For the regular members of this season's youth team squad, life this week must seem relatively quiet compared with their experiences playing an invitation tournament on the east coast of the United States earlier this month.

The competition tested the Chelsea Under 18s against a couple of national sides with chelseafc.com reporting on the matches at the time - but as an overall learning experience, there was plenty more gained from the trip across the Atlantic as Gerry Harvey, the Academy's education and welfare officer, who accompanied the boys, explains:

'It was a great for their football education on many levels,' he says. 'A small taste of the demands on a professional at a top club.

'For a start there was the travelling, adjusting their bodies to the time difference, and then there were games coming every day. It was a chance to learn what tournament football is like.

'The boys had to deal with a different style of referees, different mentality from opponents who were also good players and they had to deal with some hostile fans.'

The venue was St Benedict's School in Newark, New Jersey, a school with a history of producing US soccer players including former Sunderland and Rangers midfielder Claudio Reyna and two graduates who play in Germany. As well as the school team, the national sides of Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico were invited to compete against Chelsea.

Harvey outlines the itinerary.

'The boys were told to put their watches back two-and-a-half hours after playing at home to Portsmouth on the Saturday before we travelled and when we arrived Monday evening, we trained on a local astroturf pitch until half-past-eight at night, which was really half-one for us. To overcome the jet-lag it worked quite well.

'On Tuesday there was more getting used to the astroturf and then a visit to a shopping mall where, with the dollar at a good rate, plenty of presents were bought for parents. The biggest problem was a lot of the boys' debit cards were not accepted so I had to lend out few notes, which they were good enough to pay back!

'We played the first game on Wednesday evening against Trinidad and Tobago and then played the Mexicans on Thursday.

'Friday was free so and we went into New York, had lunch in a Sports Bar on Fifth Avenue and in the evening went to watch the New York Jets match.'

There were more opportunities to watch top-level professional sport. Later in the the trip the party saw New Jersey Devils ice hockey team in action against a team from Edmonton, Canada. Before that, on the Saturday evening, some of the staff went to the Joe Calzaghe fight at Madison Square Garden.

However that opportunity was not open to the players who the next day were in action against the Mexicans again in the tournament final. Afterwards, they flew home.

The youth team are now into preparations for next Thursday's FA Youth Cup tie and a chance to experience playing at Old Trafford. That game will be live on Chelsea TV.

As was the case with last season's memorable campaign, the side is likely to be a mix of the regular youth side and some of the younger players who have graduated to the reserves. FA Youth Cup football is for Under 18s and unlike the league, allows no over-age players.

Manchester United are likely to do similar which makes youth team league positions an inexact indicator of form going into the Cup - but for the record, our opponents currently sit third in their sectionof the Academy League, the same as Chelsea.

Reserve team manager Brendan Rodgers will be an interested spectator up in Manchester.

'The Youth Cup is a wonderful draw and it's a pity that two top clubs meet, but it will be a really good game and we have a number of talents in the reserve squad who can play, such as Jacob Mellis, Jeffrey Bruma, Fabio Borini and Gael Kakuta,' he said.

The young Frenchman Kakuta, a star in last season's run to the final, is now fully operational after an injury-hit beginning to the season.

'Kakuta is back now, he went away on international duty, and is back fit and playing. The reserves had a friendly in the week against Millwall, and Gael scored with a good finish,' he said.

The outcome of that game, held at Cobham, was a 3-1 defeat. Rodgers explains the reasoning behind it.

'There were a number of boys who hadn't had a game, and with no reserve team games to look forward to so we experimented in the first half and played 3-4-3. We were good with the ball but it was different without the ball.

'We were playing against a strong Millwall side with first team involvement so it was good for our players to play in a game like that,' he said.

'It's not always about AC Milan, Liverpool and Man United. Sometimes they need the bread and butter games and Millwall were better than us on the day.'

The main talking point around Cobham this week has been the call-up of Michael Mancienne to the England squad.

The 20-year-old defender is currently on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship, but Rodgers has been in discussion with Fabio Capello's new man.

'I spoke to him when he was out there in Germany and he obviously loved it and enjoyed the experience. It's a great achievement for anyone to do that, but to do that having not played in the Premier League shows it's only a matter of time,' Rodgers said.

'He is a wonderful talent and has demonstrated what a good player he is in the last few months. I am sure we will see a lot more of him in the future.'

The Northern Irish coach has said on Chelsea TV that he believes Mancienne could repeat the feat of Chelsea legend Claude Makelele, in having a position on the field named after him.

'There are very few players in the world that get a position named after them. How I think the game will go in the next 10 to 15 years is that centre-backs won't necessarily be as big but will certainly need to be a bit more comfortable on the ball and quicker, like Michael,' Rodgers explained.

'Chelsea, at this level have top class defenders and I think he can make that number two role his own, much like Ricardo Carvalho now.'

It is a progression everybody in the Academy and backroom staff at Cobham are hoping will occur. Only time will tell for Mancienne and his young colleagues.

The next taste of youth action for Chelsea is a league game away at Charlton on Saturday, while the reserves are away at West Bromwich Albion on Monday evening.

That game will be live on Chelsea TV, as will the FA Youth Cup tie at Old Trafford on Thursday.