THE Slough Town Under-16s made their international debut when competing against two teams while on tour in Austria.

The Rebels faced Altenmarkt and Pinzgau and strong performances resulted in convincing wins in both matches, despite facing talented sportsmen.

Joshua Smith was a member of the 12-strong squad and said: “It was good to experience how the different style of football from other European countries is different to ours.”

Slough Town Juniors secretary Kelly Turner added: “Austria is a beautiful country.

“Our hotel was above and beyond my expectations, and friendly staff were very accommodating to our group of fussy young boys.

“This trip took our boys away from a noisy, busy lifestyle and into a quiet laid-back retreat.

“The hotel and COINS foundation arranged the football equipment, t-shirts, football coaches and transport, and we’re so grateful for their support. Would recommend this hotel 100 per-cent.”

The young players from Slough were put through a rigorous training session between matches with Austrian trainer Andreas Scherer and Alex from Radstadt. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn new styles and skills.

The boys all appreciated the quality of the Austrian training grounds and pitches as well as the expertise shown through the coaching.

Tom McFarlane, the U16s captain, said: “We were invited on tour to Austria and although I’ve stayed at the hotel before, I still think the food, Jacuzzi and staff are amazing.

“We also were allowed to stay in the apartments, which was fantastic.

“We beat both teams but both matches were friendly and their grounds were amazing.

“Rebels star Alfie Turner added: “The hotel was brilliant, the food was delicious and the staff really looked after us.

“The opposition didn’t speak any English, which made it a bit tricky to communicate, but Andreas and Alex came to give us a training session and planned out a good lot of tasks for us.

“We even had a chance to explore and climb up the mountains.”

The trip was organised with COINS Foundation, the not for profit organization of the COINS Group.

Dave King is manager at Slough Town Juniors and said: “When the idea of an U16 tour to Austria was first discussed, I had several expectations and objectives that I wanted from the tour.

"Although it was obviously a football tour, the objectives were not simply to win games. They were more to do with bonding a group of 15-year-olds, who only meet for a couple of hours a week, into a team.

"I also wanted the boys to embrace a different style of football.

"For these things to work the boys needed to be happy and relaxed in their surroundings, and Austria and Hotel Birgkarhaus exceeded all expectations for both the boys and the adults.

"The scenery and settings for the training and football grounds were simply breath-taking and inspiring.

"The staff at the hotel were magnificent and could not do enough for us, and the food was first class.

"The boys had the unique opportunity to be coached by two well-respected Austrian coaches and took on their training objectives.

"The boys responded to their settings by listening and training well, and this resulted in two superb performances and results against well set up Austrian opposition.

"They encompassed their change of style and we saw the results on the pitch.

"Off the football pitch the boys were simply blown away by the mountain scenery and loved the excursions to the mountains."

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