My Status

My car was fixed and I drove on. The AC compressor broke (that was the rattling noise) so I needed to get a new one of those and some belts so the alternator would turn. I left Ogden, UT on Friday around 2:00 PM MT. I stayed the night with my old CU soccer friend (and ex-roommate) Iain and his wife. I have always admired Iain’s social gifts and learned a lot from him at college (humor and social graces are skills people can learn just like soccer or engineering). We had a great time catching up on life and remembering old times. I drove East again…

Eastern Utah and Colorado were beautiful, then Kansas happened. I was going to stay in Omaha, NE, but decided to just drive through the night to St. Louis. My Indiana license plat fit right in with the eclectic group of plates at a rest stop in Kansas for the night. I met Laura’s family at church and have been enjoying her and their company since. I'll stay with them until a few days before I start work again, which is August 3rd.

Christianese: This trip was not as I had planned. The car gave me a lot of trouble, but kept me on God’s schedule.
- I had to get it worked on before I left so I traveled with Grant, not on my own.
- I broke down on a down-hill so we could push it off the road to a hotel parking lot. No towing involved.
- I broke down in a town where Mrs. Ledger knew a guy who was willing to come look at my car.
- The guy knew a trustworthy shop that was one of the few stores open that Friday (a State holiday in UT called Pioneer Days)
- Allowed me a day to slow down, catch up on sleep, have an extedned quiet time and see the sights of Ogden.
- I stayed with Iain a day after Grant did so we could have a deeper conversation.

I did not think I would skydive today...

…it just kind of fell upon me. Or vice versa. The past few days have not gone as I’d planned. However, it’s not been that bad.

I really have been trying to get East. I planned to leave Monday and camp the whole way, taking my time and seeing the sights. But, I had to wait 2 days to get my car fixed. While waiting, I worked on the Brehm’s deck, didn’t pack, coached a day camp with Joe, delayed packing, rode to downtown Salem with Joe for our last dinner and decided I’d pack tomorrow. When my car was fixed it so happened that Grant was also driving back East and we decided to caravan. The plan was to stay with people we knew near Salt Lake City, Denver, and Omaha. Grant and I would part ways in St. Louis. I would stay with Laura and her family in St. Louis until a few days before I started work on Aug 3 and Grant would drive home to Cleveland.

Unexpectedly, my car broke down a half hour North of the Ledger’s house in Ogden, UT after our 12 hour drive. I got it to a shop (this is a miraculous story in itself) where it still sits, waiting to have it’s expensive, but necessary mechanical operation. My fair-weather friend Grant and I had a poignant, "please, you have to go on without me" moment and he drove on this morning ;)

I know Pete Ledger from Cedarville. His dad is a retiered train conductor and bull rider. His mom works for the forest service (did you know the forest service uses google earth to track fires? No joke). Mrs. Ledger showed me around Ogden. One of the sights was a huge indoor "family adventure park" called the Salomon Center. Inside was hovercraft bumper cars, bowling, arcade, food, billiards, a rock wall, indoor surfing and indoor skydiving. The indoor skydiving, or vertical wind tunnel, looked too fun. For $40 I took a 15 min class and then flew for two 1 minute sessions. Expensive, but amazing! After me, there were a bunch of elementary aged children that suited up for their "league". I sat and watched them do basic tricks. It was so strange to sit and talk with their moms about how proud they were that Jr was improving so much and how much he like the instructor. Like I was at a youth soccer practice or something. They were fascinating to watch. Check out the video (no sound on either).

That evening we went to my first authentic rodeo. Cattle roping, barrel racing, bucking broncos, bull riding, the real deal. Cowboys and cowgirls everywhere! Accents thckern' a... some cowboy expression for thickness. Riding bulls looks dangerous.

My car should be fixed for the second time tomorrow. As long as it’s not too late in the day, I’ll try driving East again. Emphasis on try.

East soon?

So, about driving East…my car has a discomforting noise. Uh oh. I need to get that checked out before I start my 2,300 mile drive.

By the way, I made the front page of the Sports section in the Statesman Journal (Salem’s newspaper). Well, sort of. Ok, the article is about our apartment-mate Teteh. But, if I hadn't made that great pass to him, he wouldn't have had such a good picture ;)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907030359

As I close up shop here, I’ll begin to write some closing thoughts on the summer. If you’ve read this far with me, don’t give up now! Thank you for reading. A shout out to: Otis, The Brood, MGCC Youth Group, my family, my gf, my cousins, Ms. Mueller, and everyone else who is too unique to categorize ;)

End of Surge

Friday some guys went to the Portland zoo then to “Voodoo Donuts“. Our last fun time as a group. Zach flies out tomorrow. Teteh on Tuesday. Joe will stay here a week to work a camp, then drive to Seattle to work a camp with Cedarville connections.

Our final game was last Saturday. I was invited to go with the team, despite the whole not-on-the-roster-in-time deal. However, I had been invited by an old soccer friend from Cedarville to watch the Seattle Sounders play Chelsea. So, I stuck with those plans instead. The company Phil works for has season tickets which Phil splits with other employees. The seats were great! Ten rows back from the goal line, one section away from the crazy section (the people that dress up and bang on drums all game). Chelsea brought their main team so we got to see a lot of world-class players play (including but not limited to, Michael Ballack, Peter Cech, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard). Chelsea went up 2-0 in the first half, then played their reserve players the second half. Seattle played very well, however, and had good looks at goal. 65,000 people were there. Everybody stood and chanted the whole game, a great atmosphere!

We ended up tying our game 1-1. Joe got to play around 50 minutes! I was excited for him! So, the Surge ends their season one spot shy of the playoffs in 4th place out of 10 with a winning record of 7-6-2. Not that bad.

Last Practice...

Currently the season is quickly coming to an end. It feels like the end of a school semester after finals. A loss to the #2 Seattle Wolves put us out of the playoffs. Our last home game was yesterday and we lost to the Tacoma Tide 4-2.

