There Is a Great Big, Wonderful, Amazing World Waiting Out There
Articles in SoccerNation’s series on the importance of international travel:
The Importance of International Travel for Youth Soccer Players
Traveling the World with Premier International Tours
Sarah Kate Noftsinger on International Travel
Thoughts on the importance of international travel for youth soccer players and anyone else with a pulse.
Ours is a global world, an international community aided and abetted by the Internet, television and movies. We can click on a link and to anywhere in the world and see anything we want. We can become world travelers without ever having to get up from our chairs.
Or can we?
While “visiting” new places through media and the Internet can be educational, it is only by actually going somewhere that we can really say that we have “been” there. Through the magic of modern technology I, as so many others, have been to the depths of the ocean, the highest mountains and the most exotic countries on the planet. But while I have seen these places, I have not experienced them. British author Rudyard Kipling wrote, “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it,” and I completely agree.
In my life I have had the opportunity to travel to Canada and Mexico, as many Americans have. After all, they are our closest neighbors. But more importantly, I have twice traveled to Europe, once as a young man fresh out of high school and once as an older – though perhaps not much wiser – traveler. What stands out in my mind from both of those trips are the sights, sounds and, yes, the smells of the places I visited. I have met people, talked with them, shaken hands with them. It is something you can’t do online, and I would not trade the experience for anything.
One of our most American of authors, Mark Twain, once wrote, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” He knew that the act of being someplace new and meeting the people there could do more to break down walls than any amount of “education” ever could. By experiencing another country, a different culture, we are forced to reexamine our own beliefs and expectations.
As the French writer Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” International travel helps to provide us with those “new eyes.”
Traveling to new countries can be a huge benefit to youth soccer players on many levels. Christian Lavers, president of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), explains, “International travel is a great way for players to be exposed to both different styles of play and different cultures. Beyond the obvious differences in cultural norms across the world, it is a powerful experience for soccer players to see the way soccer permeates so much of news and society in other countries – it helps grow a passion and love for the game.”
Rachel Buehler, star defender for the U.S. Women’s National Team, has similar views on travel for youth players. In addition to her global travels as part of the national team, Buehler had the opportunity to experience soccer in England as a youth. “As a kid, traveling to a variety of countries gave me perspective and helped foster my curiosity about different cultures,” she says.
“Although soccer is growing quickly in the US, it is also inspiring for players to see the power of soccer around the globe,” Buehler believes. “When I was fifteen I went with my Cal South ODP team on a trip to England. We had the opportunity to watch Manchester United play Liverpool and it was incredible. The dedication and enthusiasm of the fans and the electric atmosphere in the stadium was something that I will never forget.”
Former U.S. Men’s National Team and World Cup star Thomas Dooley has a unique perspective on the subject of international travel. Born in Germany to an American father and German mother, Dooley had the opportunity to visit a number of countries while growing up and playing soccer. In Europe the smaller size and nearness of countries makes international excursions almost guaranteed for not only young players but many people. In the time it takes to drive from San Diego to Sacramento, one can cross several borders in Europe.
According to Dooley, international travel can give young players an amazing experience. “They will have fun, will be educated in a new culture and get a great experience,” he points out. If, on the trip, they also scrimmage against local teams they have the added benefit of experiencing the atmosphere, playing against the same age group with a different style of play, and getting a great test against those teams.
Paul Caligiuri, another former U.S. Men’s National Team and World Cup star – FLASH BACK: in what remains the most defining moment in U.S. soccer history, Paul Caligiuri struck a goal against Trinidad & Tobago in 1989 that changed the fate of American soccer and took our country to a new level – and Dooley’s partner in the recent H2O Overdrive Ultimate Soccer Player(TM) and H2O Overdrive(TM) Ultimate Soccer Goalie tournaments, is another strong proponent of international travel. “I will always remember my first International soccer trip to Oslo, Norway, and throughout Germany,” says Caligiuri. “The soccer experience was amazing and the life experience was incredible. I wish that every serious youth soccer player could have the opportunity to travel to Europe for soccer like I did when I was 14 years old.”
Mike Sweeny, director of the Cleveland Whitecaps SC and an executive board member of US Club Soccer, is another former player with a unique perspective on travel. Growing up in Vancouver, B.C., he regularly took part in “soccer exchanges” with teams from Seattle. “One year we would visit them, with the players staying at an opponent’s house. Next year the teams would reciprocate. It was a great experience for all involved.”
Sweeny would go on to play over 100 games for the Canada Men’s National Team, including appearances in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He also played professionally in both the North American Soccer League with Vancouver, Edmonton and San Jose and indoors with Cleveland, Minnesota and Baltimore. The opportunity to travel is something he will always remember.
“At 18 I was fortunate enough to represent Canada in an international tournament in Tegucigalpa, Honduras,” he recalls. “We stayed five weeks in a monastery in the mountains. It was a real eye opener for a first trip out of North America and a true soccer baptism.”
“American youngsters are extremely well educated, confident and gifted,” he says. “They have incredible opportunities every day in their normal lives. Unfortunately they also know almost nothing about the rest of the world. The news, culture and education in America is American – non-stop. Any international travel is important for our aspiring young athletes. To be able to do it through soccer, a sport so cherished internationally, makes it an even more valuable lesson.
If international travel is so beneficial to better understanding the world, and if soccer is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world, doesn’t it make perfect sense to match the two in order to help young people to be better prepared to take important roles as adults? There are many companies out there that specialize in setting up international tours for youth clubs; it’s simply a matter of looking and talking to others who have already taken the leap.
I leave you with two last quotes on travel, one from a great American writer and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Maya Angelou, and the other from one of my personal favorites, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou
“You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – JRR Tolkien
Visiting an EPL team in England is often the most popular choice but there are many other options as well. SoccerNationNews is launching a new column on Youth Soccer Travel and will offer fabulous suggestions and recommendations! Send your suggestions and questions to Travel@SoccerNationNews.com.
