Capital Area Railhawks Trip to England & Scotland with Excel International Sports Player Interviews:
14 Academy Goalie Chandler Cree 1. How was your overall experience of your trip? “The trip was great, a once in a lifetime experience. There were so many beautiful sights to see and so many fun experiences. We traveled all over England and Scotland together as a team, and saw many interesting features of both countries, much better than a book or trip itinerary, being there was cool.” 2. What is one thing that affected you or that you will remember the most? “I will remember the amazing training facilities and all of the great coaching that we had over in the UK. I will also remember the style of play and how it is different than how we are trained to play in the US. They play a very controlled and attacking oriented game, with great ball control, and they get physical too.” 3. Is there anything that you learned by taking this trip? “The importance of the game and how the game is such a way of life is the most notable memory from my journey. Over there soccer or football is all they’ve got. If kids are fortunate enough to get a spot on one of the academies that we played or any academy for that matter, they will fight hard every day as hard as they can so that they are able to come back the next day and play again. Over here I feel that some people almost take soccer for granted. We feel that if soccer doesn’t work out for us there are many other options for us to choose. This thought liners with me, and I’m not going to let this impact my performance and effort. I love this game and want to continue to excel at it.”
14 Academy Left Back Brady Francher 1. What was one of your favorite parts of your trip? “Playing against the Celtic team was one of my favorite times on the trip. They were a really good team and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to play against one of the best academy teams in Scotland.” 2. Did you enjoy the non-soccer parts of the trip? “Yes! It was such a great experience to visit these countries. It was to visit the Stadiums and learn about the history of them. It was also nice to see some of the sights that I had only heard about. I wasn’t as excited about the food but there were a few things I did like. We took some really great photos of the beautiful country, some with the team and some on my own. These are photos I will always cherish.” 3. What did this soccer experience do for you and your team? “I believe this trip really brought the team closer together, a bonding experience. We spent 10 days together doing just about everything as a group. I got to go on this trip with some of my best friends and I think that is how most of the team feels. That can only help us when we hit the field again in the US. I think this opened our eyes to the way European players respect the game and work hard every day at every moment to keep their dreams alive. I think it will help us as a team to try to play faster and more controlled game.”