Interestingly, the normal stadium announcer was on vacation. Since I am not in the top 18 and I had called the play-by-play at Cedarville when my eligibility was done, I found myself announcing the starting lineups and the advertisements during these game. It was fun. "Subway is the nations largest submarine sandwich chain and an official sponsor of the Cascade Surge. Visit our location on S Commercial St. and enjoy one today!"

There was a sad twist (for me) at the end of the season. All of the guys are starting to pack up to leave and return to their "normal" teams. Most people are going back to their school. Joe is going to fly back home to Cleveland before starting CU’s season. Others are starting new teams. Zach and Grant are preparing to fly to Austria to play for Hirschstetten. Others are returning to their old teams. Likius and Teteh are going back to the USL1 team the Cleveland City Stars. Because so may are leaving there are openings in the line-up for the reserve players to get minutes. Unfortunately, myself and another guy cannot legally play because the rosters did not get changed in time. The coaches apologized to me about it. I am frustrated, but it wouldn’t do much good to get mad at anybody now. So, I’ll enjoy the last practice tonight and the last few days with the guys in Salem…

Summer Vacation

These past two weeks my parents, Darrell and Emily, and girlfriend, Laura, visited. It was great to spend time with all three as I have not been able to in months. The past two weeks the team has had less ministry work to do, so for the most part I had free time to just sightsee with them. A mini "vacation" in my summer. Here is a brief breakdown with the highlights of what we did:

Tursday (7/2); Parents got in. Enjoyed the day with them around town at local restaurants and parks. Practice in the evening.

Friday (7/3): More relaxing and catching up.

Saturday (7/4): Picked Laura up from the airport! Rode the rides at a small amusement park (Oaks Park) in Portland. Met an old friend from CU, Phil for dinner. Fireworks at the riverfront in Salem.

Sunday (7/5): All went to a service at the Brehm’s church. Then my parents, Laura and I drove to the coast to look at the beach at low tide. We saw all sorts of critters in the tide pools and Dad (a rock collector) looked for Agates, a certain kind of mineral-rock that if found on some beaches in Oregon. Ate seafood.

Monday (7/6): Went to "The Sea Lion Caves" which is the largest sea cave in the world and is filled with huge, noisy (smelly) sea lions. Visited the Newport Aquarium. The lionfish are still my favorite. More seafood. Fish n’ chips are still my favorite.

Tuesday (7/7): More sights around Salem. Had an inner-squad scrimmage.

Wednesday (7/8): Parents, Laura and I Drove to Mt. Hood and looked around Government Camp and the Timberline Lodge (where "The Shining" was filmed)! Ate fresh berries from one of the many roadside stands. Camped along the Columbia River Gorge.

Thursday (7/9): Saw lots of waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge, watched the fish climb the ladders at the Bonneville Dam. Watched windsurfers on the river. Team dinner and practice.

Friday (7/10): We all ate pancakes with the Brehm’s and guys in the house. Ate out at a nice Mexican restaurant and heard fun stories from the Brehm’s of their missionary travels. From here my parents drove to Portland and saw attractions there. I hung out with Laura. I suppressed my emotions as we watched "Equilibrium." We went Salsa dancing in Portland with Grant and a friend of his.

Satruday (7/11): FREE SLURPEE DAY! Hung out with Laura around town. Played tennis with the Brehms. Watched the home game (Cascade Surge v Seattle Wolves).

Sunday (7/12): Had crepes at restaurant called "French Press". Drove to Portland to watch "Dirt Rotten Scoundrels" at the Broadway Rose. Funny! Had a last meal with my parents and said goodbye to them :/

Monday (7/13): My parents flew out early in the morning and Laura flew out in the evening. Bye!

End of Season Surge

We need one! We have three games left until the end of the regular season. We are still in the running for a playoff spot, but after a tie and a loss the last two games we need wins! A big game tonight against #2 the Seattle Wolves.

We were going to have a game against a local prison as a ministry, but due to scheduling conflicts on the prisons part it was canceled.

The past few practices have been different than earlier in the season. Mostly different drills. A change has been good to keep practice fresh. A normal practice is a light jog as a team (in a line across the field) with dynamic stretches for warm up. Then we do technical work, mainly passing and moving or dribbling with passing. Sometimes we have a shooting drill. Other times tactical work with shadow play. Generally we scrimmage at the end. Lately, however, we have done more games: A 2 v 2 tournament, variations of 3 team possession, crossing drills. A nice mix, and nice to have a bit of fun before the end of the season.

Mexico Day 4

John, Joe, Ben, Grant, Hank, Dave, Dave, Zack, Josh, Jake.

Yes, I did have to include a self-portrait pic of myself with a cute Mexican child. Please say awww.

We got up early for the orphanage and dug some holes for future trees they were going to receive. The ground was like concrete. Got across the boarder easily and made it to the airport. We stopped for lunch to watch the USA play Spain in the Confederation Cup and were glad we did (I watched the first half of the Brazil game and then turned the tv off so I assume that they won. Please don’t tell me anything different.) Flew home and slept hard on my soft, soft bed.

Mexico Day 3

We were expecting to work at the orphanage that morning digging and planting trees again, but, since we completed all the work yesterday, after breakfast at McDonalds (we were low on cash and it was the only place that took credit card), we went to the orphanage to hang out. The orphanage is out of town very close to the border (we could see the wall). Because we wanted a good workout we played 3v3 on a small fenced in basketball court then went for a jog. The only open space was a trail we found in the desert. It had a kind of beauty I'd never seen before. We took it easy because of the sun, stumbled across a park, then hopped a fence and took a dirt road back to the orphanage.

Lunch was a taco stand for Joe and Zach and myself and Domino’s for the rest (also took credit card). The tacos were great, but I think gave us a bit of the revenge. Dinner was back at Hanks for some poolside ribs, Polish sausage and fillet mignon.

