar, the point of the tour is, "just to have a good time as a group."