Head Coach Steve Dawson (left) will be directing traffic from sidelines in England again in August.
Springfield, Ohio — As the Wittenberg University men's soccer team puts the finishing touches on the spring "non-traditional" portion of its annual schedule, Head Coach Steve Dawson is already preparing for a summer training trip to his native England.
The first step is raising money for trip, which is scheduled Aug. 5-15. To offset some of the costs, the team is hosting a fundraiser golf outing on Friday, June 3, at Windy Knoll Golf Club, 500 Roscommon Drive in Springfield.
Registration will start at noon and the four-player scramble event will tee off at 1 p.m. A silent auction will start at 5 p.m., with dinner set for 5:30 p.m., also at Windy Knoll. The price is $90 per player or $65 for college students. In addition, a variety of sponsorships and golf packages are available for prices ranging from $125 to $3,000.
This is the third international summer training trip for student-athletes in the Tiger men's soccer program under Dawson's direction, with the last one coming in 2007. As usual, the Tiger student-athletes will enjoy a wide range of educational opportunities and plenty of soccer, including three games against top-flight British competition.
The tentative schedule includes opportunities to experience British culture with Dawson, a London native who has won 273 games since becoming Wittenberg's coach in 1982, and see many famous sites, including London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Chester Cathedral. In addition to playing games against top local club teams, the Wittenberg players will attend two English Premier League games, featuring some of the greatest professional players in the world.
"This is a big commitment, but I think it's an excellent opportunity for the players to see England and play and train in a soccer culture," said Dawson, a 1978 graduate of Loughborough University in Leicestershire. "In America, a variety of sports dominate the headlines. In England, there are other sports, but soccer dominates."
The men's soccer team's training trip to England fits with the university's unique Tiger GAME Plan initiative, which puts an emphasis on global experience as an important part of each student-athletes' collegiate experience.
Dawson hopes this will be a positive start for what he believes will be a breakout season for the Tigers, who are coming off a 5-10-3 campaign in 2010. The Tigers return 15 letterwinners in 2011, including 11 players who started at least four games a year ago. The 2011 season begins a road trip to Defiance College on Sept. 2 and 3, where the Tigers will take on the host team and Thiel College on back-to-back days.
For more information, contact Dawson at (937) 327-6456 or via email. Reservations can also be made by logging on to the Windy Knoll website and clicking on the events tab.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
025-11