Summer camps for high school and younger players have been completed and now it is time for the Centre College men’s soccer team to have its own two-week preseason training camp — in Germany.
“We eave this weekend and get to spend two weeks over there,” said Centre coach Jeb Burch, who does all the planning himself for the trip. “We will be training every day and will play three games. We will have a lot of good activities for the players.”
The team will be in Freiburg, a city with a population of about 250,000. It is in the foothills of the Black Forest on the Dream River, a tributary of the Elz.
Burch said the three games will be against high level competition similar to the Lexington Sporting Club, a professional team in Lexington.
“We are not going for wins. We are going to grow together and chemistry. The training and games are great, but we are not just trying to win games,” Burch said. “The teams we are playing will be older and have some quality players. But they are going into their preseasons, too, and won’t be going all-out to risk injury. Both sides will approach this as more of a friendly.”
The team will spend a day at Europa-Park, the largest theme park in Germany. Burch has also reserved a race track one day where each player will get to drive a race car. Another day will be spent at a high-adventure ropes course in the Black Forest. They will also visit the FIFA Museum in Zurich before heading home. There will also be team meals but at times players will be able to use a meal stipend to decide on their own where to eat.
“We will be training in the mornings and then the players will have the afternoons free,” Burch said. “It’s a real advantage to have the extra two weeks to prepare for the preseason.”
Burch and Centre assistant Xavier Tomlin will be assisted by Lee Chalmers, who helps with the Centre College summer camps and coaches in Freiburg.
The Colonels will have a travel part of 24, including athletics trainer Kimberly McNamara, who has family in the region. Incoming freshmen and transfers who were not on campus for the spring semester are not allowed to make the trip due to NCAA restrictions.
“This is the fourth one of these international trips we have done,” Burch said. “It’s going to be an awesome trip. But every time we have gone abroad, that team has won the conference championship. So that’s something to hopefully motivate our players even more.”
