MARK OLIPHANT | soccer trials in Nürnberg, Germany

But beyond all of my tourist activities, I did not miss out on the sole reason I came to Germany which was to play soccer. Although there was a language barrier that was ever present on and off the pitch, it was interesting and actually pretty fun to try and work my way around it. However, being engulfed in a language I have never been exposed to, there was a universal language that we were all able to communicate perfectly with and that was the language of soccer. Soccer is a commonality between every player from all over the world. I met players from Switzerland, Thailand, Haiti, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and some other American players as well, but no matter where we were from or what language we know best, soccer was the universal language! It was such an indescribable experience to walk onto a field not knowing what conversation is about but still knowing how to communicate when there was a soccer ball around.

One of the most interesting aspects of this program was being able to train with multiple teams with different styles of training and to see how the game of soccer is the same yet totally different. This opportunity was one of the most amazing things I could ever experience. It is difficult to put the experience into words, but I can say that my love for the game for the soccer has grown insurmountably! All in all this experience has exceeded my expectations and was definitely worth it!.