Excitement in the air

The meetings have been held, the puffy t-shirts made, and the packing has begun. With only a few more days until we leave, there is definitely an excitement in the air. The girls are definitely looking forward to the trip. As they were making t-shirts and dying their hair with a splash of purple it was obvious that a bond and camaraderie was there, if only in the early stages. I don't know how many of these girls hang out together outside of soccer, but there was much laughing and good-natured ribbing going on between everyone. That's always good to see.

Our Europe practices have been going well. It has been great in combining Europe practice with summer camp. This has allowed the girls going to Europe a chance to practice together in game situations, since when combined with camp, there are always between 20-25 girls there.

One of the great aspects to this trip is that it gives me a chance to get to know the girls away from the soccer pitch. Sure, there will be a lot of soccer, but since we will be together 24-hours a day for 16 days, it is impossible to remain 100% about soccer. It really gives the girls a chance to open up and be themselves. I'm sure the same goes for me also. The girls get a chance to see me outside of being a "coach" all the time.

One of the true benefits of a trip like this are the friendships that can be formed. When we played in Barcelona in 2005 there was a team in our hotel with which we became close. This team was from Stockholm and when we played in the Gothia Cup that year a few of the players traveled 5 hours by train to come and watch us play. That evolved into one of the players getting the opportunity to be an exchange student in Indianapolis and staying in contact with our team. Just last week the exchange student was in the Chicago area and got in touch with a former player of ours. Who could have imagined that this strong friendship would have formed because two teams happened to stay in the same hotel for one week??

I am looking forward to experiencing what this adventure will bring.