Stephanie Gross

Sports Writer

Imagine you not only get to travel to another country to do something that you truly love, but you also have the opportunity to fully experience the customs and culture of that country for an entire week.

From March 24-31, hundreds of foreign soccer players participated in the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup.  The Dallas Cup is the longest running youth tournament in the United States and has been around for 34 years.

Players from a variety of teams traveled to the United States from countries such as Venezuela, Germany and England for the chance to play in the event.

Many of the high school and club soccer players at Coppell High School played in the Dallas Cup and had the unique experience of housing players from different countries.

“There were a lot of teams in our area that got chosen to house players,” sophomore Austin Jones said.  “There was someone who was in charge of the housing program, and I was told that my team, Andromeda FC, was chosen to participate in it not too long before the tournament started.”

Throughout the week, the CHS students and the players rooming with them were on different schedules.  While the Coppell students were in school, the visiting players were either with their coaches practicing for the tournament or playing in games.

“This year was my first year ever hosting for the Dallas Cup,” Jones said. “I hosted two boys from Venezuela named Ivan and Carlos; they have definitely improved my Spanish and made the Dallas Cup a really cool and different experience for me this year.”

It is an amazing experience for not only the CHS students who were hosting, but also for the players who traveled from different continents as well.

For Venezuela’s Academia Venezolana de Fútbol players Jose Andres Frontado and Gregory De Freitas, the experience was one they will not soon forget.  For one week, they housed with sophomore Robbie Coens.

“I really enjoyed playing in Dallas Cup, it was really neat coming to the United States to play soccer,” De Freitas said.  “I really liked visiting the United States.  It was really interesting seeing what American customs and culture were like compared to Venezuela. The best part was the food and the girls.”

The United States and international teams who participated in the Dallas Cup were invited by the tournament director to compete.

“The academy that I play on, Academia Venezolana de Fútbol, was asked to come play in 2004 so our coach told us that he had been here before,” Frontado said.  “Once we were told we would be coming to the United States, we were so motivated to work hard and train a lot.”

Not only do the international players get to come to the United States and play soccer, but they also get to experience what the culture is like by living with their assigned American family.

“I got to experience a lot of new things when I came to America like new food and going to an FC Dallas game,” De Freitas said. “My English also improved a lot since I got here.”

The American and international players benefitted from the opportunity of meeting each other and bonding by living together for a week.

“I feel that I have really bonded with the boys who stayed with me for the Dallas Cup,” sophomore Robbie Coens said. “It has been a cool opportunity to show them how I live and what we do in America that might be different from other countries.”