Sneak Preview: Spring Break

Panama City.  Cancun.  Cabo San Lucas.  Bahamas. Miami.  Las Vegas.  These are typically the first spring break locations that pop into college students heads.  What about Raleigh, NC? Did anyone think of Raleigh? 

Raleigh, North Carolina is not typically on anyones top five most popular spring break trip locations.  And yet, we have five women's soccer players and our senior athletic training student heading there for spring break, March 28th-April 6th, 2015.  

Why, you ask?  They plan to help build affordable houses with the Habitat for Humanity Organization.  

Here's the short:  First Years Sophie Leininger, Hannah Sturtz, and Josie Mazzone, Sophomores Jana Elliott and Kendyl Landeck, along with Senior ATR student Angela Gewerth, will head to Raleigh, NC to build affordable housing, become immersed in a new community, think critically about the challenging experiences they encounter, and have meaningful discussions regarding issues of poverty across the country.  This Spring break trip is part of the Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge. 

What's the Habit for Humanity Collegiate Challenge? The Collegiate Challenge is one of Gustavus Habitat for Humanity's biggest successes each year by getting volunteers to spend their time in meaningful and rewarding ways while raising awareness on housing issues across the nation.  The Collegiate Challenge is almost a tradition for our women's soccer program, as back in 2012, Liz Underwood '14, Emily Papagapitos '14 and Lizzy Kroker '14, went to Pensacola, FL where they performed various home construction tasks such as roofing, painting, framing and putting up sheetrock. 

2012 Collegiate Challenge in Pensacola, FL with 3 Gustie Soccer Alums

Gustavus Habitat for Humanity: The purpose of Gustavus Habitat for Humanity is to work with both local and outside chapters, as well as within our own chapter, in an effort to build affordable housing for families in need.  Habitat for Humanity strives to meet the needs through building, fundraising, advocacy, educating and organizing consistent with their values of community, compassion, service, faith and teamwork.  Every spring break, Gustavus sends over 75 students to Habitat for Humanity affiliate sites to participate in the Collegiate Challenge, an alternative spring break program.

For more information about the Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge, check out this video: http://www.habitat.org/videogallery/video_upload/2009/cc_final2.wmv

Don't worry!  We will have a follow up post (with pictures, quotes and more) about their experience in Raleigh, NC, so make sure to check back in April.  

Our New Face: Benton Frayne

We are excited to announce the hiring of Benton Frayne as our new Assistant Women's Soccer Coach here at Gustavus Adolphus College.  Benton will enter his first season this Fall 2015, however he will start working with the program immediately.  Later in the Spring we will have a Coffee Shop Interview with Benton so you can get to know him further, but for now here's a little about how he became our assistant coach!

Assistant Coach Benton Frayne

For the last two years, Benton has worked with the Bethany Lutheran College women's soccer program, adding experience as the men's assistant this past fall.   In 2014, Benton helped the women's team place third in the conference and qualify for the conference tournament for only the third time in school history.  On the men's side, he helped the program place fifth, narrowly missing out on the post-season tournament.  Benton was involved in all the aspects of running two successful NCAA Division III program, including recruiting, assisting with team practices and running goalkeeper sessions.  During this time, he also coached several club teams within Mankato United Soccer Club and earned a Master's Degree in Sport Management from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Benton collected an impressive coaching resume prior to working at Bethany Lutheran with his involvement at the college, high school and club levels.  In 2012, he helped guide the girls high school team at Mankato East to the top seed in the section playoffs as well as being ranked at the state level.  From 2010 to 2011, Benton worked with the varsity and junior varsity girls teams at Albert Lea High School, helping them also earn the top seed in the section playoffs.  Prior to his career at the high school level, as the assistant women's soccer coach at Grinnell College in 2009, Benton helped lead the pioneers to a 7-10-1 record.  

A native of Albert Lea, he completed his Bachelor of Science in Recreation and Tourism with a Coaching Minor at Winona State University in the spring of 2009.  Additionally, Benton holds his NSCAA National Diploma, USSF E License, and was a 2013 MYSA Oaths Award Winner.

Benton will be a tremendous addition to our Gustavus Women's Soccer Program and we are excited to get to know him further as well as see his impact on the continued development of our program. We hope you feel the same, so, if you're a recruit, keep your eye out for emails from him!  


 

Welcome Home!

The Gustie Women are back from abroad! 

