'95 Boys: (Day 5) Wednesday, March 31

Today we woke up around 8:30 am to eat breakfast. Everyone was excited to go to Venice. After breakfast, we took an hour and a half bus ride. When we got there we took a boat to get to the main island. When we arrived we went to Saint Mark Square, the heart of Venice. We had a tour guide who showed us the largest church in Venice and one of the largest in Europe. She explained to us that the lion and the book is the symbol that represents richness in the city because the lion was made of pure gold. She also showed us the grand canal where you can get a gondola ride. After the tour guide was done, the team and coaches talked and then we were on our own to explore and shop the richness and beauty of VENICE.

- Michael Chang & Emilio Lopez '95

'95 Boys: (Day 4) Tuesday, March 30

Today we played our first match against AC Montichiari. It was a very good opening game for us. They were a skilled team, but nothing we couldn't handle. We won the match 1-0. I thought our opponent prepared us very well for what is ahead of us.

- Justin Pratt '95

'95 Boys: (Day 3) Monday, March 29

Earlier today we arrived at another hotel. It was huge and had tons of villas, a golf course and sports complex. We trained at a local facility. It was hard to breathe at the altitude. Then we visited downtown Milan. We as this massive cathedral. It was awesome. We saw how old and historic the city was. It was a great experience.

- Dan Lev '95

'95 Boys: (Day 2) Sunday, March 28

On Saturday both the '93 and '95 teams arrived to Italy awaiting the exciting activities assigned for us that day. After a long day of flying and being on a plane for 8 hours we were ready to see two games - Juventus vs Atlanta and AC Milan vs Lazio. After the bus ride from the airport to Milan we got to our rooms and went to a local restaurant for lunch. After lunch we drove to Torin for the Juventus game. A lot of us have not seen European games live so it was a great experience. We bought souvenirs and watched the game. After the game we quickly rushed back to Milan to see the Milan game. We have never seen anything like the Italian fans. They were so passionate about the game. It was a close game the whole game and the way the fans were, they made it crazy and fun. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, but it was totally worth it.We went back to the local restaurant to eat again for dinner and smashed the pizza they served us. When we went back to our hotel we were all exhausted and passed out. We are all so thankful for this opportunity because we won't get many of these again.

- Brent Winkler '95

'95 Boys: (Day 1) Saturday, March 27

Beep!!! Beep!!! I hit the snooze button and went back to sleep, but then seconds later my eyes flashed open and I jumped out of bed, to into the shower and slipped on my Region II warm-up that I was itching to wear the whole week. I gather all of my stuff that was not already in my soon to be overweight suitcase and threw it in the back of the car. Finally, I was off to the airport not knowing what I was in for the rest of the day.

The Michigan boys arrived at the Detroit airport around 9:00 am and were off to Chicago. Because of the time difference, we then landed in Chicago at 11:00 am and waited four hours to board the plane to Frankfurt. The airport was huge so the four hours passed fast after eating a $16 full course meal.

After the entire Region II team met up at gate 16, it was time to board the plane. Everyone was excited, but I don't think any of us knew how long and how boring it would be until we landed in Germany. I think most of us tried to sleep, but were unsuccessful because sleeping at 2:00 in the afternoon is hard (but at the same time it was pitch black out).

We landed in Frankfurt, went through customs and walked a 1/2 mile to our next gate where we sat their staring into space waiting for our plane. As soon as I got on the plane, flight attendants said "good morning" and I was like "what"?!? I passed out on the plane as soon as I got to my seat and slept through the entire flight. I woke up when we got to Milan and asked the German sitting next to me if we had taken off yet. They just looked at me with a blank stare and said "huh"? At that moment, I thought to myself...this is just the start of it!

- Justin Cohen '95