Christianese: Hank was an interesting character. The first day, when we first met him, he was already drunk and after his first sentence of introduction and welcome he spent the rest of his sentences expounding his worldview. It was something like, "I know you are Christians and you believe this… but I believe…" A blunt welcome ;) We didn’t respond much because the alcohol took way his ears and made his mouth bigger. People listened because he was rich, but he also was very interesting. Money has made his life very different then what most people experience. He has different problems, interests and abilities. Though the jist of what he said was common. He thought that he was a good person and that was ok for him. He kept saying this and saying this like he was trying to convince himself but knew it wasn’t true. And it wasn’t, God never asks us to act "good enough" but to be forgiven. Then with his strength we change. Ephesians 2:8-10.

Mexico Day 2

We spent the night in sleeping bags on the floor of a church in downtown Tecate. The next morning we drove to the orphanage. We were supposed to dig holes and plant trees. But, we were surprised (and glad) to find that the holes were already dug. This would have been the difficult part because the ground there is so hard. So, we just planted trees. The kids were not out of school yet so we played a juggling game called Muff.

We ate lunch with the kids, then played with these tops that they all had. You would wind it up with string and then throw it sideways. The top would unravel and land on the ground. The kids would pick them up and drop them on other tops as a game. I brought Chinese yo-yos for them to play with and also made balloon animals. They all wanted, “perro rojo, perro rojo!” We played soccer with them all evening. Some of the kids were athletic, all of them were energetic.

Mexico Day 1

Ridiculously early on Sunday (6/21) we flew to Long Beach, CA. Got to relax on the beach a little while waiting for our friendly. The field we played on was like a hockey rink but outdoors and with a nice turf. The team we played was coached by a friend of a friend of Dave Irby. It was a very relaxed and fun match. We talked with the other team about soccer and life before during and after the game. They were younger so we didn’t play super intense to keep the game fun.

We drove across the border to Hanks house. Hank is a friend of Dave Irby who owns some sort of rubber-washer company. He has the biggest house I’ve ever seen, as in multi-million and could be on cribs. I suppose it wasn’t the house itself that was so big, but the complexity. The house was build on the side of a steep hill overlooking Tecate, so it was tiered along with the yards, pools and patios down the hillside. Hank had to leave the country for a while because of some death threats. He’s back now with a security guard and cars with bullet-proof glass. We ate some of the best tacos I’ve ever had from the chef he hired that day.

Three Pools

On Wednesday, our day off, a group of 9 of us went to Three Pools, a scenic spot an hour East of Salem. On the road up the mountain to Three Pools, there were a couple of bridges we jumped off (a 30 some foot one and an 85 foot one) as well as some cliffs. Should anyone see any videos of me jumping off the higher bridge, before you judge, know that it was ridiculously high and other people looked goofy too. I attached the video of Connor's second jump becuase it was the best jump and the shortest "holy cow this is high am I really doing this" pre-jump time. The actual Three Pools area was beautiful; a semi-rapid river with lots of rock formations in a valley of old pine trees.

This summer we have consistently had Wednesday off, and so far in July have had less off the field activities, ministries, meetings, etc. It has been great to pick up and go with the guys on the team to do random things like this.

The Host Family

I have been meaning to write about our host family, Roger and Jan Brehm. The are a retired couple in their 70’s. Roger worked as a pharmacist and Jan as a gym teacher. They have 6 kids, 11 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. As Roger says, they are a very prolific family, "no sittin’ round watchin’ the grass grow, get to it!"

The two other guys that Joe and I are living with are Zach and Nate. Zach is a summer class away from a diploma in international business and an all-American center back from Mt. Vernon Nazarene. I played against him when I was at Cedarville but didn’t know it at the time. Nate will be a Sophomore at North West University, also a business major.

The four of us live in the furnished basement apartment of the Brehms. We live mostly independently, make our own meals and keep our own schedule. But, we do spend time with them. Today we made brunch for them (I made cinnamon rolls, thank you very much). We also play tennis and go to church with them.

Christianese: When Roger and Jan retired they worked did clown ministry. They traveled to all sorts of places in the US and world and presented the gospel through clowning. Face-paint, red noses, balloons, gags, big red shoes, the whole bit. They have some great stories from there experiences with that. Also an interesting story is how the furnished basement apartment that we are living in came to be. One day when Jan was praying she felt that God wanted her to finish the basement so missionaries could stay there when on sabbatical from the field. They didn’t have the money to do that, but started building anyway. The next year, God brought people to stay that had different constructions skills so they finished it all for under $10,000. Over the next few years they have hosted 6 missionary families long term. The last couple left just before we came. Very cool.

2 of 2 Games this Weekend

This is Zack Patterson's (our 3rd roommate) ankle a day after the Timbers game. This is how the pro's tackle :/ He wants me to write that he finished the game after the tackle ;)

Another clutch victory! The Vancouver Whitecaps were a very young-looking team. Overall smaller than us, but just as quick and very feisty. Really, they may have outplayed us. But, our tried and true captain, Grant Knight, had a beautiful one touch shot from a few yards out of the top of the box late in the 2nd half. It wasn't a lazer, but more of a perfectly placed slightly bending ball just out of reach of two defenders and the outstreched goalie. Beautiful.

For high schoolers, they were phenomenal. Some of the best in US and Canada I suppose. I heard second hand that they are selected to attend the residency and are paid around $20-$30 K a year so they already made the choice to be ineligible for college. They either go pro or go home. A tough choice really. Even coming from college playing here, and being one of the older players, I feel like I’m playing against men. Though the Whitecaps played very maturely, you could see from their appearance that they were just kids.

I'm not sure where this game places us in the standings, but will know soon. Two away games next weekend and 3 practices in between! Let's get to it!!!

