Numerous students at BHS participate in their chosen sports outside of the school. Recently many students who play club soccer have gone traveling both within the US and outside the US with their teams to play. Bailey Olson ‘25 who plays for PDA went to Barcelona, Spain. Greg Ferreira ‘23 went to London, England with his club team, Steel United. That same week Jane Stauffer ‘25 and Charlotte Burlingame ‘25 went with their club team, Steel United, to Las Vegas, NV. Payton Zaun ‘25 also traveled with her club team, STA, to Florida for the second week of March.
Olson went to Barcelona and Madrid to play against teams from across the world. With her team, they participated in 4 clinics at Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletico, and RCD Espanyol. Olson left on February 11th, and stayed for eleven days, playing 4 games. Her team won 3 out of the 4 games. Olson shared, “Being exposed to professional soccer coaches was also a refreshing perspective on the game and the style of play. I have gained so much from the experience both on and off the field.” Although Olson has traveled with her team before, she shared that it was one of her most rewarding and unique experiences thus far in her high school career.
Both Burlingame and Stauffer went with their club team to Vegas to play in the Las Vegas Mayors Cup International Tournament for the weekend of February 23rd to the 25th. Burlingame plays for the 2007 girls team, and Stauffer plays for the 2008 team. This tournament not only gave them the opportunity to play teams from all around the country but also gave them the chance to play in front of college coaches. Burlingame shared, “I was able to learn new techniques and tactics from my coaches, which continues to make me a better player.” On top of the soccer experience, they were also able to experience Vegas, meet new people, and make many new friends. Stauffer shared, “I think this experience was an adventure of a lifetime and I am so happy to be a part of this club team so I could live this dream of playing soccer.”
Ferreira’s team selected certain individuals from all over the county to form a team and play in England. They spent a week in London exploring the city and touring many landmark sights like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The Shard, and the London Eye. Additionally, they watched three professional soccer matches in England’s first division called the Premier League. For the first half of the trip they stayed at a hotel near the historic Wembley stadium . They went to two different training sessions held at the Tottenham Hotspur training ground. He shared that his teammates and him got to sleep in the rooms where the national team players would sleep in if they were to be on international duty. They ended up winning 2 of the 3 games they played. Ferreira shared, “This trip taught me what soccer was like over in England, and sparked an interest to potentially end up playing professional soccer in England once I finish playing college soccer here in the US.”
Payton Zaun traveled to Florida on March 10th to play in the Champions Cup Finals with her club team. She was down in Florida for 5 days and played in 4 games, with the first game on March 10th at 11am. Her team won 3 of the four games at IMG Academy. Payton shared, “Experiences like this not only give me the opportunity to meet new people and play soccer against other teams, but it also helps me improve as a player. I got to play in front of many college coaches which was beneficial to my future college career.” Experiences like the ones many soccer players at BHS have been going to over the past few months not only help them in their club team, but it also helps improve their skill level and techniques for the high school teams.
