Another great Dutch football experience for SLSG Illinois

This March American soccer club St Louis Scott Gallagher visited the Feyenoord Academy for a week long European football experience. Like last year the boys from Illinois plus their coaches were immersed in Dutch pro academy football for a full week, combining intensive football practice sessions with Feyenoord coaches with sightseeing and visiting several Eredivisie matches.

‘This year’s trip was even better than last year’, said Blake Decker, head coach of SLSG Illinois. His side travelled to Rotterdam for the second time in two years. Decker, whose U14 and U13 squads played against the professional academies of both Feyenoord and FC Volendam and showed great improvement in comparison with their first trip.

The aspiring players spent 8 days in Rotterdam, in which they experienced 7 intensive practice sessions with Feyenoord Academy coaches Melvin Boel and Marchanno Schultz. Obviously there was also time for sightseeing and more fun elements. 'It was an awesome experience for us', said SLSG player AJ Sullivan.

After the first two days SLSG Austin Chang was hand picked by Feyenoord Academy coaches to show his worth amongst his Dutch peers. Likewise, Wan Kuzain spent a full week training with Feyenoord U18 during which he once again proved himself to be a promising player.

Gido Vader, manager of international relations, was happy to see SLSG return to Rotterdam after their maiden trip in 2015. ‘SLSG are a great club who want to be among the best sides in the USA. Already they are producing players for US Soccer's national youth selections. We have worked hard to make sure that trips like these have a lot of positive impact on the players, both on and off the pitch. We look forward to expanding our cooperation with St Louis Scott Gallagher over the coming seasons.’

Click on the link below to watch a video impression of the SLSG visit

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