1 of 2 Games this Weekend

A big win tonight! The Portland Timbers PDL team is the U-23 reserves for the Portland Timbers USL team (professional team under MLS). We went up a goal on a pk from when Teteh got tripped in the box, then in the 2nd half got our final goal from a defensive mistake that Tetah also finished. So with some solid defense and other close chances we had a 2-0 win! We were 4th in the division and the Timbers were 3rd, so we are now 3 points behind with one game in hand. Only the top 3 make playoffs.

Tomorrow we play the Vancouver Whitecaps who are a residency team. That means that their players are young as in 16 - 17 year olds who are in a soccer academy there. The academy tries to get these players signed with bigger clubs. It will be interesting to see how good they are and what the style of the game is like.

Back from Mexico!

We're home! To catch up... we won our home game Saturday 2-0 against the Victoria Highlanders. Teteh again with nice goal. Ha, you know you’ve arrived when you have your own wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teteh_Bangura. Back to back games this Friday and Saturday. Heard that we did well in a reserve match while we were in Mexico. It will be good to practice again tonight.

Upcoming Mexico Trip

Tomorrow Joe, Zach, Grant, Ben, Jake and myself along with Dave Irby will fly to Long Beach, CA on our way to Mexico. The general plan is that in CA on Sunday we will play a 6v6 game against a local amateur team, then drive to Tecate, Mexico. In Tecate we will be staying at a boys orphanage splitting time between playing with the kids and manual labor (planting trees I believe). We will return home on Wednesday, so the trip is a short one. A professional camera man named John will be accompanying us to make a promotional video for the Surge and the GPI (Global Player Initiative) program.

Tonight is a home game! We are 4-3-1 and are neck and neck with 4 other teams competing for 3 playoff spots. This week practices were tough. We went 3 hours instead of 2 each of three practices. The reserve team was supposed to have a game Wednesday night, but through a miscomunication the other team did not show up. So, we scrimmaged the first team and took away a 2-1 win!

"Local Outreach"

Yesterday myself and 10 or so other Surge teammates went to a juvenile correctional facility in Salem. It was a little bit intimidating with the security and such. In the end it was fun though. We played soccer with about a dozen of the "kids" mixing in with them and playing light. At halftime we introduced ourselves, where we are from, what schools we go/went to some funny soccer stories. At the end Connor gave his testimony, we said bye to the guys and left. A believe another group of Surge guys went today as well.

Which reminds me, I never wrote about the elementary school (the above picture is the elementary school, not the juvenile correctional facility ;). Two weeks before Germany/Austria, we went to Swegel Elementary School 3 days each week. Swegel is a lower-income school in Salem. We read to the kids, had them read to us and played with them on the playground. We had a mix of soccer games and just playing "coaches vs. kids". The 3rd graders were the best group. We had a good rivalry with them. These pictures tell the whole story.

The pk for the game.

The agony of defeat.

The victory celebration.

Back in Business

Yesterday was my first practice back with the Surge. It was good to play with the guys again. I feel a step behind from taking time off.

Yesterday and today we "tested" balls for Nike. We had 15 balls with a light green swoosh and 15 balls with and dark green swoosh. We filled out a little form after practice contrasting them. Today is was light and dark blue. I’ll be dumbfounded when I find out that both were the same ball and it was all in my head.

The People Layer

Amazingly to me, I found the people, despite cultural differences, to be essentially the same as my reference point (America). I knew this in my head, but to experience it was revelatory. Even though everyone spoke in a "secret code" that only they could understand I could still understand their facial expressions, body language and attitudes. People in Germany and Austria enjoyed games, food, family and entertainment. They liked to be understood, to be respected and loved (and they don’t like to show that they needed it). Little kids laugh at funny faces. The German engineers make engineer jokes. The Austrian fussball teams have social groups within their team based on skill. Etc. Interesting.

Funny Story

The line of trams was longer, but I couldn't get the shot.

One of my favorite stories from the trip was when Grant single-handedly broke the train system in Vienna. We were going to a university in Vienna (the oldest college in the world, so I was told) to street witness and were riding the tram to get there. It was rush hour and the tram was packed full of people. At a stop when the doors opened Grant’s backpack got pinched in the door. This story is initially funny because Grant yelps, "I’m stuck!" and squirms to get free. We all laugh and the people around us try to keep from laughing to be polite.

Grant can’t get his back pack lose so he slides it off and it hangs in the door. People get on and off while we wait for the doors to close on their own and set his backpack free. But, nothing happens. We keep laughing, "Ha, Grant you broke the train!" Then a guy from the street forces the doors closed to the train can leave. More laughter. A minute later when we still aren’t moving the train driver comes and manually opens and closes the door. More laughter. Another minute later the train driver comes back with the train driver of the tram behind us. Both yell in German at each other and mess with the doors more. More laughter. Grant is really embarrassed, but handling it well. Another minute later there is a voice on the loud speaker that says, "Everyone must get off the train."

When we unloaded we looked behind us and saw at least 6 more trams full of upset people piling out the doors. We got out of there as fast as we could. Stupid Americans ;)

The Fussball Layer

This is the Stuttgart Kickers complex, a 3rd division team.
Us after the 2nd day of training.

In Europe the soccer is organized differently than the states. Most towns have a soccer club. The club has youth teams at various age groups and a "first team". The first team plays other first teams in their division. There are 10 or so divisions, it depends on the country. If you win your division, you move up a league, if you are at the bottom you are relegated and move down. The first division teams you watch on tv and have huge stadiums. They have lots of money to buy good players. The lower divisions have smaller, but loyal, followings and less money to buy good players, but raise good players in their youth system. Most of the lower divisions have a game field, a few practice fields and a clubhouses with offices, locker rooms and a restaurant.

In Germany, the camp Joe and I worked was organized by the church but used FV Zuffenhausen’s practice field. After camp one day we saw a team warming up. We asked to train with them and they agreed. It was a company team in a non-official league. They were all engineers from the company that makes the train system in Germany (they were 2nd in their league to IBM). We had a good conversation with them after practice.

