Dan Gaines honed his lacrosse skills while absorbing all Germany had to offer during a summer trip in 2009.
Springfield, Ohio — Like all college students who travel abroad, Dan Gaines, Wittenberg University class of 2011 from Columbus, Ohio, hoped to experience a different culture while learning something new on a summer excursion to Germany. He got just that, honing his lacrosse game with some of the United States' and Europe's best college players while experiencing all that one of Europe's oldest and largest nations had to offer.
Gaines played for the USA Athletes International team in the Berlin Open, Europe's biggest annual lacrosse tournament. Held in Berlin, Germany, the three-day event consisted of 20 male teams participating in around-the-clock lacrosse competition.
Gaines' team fared well but dropped the tournament championship game to the talented and NCAA Division I-loaded Team Gatorade. Gaines was not worried about the wins and losses, however. He was grateful to have the opportunity to play his sport in a foreign country.
"I feel like I fully embraced the tournament and all it had to offer," he said. "I was not just trying to play lacrosse in Germany, but I was trying to get a feel for another culture as well."
This international opportunity fell in Gaines' lap last Christmas, and it was simply too good an offer to pass up.
"Coach Curtis Gilbert of USA Athletes International remembered me from a recruiting camp in high school and asked me if I wanted to join his team," Gaines said. "Thanks to him, I had one of the most memorable lacrosse trips - any trip, for that matter - that I think I'll ever experience as an athlete."
Despite the intense game schedule, Gaines still found time to take in the local culture and have a little fun during the week-long trip.
"Having to pay 50 cents to use a public restroom and having people stare at us for wearing shorts was a little weird," Gaines said. "Everyone we met was nice, and they liked to speak English with us to see how good they were and to try and impress their friends."
The actual game of lacrosse was different in Germany as well. Gaines had to adapt to the substitution rules, as well as the time limit to clear the ball out of the defensive zone. Traditions of the German lacrosse teams were also something Gaines had to learn and respect - including some that are not quite as common in the U.S.
"After every game we played against a German team, they brought us all a bottle of beer right on the field as a way of promoting sportsmanship and getting to know all of the teams," he said.
Gaines' first experience in Germany has left him wanting more. He plans to join the USA Athletes International team again next summer in Berlin. He would also like to explore other countries, and he is hoping to compete in another tournament in the Czech Republic the week after the Berlin Open. Until next summer, Gaines will continue to reflect on his trip and work as hard as possible to make Wittenberg's team an even bigger winner.
The Tigers finished the 2009 season with a 7-6 overall record, the program's first winning record in a decade. All seven players who reached double figures in total points in 2009 are expected to return to the lineup in 2010, as are starting goalkeeper Mark DeOliveira, class of 2011 from East Hanover, N.J., and five of the team's top six defensemen.
The future is bright in the Tiger program, and Gaines is pleased to have experience playing against top competition that he believes continued to sharpen his skills.
"Matching up well against U.S. Division I and Division II players, as well as some of Europe's most talented players, left me with confidence about where I am as a player," Gaines said. "It also showed me the caliber of program we have here at Wittenberg and how lucky I am to be a part of it."
Written by: Trent Brunic '10
Photo by: Erin Pence