For those of you who read our earlier blog post (you didn't, here is the link) about our player's excitement to travel abroad over the month of January, they have returned!!! Not only have they returned, but returned with many once in a lifetime memories and new friendships.  Studying abroad is deeply rooted in the Gustavus College experience, and we encourage all of our players to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity.  So, now, let's get to the good stuff, aka the post-study abroad follow up interviews:

Coursey Edwards

Where: Germany, France, England, Ireland

Tottenham vs. Leicester City 

What was your favorite place you visited or the favorite part of your trip?
My favorite place I visited was London.  I went to an FA Cup game and watched the Tottenham

Hotspurs play Leicester City.  We had front row seats behind one of the goals!  Can't beat those seats!  That was an incredible experience and one I will remember forever.

Out of all the incredible food and drinks each country has to offer, what was the best and why?
I really enjoyed the typical German food.  My favorite food was the sausage and sauerkraut. I grew up eating this meal, so it comforted me while I was overseas.

Coursey at the Notre Dame

What was the greatest cultural experience you encountered? 
I think my greatest cultural experience was when I was in Paris and I could not communicate with the French because of the language barrier.  I attended Mass at Notre Dame and found that to be an eye opening experience because of the barrier and also because it was Notre Dame, so how could it not be?

A message to future Gusties: 
Studying abroad is definitely worth the time and money because you come back a changed person for the better.  You get to embrace the culture you are in and experience things you otherwise couldn't in the states.  It is truly an unforgettable time.

Kendyl Landeck

Where: Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

What was your favorite place you visited or your favorite part of your trip? 
This question is so hard because all of it was my favorite.  If I had to choose a favorite small town, it would have to be Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  This is a small medieval town that still has the original wall surrounding it from back in the 13th century.

Out of all the incredible food and drinks the country has to offer, what was the best and why? 
All the food was delicious, however there was one desert that I was served constantly, because of my lactose sensitivity, that I grew to love.  It's called Rote Grutze, which is a read fruit jam.  At first it feels like you are just eating a bowl of jam, but by the end of the trip I looked forward to eating it after dinner.  My favorite drink was probably Apfelschorle, which is made with carbonated mineral water and apple juice.  It's just like a sparkling cider. So delicious!!

What was the greatest cultural experience you encountered? 

Kendyl with Host Family

The greatest cultural experience was in Northern Germany, where we stayed with host families.  Staying with a host family allowed me to learn more about the differences within the German culture and also experience traditional homemade food.

A message to future Gusties: 
Studying abroad allows you to meet amazing people in the country you are traveling to, but especially during J-Term, you also meet amazing Gusties.  I was able to make 15 new friends that I had never known at Gustavus before.  The time you spend together allows you to grow close and the bond you create, specifically in a different environment, holds you together for a long time.

BRITTANY CHASE

Where: South Africa

Post-Interview still to come... keep checking back!

Recruiting Schedule through July 2015

   Spring and Summer are the time for recruiting and, let us tell you, we are so excited to see you play!  Every weekend of recruiting means an opportunity to find Future Gusties.  It also means we can continue to build our relationship, evaluate your play and provide you with feedback as to where we see you fitting into our program.

   Peruse the list of tournaments, showcases and cups we plan to attend over the next 5+ months; if your team will be attending any of them, please send us an email (Coach Burnett-Kurie, lburnett@gustavus.edu) with your schedule! Make sure to include in the email your Name, Graduation Year, Team, Game Schedule, Jersey Number and Position.  Bonus information would be your mailing address, contact number and the home and away colors of your team uniforms!

March 2015

March 20-22nd: Players Showcase in Las Vegas, NV 

April 2015 

April 27-31st: MN State Cup (Play-in Games) in North Mankato, MN; U16-U18

May 2015

May 2-3rd: MN State Cup in North Mankato, MN
May 9th: MN State Cup in North Mankato, MN 

May 16-17th: MN State Cup in North Mankato, MN 

May 23-24th: NSC Cup in Blaine, MN 

June 2015

June 19-21st: Academy Open hosted by Sporting St. Croix in Lakeland, MN 

                       MTA Academy College Showcase in Rosemount, MN 

June 26-27th: Prairie Cup in Eden Prairie, MN 

                       MTA Invitational in Richfield, MN 

June 24-27th: Midwest Elite Soccer Camp at Hamline University

June 28-July 1st: Midwest Elite Soccer Camp at Hamline University

July 2015

July 6-9th: Gustavus High School Girls Soccer Camp (GREAT RECRUITING OPPORTUNITY!!) 

July 10-12th: USA Cup Weekend in Blaine, MN 

July 14-18th: Schwans Cup Week in Blaine, MN 

If you are attending a showcase that is not listed above, send us an email to let us know and we will do our very best to get out and see you play!  

Tournament/Showcase Schedules can be sent to: Coach Burnett-Kurie; lburnett@gustavus.edu