In the same way we practiced with FV Zuffenhausen the next day. They were a 6th division team and pretty good. Very smart, skilled players. Ages ranged from 19 year olds who were on their way up divisions to late 30’s who were still enjoying playing, but at a lower level than when they were younger. The coach invited us back to practice the next day.

In Austria the 8 of us split between two teams one day, then two different teams the next day. We went back to the original teams the third day. For some graduated, jobless guys this was a tryout. For the others with college eligibility on the line it was merely a practice. For me, it was a practice as I’m not going to try to make it in the semi-pro circuit in Europe. I was at a 5th division team the first day, a 4th the next. The latter club had a team masseuse!

It was so cool to train with these teams. To see what a practice in Europe on a European team was like. We could get enough of what was going on to not always need a translation for what the coach was saying. Also, should you ever play with a team outside the US, always, always shake everybody’s hand when you first go into the locker room. If you follow the American style and keep to yourself until you get to know people everybody will think you are a cocky American. Thankfully, we were advised of this before we went by some of the international players on the Surge.

The Cultural Layer

Joe's Euro outfit

Sky Beach

This part was fun. A two week sample of different foods, clothing styles, architecture, organizations, habits, customs, attitudes, language, etc.

I liked the tea, fresh breads and various spreads for breakfast. Nutella (chocolate in peaunut butter texture) was good. Some authentic German dishes whos names I cannot remember were very good. In Austria there were Kabob stores on every corner. Corn was a common pizza topping. Water means carbonated water. You have to ask for "regular" water.

Both Stuttgart and Germany were very relaxed cities. People didn’t seem quite as much in a rush as in cities here. Subways were less intimidating. The streets were clean and had lots of trees and flowers everywhere. Especially in Stuttgart, there were some big buildings, but not downtown with giant skyscrapers. Most buildings were 5-6-7 stores and spread out. Like a big village. And the buildings were very beautiful. There were café’s everywhere that you could buy coffee and sit out at a table to enjoy the day. I enjoyed "Sky Beach" which was a beach (sand, boardwalk, beach chairs, the whole bit) on a roof with a bar. Also, "Vapiano", a super-swank Italian restaurant.

Traffic was crazy because the streets were smaller. Yet, people weren’t upset about it. Some nice cars. Joe got to ride in a Ferrari 360 Spider after training one day. We visited the Mercedes Benz Museum.

I cannot describe the Euro style. I’d heard that people dress nicer, which was true for the 30’s and older crowd. But, the 20’s and younger wore a conglomerate of style. The idea that clothes have to "match" is out. Some guys bought "Euro outfits" at a second hand store. One style I thought was interesting was the "krocha". To be a krocha you tan until you’re orange, dye your hair black, wear all black and a neon hat. Krocha’s also had their own slang and style of dance.

The Coaching Layer

Joe, Edwin, Alex and I were the four coaches for the camp. The 35 or so kids ages 8-12 were divided up into four teams that competed through the week. Germany, USA, Bazil and South Africa. I coached South Africa to a stellar 4th place. Fortunately, there was no relegation involved ;)

The younger kids we coached were definitely much better than the kids I have coached at OnGoal tactically and technically. I’m not sure if this is because of the demographic of kids that came to the camp or a cultural difference. I would guess that this is cultural difference. Everybody I played with from recreation to semi-pro valued a highly possession style of soccer. So, it would follow that little kids would be coached with an emphasis on foot skills (technical) and field vision (tactical) as a basic skill instead of "fun faster, kick harder". For example, in the US, if a kid is dribbling down the field and a defender steps up the first instinct is: dribble by him. Here, when a kid saw the same situation (saw this because his head was up when he dribbled) his first instinct was: pass around him. I was amazed to see 8 year olds that could turn, shield the ball, and pass back.

The older kids were comparable to the kids in America. I would guess this is because as the kids in America get older they work under better coaches and are taught to play smarter. In all ages, in the games at the end of the day the "soccer passion" ran high. Losing was a travesty complete with tears and anger. Winning was better than snack break.

Off the field, the kids enjoyed asking questions about what soccer clubs we liked, what music we liked and what movies we liked. There was a language barrier. About half the kids spoke a bit of English, others none. However, thankfully, there were plenty of staff around to help translate. Games were difficult because anything I would yell on the field would be delayed 30 seconds.

Trip Framework

I’m safely back in the US now after 1 hour on a train, 14 hours in a plane, and 1.5 in a car. I never got why people would complain about jet lag until now. My first European experience was too multifaceted for a detailed chronological explanation. A play-by-play for each hour wouldn‘t be interesting and it would miss the heart of the experiences. Instead, I’ll give you a brief framework so I can write in layers interjected with stories. Christianese: Sound familiar?

Joe and I flew into Stuttgart, Germany via NYC and Dusseldorf on Thursday, May 28. We had the weekend to explore and adjust. Over our time in Germany we stayed with a host family, the Reisers, near the heart of the city. Monday-Friday we were 2 of 4 coaches at a camp a local church was putting on. The other two coaches were Germans from SRS, the German version of Athletes In Action (AIA). In the evenings we had different adventures with different people which are better explained in the layers.

Saturday we flew to Vienna, Austria and met Dave Irby along with 6 other guys. We all stayed at a hostel in the city. Through most of the days Ken, Nathan and John acted as tour guides taking us to our various functions. These three men are missionaries in Germany as a spectator, player and coach of soccer, respectively. Over the week we also saw some of Grant’s friends he met along the way while he played in Austria. We saw some of how the Surge is doing soccer missions in Austria at churches and in the community. We trained under John a day, and had 3 days of tryouts/training with local clubs. We saw sights and shopped. We all flew home Thursday, June 11.

