Note: This is an updated version of an article provided to CCSD, written by Drew Renner, a student in the undergraduate certificate program at the University of Georgia's Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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Rivals at home, teammates on tour: Cedar Shoals, Clarke Central share the pitch in England
For most students, spring break means beaches under blue skies. Recently, soccer players from Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central high schools traded that for a rare kind of away game beneath the grey clouds of England.
Boarding a flight in Atlanta as rivals, they landed in London as teammates. Teams that practice just five miles apart traveled more than 4,000 miles to England for the first Clarke County School District trip of its kind.
The 63 players and their chaperones, including Cedar Shoals coaches Benoît D’Astous and Conor Naughton and CCSD English Learner Programs Coordinator Dr. David Forker, spent nine days abroad and played matches against and trained with local youth clubs. They toured London, Chester and North Wales, attended an FA Cup quarterfinal at West Ham United, a Championship League game between Coventry City FC and Sheffield Wednesday FC, and visited the stadiums of Manchester City, Wrexham, and Liverpool. The itinerary included sightseeing at iconic landmarks including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London.
View a full gallery of photos from the group's trip to England.
Drawing on his “later-in-life discovery” of soccer, Forker initiated the Clarke County programs’ international travel opportunity. Forker said his son, Essex Forker, a junior on Clarke Central’s team, sparked that interest and inspired him to become increasingly involved, now playing in adult recreational leagues.
When he began exploring ways to coordinate travel abroad, Forker consulted a colleague who mentioned a successful trip by Apalachee High School’s soccer program. He then contacted the coach, who recommended Challenger World Tours. After vetting the company, Forker and organizers immediately began working to plan the trip.
“I think it’s just so baller,” Forker said prior to the trip. “I think for some kids, it’s going to light a fire under them.”
For many, this was a first glimpse of international soccer and culture. Cedar Shoals freshman Keiwon Metcalf, who had never traveled out of the country, said he was most excited to experience European culture. He added that playing alongside Clarke Central players, many of whom he knows from club soccer, would make team chemistry smoother. But the trip’s impact extended beyond camaraderie: other young American players who have trained with Europeans said Clarke County would face a faster, more fluid style of play.
“The ball is always pinging around, " said Adry Matias, a Georgia native now playing for FC Saarbrücken. “Unlike the States (where) you just boot it over, and then you run to it and then go on about your day… it's more playing with the ball, moving around, tiki-taka.”
Naughton said prior to the trip thst his team is well-equipped to compete, but that he expected the English game to be more intuitive because players anticipate plays quicker, making the pace of the game the “big test” for his team. He also sees a benefit for the coaching staff. Observing training sessions abroad offers insight into practice organization and coaching approaches.
Naughton hopes the trip becomes a recurring part of both programs, perhaps every two or three years, as a way to build continuity. He said the long-term goal is for the experience to become part of the program’s culture, helping to reinforce the values and style of play learned overseas.
“I think the biggest thing to come out of it is to really appreciate how much (soccer) is a way of life over there,” said Gareth Hughes, senior operations manager for Global Sports Experiences and Challenger Sports. “That can, then, transmit to the United States so that as the game grows even more, and especially with the World Cup coming this summer, that will hopefully lead to a more European way of looking at how soccer is in every community.”
For players who know the game well at home and abroad, like Matias, the experience will provide perspective, she said. During high school, she spent a week in Germany training with SV Elversberg before returning to the United States. That brief stint shifted her goals, and not long after, she decided to move back for good — leaving her family behind, finishing high school in Germany and continuing to play soccer there ever since.
“It made me want to step up my game when I went back to the States,” Matias said. “They were so good, and I felt like the odd one out… that definitely was a reality check for me.”
Residing in Zweibrucken, Germany, for nearly three years now, Matias said the trip could be a transformative experience for the Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central players.
“Go in with curiosity,” she said. “Ask questions. Pay attention to the small details of the game or training, and let the trip inspire you.”
As they return, Clarke Central will have one match left before playoffs and Cedar Shoals two. After nine days abroad, the programs will try to bring back lessons learned from English soccer as they approach the season's most decisive games.