A number of the Webster Soccer Association (WSA) BU16-Green team, coached by Carmine Torchia and Bob Johnson, are off to Germany to play soccer.

Thirteen BU16-Green players and guest player Eric Price from the WSA BU15-Green team leave on August 1 for a thirteen-day trip to Germany. The team will visit cities including Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, Nuremberg, Bielefeld, and Cologne.

Trip participants include: Daniel Cappa, Patrick Hill, Eric Johnson, Bradley Koontz, Greg Lockhart, Tyler Loucks, Stavros Marou, Joseph Matina, Eric Price, Eric Przybylowicz, Casey Reulbach, Mark Rykojc, Jonathan Skovira, and Frank Torchia.

Chaperons include: Bob Johnson (Coach), David A. Johnson (Bob Johnson’s brother), David M. Johnson (Bob Johnson’s son), and Scott Lockhart (Greg’s father).

In addition to playing 5-6 soccer games, the players will sightsee and visit with other soccer teams and their families. In the Munich area the group will be staying with German families for a few days which will offer the WSA players a chance to get a real feeling of German life.

Sightseeing will include city tours, Heidelberg and Newschwanstein castles, Mercedes-Benz Museum, Handwerkerhof village (which recreates life in old Nuremberg), and Eagle’s Nest. The group will also tour the impressive Allianz-Arena (Bayern Munich’s home field) and watch a VfL Bochum versus Werder Bremen soccer game near Cologne.

Per Bob Johnson, “About half the boys have traveled out of the country before. This is great opportunity for the boys to see another country, experience different cultures, and talk with people with a different perspective than the folks from Webster.”

Johnson continues, “This has been my ninth year associated with this team. They have grown a lot as players. I'm very proud of this group and this is a nice reward for all the hard work they have put in over the years. This is a trip we have talked about for several years. They will have a great time traveling with their teammates and enjoy learning German culture through their host families.”

This trip is not part of the regular WSA Travel program so participating families cover the additional cost.

A great deal of planning by team parents went into the trip. Over the past ten months the participating players have raised funds and secured Passports. Fund raising events included hosting a golf tournament, running some Presidential soccer clinics in Webster, and working in a concession stand at last fall’s WSA Micro Soccer program.

To make this trip possible, a lot of hard work has been done by the following: Tausch Travel (setting up car rentals, hotels reservations, and travel advice), Amy Read (fund raising), Rich Vander Horst (fund raising), Peggy Hill (team sweat suits and passport coordinator), John Matina (finances), AnneMarie Matina (trip coordinator), Scott Lockhart (trip coordinator - Germany contacts), and Bob Johnson (trip coach, trip coordinator - Germany contacts). The players and their parents appreciate all those who patronized their fund raising events and the WSA Board for their support and guidance.

Several of the boys have taken many years of German in school and look forward to using their second language on the trip. Most of the boys will be juniors in high school this fall and a couple of them will be seniors.

Years ago Coach Johnson enjoyed a similar trip with his eldest son. Bob Johnson shared, “I took my older son David's team to Germany in 1999. They had a great experience and they still mention it when I talk to them. The families there took us in and treated us great. The boys really enjoyed being in a different environment. They also performed well, winning all but one of their games. After the games we got together with the other team at their club house and had a meal and celebration. When I took David on this trip, my son Eric, then eight years old, made me promise to take his team when he was sixteen. It's a good excuse for me to go back to Germany.” Johnson adds, “I'm sure this will be a trip that they will remember for a long time.”

Rumor has it that Bob Johnson is already daydreaming about another trip with his son Kevin who plays for the WSA BU14-Gold team (also coached by Bob Johnson).

The WSA BU16-Green team had an outstanding season this year. They won the 2007 Rochester District Youth Soccer League (RDYSL) U16 1st Division and were Champions of the Greece Buccaneers and Gates Tournaments. The team came close to capturing first in the Rochester Futbol Club (RFC) Frosty Frenzy, but lost in penalty kicks. The team’s players hope to continue their successful play abroad, but more importantly make great memories and learn from their experience in Germany.