Blip from Austria

I am in Vienna, Austria now staying at a hostel with 7 other members of the team. Again, only a few minutes on the internet. I'll have some "real" updates when I get back to the states on the 12th. This summer has been crazy and so blessed! I found out yesterday that I'll also be going to a small town in NW Mexico with a few other Surge teammates to work at an orphinage June 20th-24th. Another sweet trip!

Christianese: The next 3 days we will have the chance to train with some high level teams (4th division-ish). Some of the guys who just graduated and a few who are close will be looking to see if there is any interest in them from the teams to possibly come here to play. Placing players on teams like this as missionaries is a big part of the direction the Surge would like to go. Please pray that the appropriate connections would be made for the players, that they play well and that they could get picked up by a team.

Up for air

I am in Germany safe and sound. I have 10 min until the internet cafe I am at closes and wanted to write SOMETHING. There are many updates swimming in my head, but I have not had the time/internet access/computer to upload them. I will be in Austria next week and then in the USA the week after. In the interest of staying somewhat relevant I will have to drop more of the details on the games last week before I left for Europe.

The details of the first team games so far are here: http://www.cascadesurge.com/frameset.php. We had two reserve matches back to back Monday-Tuesday with a practice sandwiched in between. A 4-3 win (with an amazing bicycle kick by Dave Pihlblad for our first goal) and another 4-3 loss. I was proud to be a captain along with Dave both games. Some of the guys you read about in the first team game recaps in the link “guest starred in our game”. All of them good players, quality guys. Wednesday was a day off (aside from our school program) and then Thursday a flight to Germany.

I'm sorry to write that the game a while back with 3 red cards was an embarrassment to the team. But, we've got our heads on right now and are moving on. A selfish note, it would have been good for me because those cards along with some injuries may have given me a shot at the line-up. But, I left the States before I had a chance to find out, eh. Time's up, bye!

The Update Plan

Still to come are updates on...
- 2nd home game
- 2nd away game
- 3rd reserve match
- host family/new roommate
- work in local school
- leaving for Germany -> Austria in a few days!

But in the mean time here are some pictures:

This is one end of the practice field at the SPARKS center. We practice at night from 7:30-9:30 under the lights. It's a quality, wide turf field. This is what a practice looks like if you watch from the sideline.
Another shot of the practice field. This is what it looks like when you are playing.

This is a picture of Joe, Grant and I after a practice. Grant is the team captain. I played with him 2 years at Cedarville. He is a very interesting guy, so I'll probably give him his own post sometime.

Reserve Matches

Tuesday (5/19) and Wednesday (5/20) we had a reserve match. We played at our practice field. Both games were against a team of Mexicans who didn‘t speak much English. One was a college team, the other a men’s league team (interestingly, both were comprised of the same individuals). They were good players, mostly in their late 20’s. They brought their own ref each game which we had agreed upon beforehand as these are not official games. The first guy was good, but the second guy was a little biased. To each of their credit, however, it is very difficult to ref a game by yourself with no linesmen.

I started at center mid with a guy from Indiana Wesleyan University. Joe started at center forward and was a captain both games by our assistant coach (who is the reserve team coach). I was proud for him! We joked about this because I was his captain when we played at Cedarville. The first game went ok. Both teams played well. We lost 4-3.

The second game was very strange. We had one player who just cleared to play. His name is Likius, a midfielder, from Namibia. He is a professional who played in the premier league in Namibia. He is very, very good. Also, a new player just flew in who Dave Irby had been trying to get. A forward, Tete from Sierra Leone. He is a professional who played for the Sierra Leone national team and trained with AC Milan (a professional Italian football club). From the bit I saw him play I can safely say that I have never played with a guy of this quality.

It’s hard to explain in a few words of soccer detail the characteristics of how and why he is so good. So, I’ll have to try and use literary technique: Basically, I am a good player. The people who start for the main team are very good players. Likius is a very, very good player. Tete is a GOOD player. That’s pretty vague but, it's something like that. If you want to know more detail write me. Or come see a game (I’ll even get you in free).

So, all that to say, in the second game, we played the first half 1-1. Another side note, I took a free kick to the face at the end of the first half and our trainer says I may have a mild concussion. At the time, everything kept tilting to the left. I feel fine now though. In the second half Likius and Tete got subbed in and started to tear it up. Within minutes all the calls started to go against us (7 fouls in a row). We took some hard fouls that didn’t get called (one guy’s knee got cut up pretty bad and Tete took an elbow to the face on a header). Everybody got really upset and our coach called the game for our own safety (not to mention if our new prized players got hurt in a game that didn't really matter he would have been in big trouble). So, we did a cool down, stretched and left.

What an away game is like...

Pretty much like home games except at a different stadium. Sunday (5/17) we traveled to Tacoma WA to play the Tacoma Tide. I came as an alternate but was not activated. Joe was a sub, but didn’t get in. We traveled up in two vans, 3 hours each way. This game was unlike any I had ever seen…

The Tacoma Tide finished 4th in the PDL last year. They are still a quality team this year. The first half was even until the last 15 minutes when our center back, Tom, from Scotland, was given a red-card for tripping a guy in the box (a touchy call at best). We went down 1-0 on the pk and had to play with 10 men. The team was pretty down, but after rallying at halftime we scored 2 great goals shorthanded to go up 2-1 with 35 minutes left. This alone was amazing. Shortly after, the Tide score 2 goals and went up 3-2. With 10 minutes left we get another goal to tie it at 3-3. Playing with 10 men and scoring 3 goals is very amazing, especially against this team. The guys simply played out of their minds. From here it was back and forth action. Our keeper stopped a breakaway, but got injured in the process. Our main keeper’s paperwork has still not cleared from when he played a season in Mexico, so our 3rd string keeper went in. He made one great save, but unfortunately did let a goal in with 2 minutes left. With seconds left we had a breakaway. Our forward was fouled and we had a free kick, then a corner, and then time expired.

So, we had a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to a great team. But, I was very impressed with our teams character and work ethic. As a bonus I got to see a good friend I played with at CU who came down from Seattle to watch the game.

