Rush Select Goes To Munich

Trip recap by Danny Poche, Girls Development Academy Director – Virginia Rush 

Friday, May 19th: Today, all the players and coaches arrived in Munich and were met by fantastic tour guides from MZTA. After getting settled in, the team walked to nearby FC Teutonia Munchen facility to stretch and get in a light training session, and wrapped up the day with a team dinner at the hotel. 

Saturday, May 20th: The players and parents visited downtown Munich to experience German culture, as well as sightseeing and shopping in the beautiful weather. In the evening, the players attended a Mindset Workshop led by a former NCAA Division 1 and Bundesliga player, before putting in hard work for a team training session to wrap up the night. 

Sunday, May 21st: In the morning, the girls team had a great training session at the FC Teutonia training facility. That evening, the girls and parents attended a Bundesliga match at the beautiful WWK Arena, watching FC Augsburg vs BVB Dortmund.

Monday, May 22nd:   The group toured Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern Munich, including a tour of the locker room and pitch side. The girls wrapped up the day with a great friendly against FFC Wacker Munchen U15 girls, which included a jersey and gift exchange.

Tuesday, May 23rd: In the morning, the girls visited the campus of TSV 1860 Munchen to observe a professional team training session, and were able to meet the players afterwards. In the afternoon, the girls worked through a tough training session before eating a traditional German dinner at the clubhouse of FC Teutonia Munchen. 

Wednesday, May 24th: In the morning, the players and families visited the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial and were able to learn about the history of the camp, walk through the camp and its exhibits, and commemorate the prisoners; it was a memorable experience for all who toured the memorial. In the afternoon, the team travelled to the FC Bayern Munich Campus to play against the FC Bayern Munich U16 girls team. After the game, the girls exchanged jerseys and gifts, and enjoyed a team dinner at the Campus restaurant. 

Thursday, May 25th: The players had a recovery training session in the morning before departing to tour Munich with their families on their own schedule. 

Friday, May 26th: The day kicked off with a fun players vs parents soccer game where the parents prevailed. The players and parents then loaded onto the bus to head to Tyrol, Austria, home of the International Cordial Cup. After dinner at a nearby restaurant, the girls headed to downtown St. Johann before marching into the stadium for the Opening Ceremony along with over a hundred other teams and thousands of players. 

Saturday, May 27th: The opening day of the 12th International Girls Cordial Cup kicked off in Hopfgarten, with group play matches against FFC Wacker Munchen (Germany), FAC Landhaus (Austria), and SGS Essen (Germany). Against tough competition, the girls managed a 1-1-1 record in the group stage and qualified for the quarterfinals. After the final game of the day, the girls and parents took gondolas to the top of Salvenberg Mountain to enjoy the view and relax. 

Sunday, May 28th : The girls played PKKU (Finland) and FC Koln (Germany) in the Placement round, going 1-1 for the day and placing 5th overall in the tournament. The girls exchanged gifts and contact information with several teams and cheered PKKU on to the finals. During the recognition ceremony, the girls received medals and applause from local teams as the only American team in the tournament. The girls then travelled back to St. Johann to watch the boys and girls championship matches, and cheered PKKU against SGS Essen in the girls final game. Players and parents wrapped up the day with the Closing Ceremony before departing for one last German dinner.