What a home game is like...

For each game, 18 players are allowed on the roster. 11 start, 7 are on the bench. A coach can make 6 subs during the game. If you are subbed off there is no re-entry. Before game day the 18 are announced. For home games there are 4 announced that warm up with the team and if anything happens to the 18 (not feeling well, injured, not cleared for some reason) then one of the 4 can be "activated". This home game Joe was one of the 4 and did get activated because 2 of the 18 still have not had the proper paperwork and are not eligible (something about transfer fees). The rest of the team watches from the bleachers.

2 hours before game time the players, officials, announcers, staff, etc. arrive and get set up. About an hour before the game, the players have a warm-up time then go back to the locker room. Coach gives a pep-talk, "If you don’t win we won’t feed you after the game!" or something along those lines (not really). The subs take the bench, the players walk out of the tunnel to music. Introduction of starting line-ups, national anthem, coin toss, whistle!

At our home-opener Miss Oregon scored the ceremonial first goal of the season. We had about 600 fans there, a great turnout! The little kids were hilarious. Even in the stands we were getting asked for autographs.

We played the Yakima Reds (of Yakima, WA). A 7:05 kickoff so we played under the lights. The guys played great and went up 2-0 at half on some beautiful goals. At halftime there was a "candy scramble" or something like that. Basically, the staff threw out lots of penny candy on the field and 200+ kids lined up and on "3, 2 1, GO" ran out to collect it all. Anarchy.

The second half was scoreless so we won 2-0. After the game the players came over to the side of the stadium and signed autographs for the kids. Applebee’s and Great Harvest Bread Co. gave away free samples of select items from their menu.

Overall, I was very impressed with the professional-ness that the match was run on and off the field for as small as semi-pro soccer in the US is. Dave Irby (manager of the Surge) does a great job of organizing sponsors and finding creative ways to make the matches, "fun for the whole family".

Summary of Week of Practice

Unlike what I’ve done the past few days, I won’t be writing a blog entry for every day while I’m here. This is a cool summer experience, but it’s not THAT interesting. So, to summarize the soccer end of Tuesday through Thursday: pain. Practices hurt and hurt a lot. I ache everywhere. Joe and I eat whatever we can fit in our mouths. I sleep very soundly and am just now getting off EST.

I’m still taking in the level of play here. There are times where I’m defending someone and I think, "he won’t be able to get a shot off from this angle" or I’m making a run and think, "he probably can’t hit it accurately this far" and am surprised when I get scored on or find the ball right on my foot in stride.

The guys on the team interact well. There are pockets of friends like everywhere, but there are no real clices or inaccessible people. Everybody is respectful and knows everybody else’s name. Today we had the morning session off and I ate at Applebee’s with 7 other guys.

Miss Oregon is supposed to do the ceremonial first kick-off for our season opener tomorrow.

Christianese:
Wednesday Joe, Grant, Likius, Brandon and I went to a small Christian school assembly. We had a half hour for their chapel to interact with the 6th graders there. Grant gave each of us a big intro…"and now, all the way from the professional leagues in Namibia, Africa, give it up for Likius!!!" and Likius would run down the chapel isle giving hi-fives to the screaming kids. We did some tricks, played some interactive soccer games and Grant told how, like the servants who got talents and had to report to their master when he returned, we were using our skills for God’s glory.

Being a Surge player brings with it a sort of celebrity-dome. Whenever Joe and I have our Surge kits we notice that people look at us a bit different. The middle school aged kids in the neighborhood around our host family are all thrilled when we talk to them and answer their questions about the Surge. We are no A-list celebrities by far, but people at least think, "oh, that’s the what’s-their-name team that plays soccer". A great platform for the ministry we are doing!

First Practice

The general schedule this week is we have practice 10:00-12:00, meeting 1:30-2:00 and practice 7:30-9:30 M-R this week. The first game is this Friday!

I was a bit nervous going into the first practice. Especially after hearing about the level of play some of these guys come from. But, I was able to respectably hold my own though I am not one of the better players. Realistically, I can tell already that I’ll be a reserve player.

The play is fast and intense. During a scrimmage at the end of the first session I took a wrist to the nose when I was doubling down on a forward (I say "forward" to keep it general, but in reality it was my good friend and apartment-mate, Joe ;) and came out bleeding. The trainer said it wasn’t broken but he did have to push it back into place. It was not intentional, Joe and I made up. Welcome to semi-pro.

It is great to play competitively again (not that Bloomington soccer is not competitive, but, it's not quite the same ;) and at a higher level than I‘ve played before. Even at the college level some guys come into pre-season a bit out of shape. Not here. Everybody’s fit and then some. A huge thanks to Perry Griffith my neighbor/trainer!!! The focus here is intense as well. Some of these guys make their living playing soccer. Each play, each touch matters and is taken seriously.

I was dead tired at the end of the day after the drills, scrimmages and fitness, but loved it.

Christianese

Because I will be writing for a diverse crowd, I figured that for future posts the best way to write will be to write in the two languages I speak best: white, suburban, middle class footballer and Christianese. Both sections will be a part of what‘s really going on. Read whatever makes sense to you. Read both to get the full picture.

For my Christianese readers: The Surge is a mix of about half Christian players and half other beliefs. Dave Irby, the owner of the Surge talked to us at the meeting about how the Surge blends it’s ministry with soccer. Basically, we’ll have the same practice and game schedule as any other team. In addition, we’ll go to whatever else we can (school assemblies, juvenile homes, camps, missions trips, business networking events, etc.) to share the Gospel when we can and where we can’t talk moral values and sportsmanship and just live it.

First Meeting

Sunday was the first day that I met the team (or most of them, some were still flying in). In the afternoon we had physicals, pictures and a meeting to go over the team environment, the missions statement, soccer philosophies, host family protocol, etc. Finally, we had a team dinner to introduce ourselves further.

Most of the conversations were about soccer backgrounds. What teams you’ve played for and who you know. Stories of tournaments, playoffs and trips. There are guys from everywhere here. And they have a lot of soccer credentials. I’ll write more about some of the guys later.

Overall, I was very impressed with the professional-ness of the team. We each got 2 warm-up kits (sox, shorts, tops), warm-up tops and bottoms and bag. Surge gear must be worn for all Surge functions, practice or otherwise. We also get (in limited amounts) free Jamba Juice, Subway, Applebee’s, Great Harvest Bread and haircuts. Small perks, but nice ones.

More Travels

After the night at Earl and Lynda's house Joe and I left very early in the morning Thursday so that I could catch a flight from Spokane, WA to St. Louis, MO. Friday I drove with my girlfriend to Dayton, OH to attend an old soccer friend's wedding. It was great to see a lot of guys I'd played with in the past. Saturday Laura and I drove to Winona Lake, IN to see her future sister in law graduate, then on to Chicago, IL so I could fly back out to Portland, OR. Joe by this time had settled into our host families house in Salem, OR and picked me up at the airport. Yes, I have been across the country 3 times in a week which seems redundant, but it accomplished a lot of good things. Namely, fun trips, seeing people, and getting my car to Salem, OR.

I know up to this point there has been a few entries with very little about soccer, but that will change shortly. By the way, check this out...(link good only for 1 week) http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090511/SPORTS/905110315/1018/ARCHIVE

Fourth Day of Driving (5/6)

After spending a night in a church parking lot because we wanted to drive late through the night (and it was too rainy and cold to set up a tent) we entered Yellowstone NP. We saw the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, some crazy geysers (I named one Josh - Josh Geyser), 2 wolves, many bison and mule deer and overpriced groceries. My favorite spot on the trip out was on a cliff we climbed out on at the lower falls. It started to snow big, fat, soft snowflakes though the sun was still shining through the clouds on the yellow and red cliffs. That coupled with the green of the conifers, the roar of the falls and the accomplishment of the climb was just gorgeous.

If you want to see pictures google "Yellowstone" because my camera ran out of batteries. They do look very much the same. I was disappointed I missed some pictures, but really, what makes a trip to a scenic spot like the ones we saw is the little things that supplement the trip and make it individually yours. Old faithful looks very similar on you tube as it does in person, however, the surprises, challenges and people we encountered made the trip.

For example, that night, we met Earl and Lynda of Manhattan, MT. Joe’s brother met them when he worked on a dude ranch a few summers ago and recommended we stay with them. They gave us a great meal and an even better conversation. Earl was a genuine Montana cowboy and told us all sorts of ranch stories from his life. Earl gave Joe a genuine Montana cowboy hat. They even sent us off with some food for the next day. They were absolutely wonderful. A bed and shower were absolutely wonderful too.

Third Day of Driving (5/5)

Made it to Wind Cave National Park. Took a 10:30 tour through the main cave. The guide was a man in his 60’s with a big white beard who had a masters in geology. Everyone else in the tour was from a geology class from a college in Colorado on a field trip. They asked a lot of very detailed, specific questions to which the white-bearded guide gave just as detailed, specific answers. It was interesting to listen to because Joe and I heard more about caves than the average tour. I say heard because it would be incorrect to say learned. Think of watching a great sporting match on TV. You follow along, but don’t get any better at the sport. We followed along, enjoying the cave and were entertained by this intellectual sporting event.

Booking it back to Route 90, we made it farther West to Devils Tower. Devils Tower is the same geological feature that is in "Close Encournters of the Third Kind" Do do do do doooo. That one. I didn’t see any aliens, though I kept my eye out. This was my 2nd favorite spot on the trip. The tower was pretty impressive, and it was great to climb on all the rocks that were at the base. We saw climbers going up, crazy people. I almost caught a rabbit.

Second Day of Driving (5/4)

Saw the Corn Palace in South Dakota. This building spends $170,000 a year to decorate the exterior and interior of their building with corn! We drove through Badlands National Park. This was beautiful! Joe and I climbed all over. We finished the drive and stopped at Wall Drug, a tourist trap mini-mall. Drove to Rapid City, SD then south to Mt. Rushmore. We got in at dusk and watched the sun set behind the faces. When I first saw it I thought, "wow, that’s smaller than in the pictures." Still cool. Lincoln winked at me. We found a spot to stay the night at a campground south of Mt. Rushmore. Started a fire with sticks and 1 match! Today was the first day that I started to really feel like I was on break. It was great to just drive, relax and enjoy the scenic spots with no obligations other than where I will sleep and eat.

First Day of Driving (5/3)

Joe and I had a 13 hour trip (12 hours of driving) to travel from Cedarville to Bronson, IA. We left CU around 9:00 am EST and arrived at our friend Ryan Connelly’s house at 9:00 CT. The one notable stop was at the World’s Larges Truck Stop off Rt 80.

Ryan, like Joe, just finished his SO year at Cedarville. It was nice to meet his family and talk with them. They were very hospitable. Joe and I slept very well in Ryan's mansion. Monday morning we had a short training session, ate breakfast and started driving West again.

What is the PDL?

A quick background on the PDL: http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/index_E.html

USL Premier Development League
The top U23 men’s league in North America, the USL Premier Development League (PDL) features 68 teams within four conferences across the United States and Canada. The PDL season consists of 16 regular season matches for each team, eight home and eight away. The PDL provides elite collegiate players the opportunity to taste a higher level of competition while maintaining their eligibility. In addition to league play, PDL teams compete in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as well as various exhibitions. The USL Premier Development League has proven to be an important stepping stone for top professionals now playing around the world.

The team I will be playing for is in the North West Division in Salem, OR. The Cascade Surge's website is here: http://www.cascadesurge.com/frameset.php

Stay Tuned

This is the future home of my updates about soccer with the Cascade Surge. The adventure begins May 3th.