July 2nd, 2025 – 

Player and parent meeting to kick off the tour.

Great meeting with great questions and so excited about the trip. 

Kids all got their kits and took a few pics in our new Stars ‘n Stripes Uniforms.

You cannot buy these, you can only earn these.

Please follow our trip on social media and I will post daily details here on the journal

Thursday is our 1st offidcial training so wish us luck.

Ciao

Ed

July 3rd – 1st training session 

Great first day, its actually not hot, humid yes, but bearable.

Kids getting to know each other, worked on their Brazilian warmup and even had some lessons as some bags were left open a Coach, not saying who, took items out of their bags to prove a point.

And yes, they got them back for a price.  You guessed it, Stars ‘n Stripes Sit Ups.  A staple to provide discipline and class on our tour.  They will get it, trust me.

last night with familly and hopefully some fireworks as we fly out tomorrow, The 4th of July at 3:30 pm.

Going to be crazy so we would not mind a few prayers sent our way to help us with safe travels, no lost luggage, and easy check in on a crazy day.

I will add to the journal when we get settled so until then, keep following on our social media.

Wish us luck, 

Ciao

Ed

July 4th – departure day finally here

DFW was actually pretty easy.  check in was great.

saying goodbye to mom and dad is always tough but we are off on adventure and kids are excited.

Flight was great and flight attendants were so pleased with our kids behavior.  We do have some great kids on this trip.

what a way to spend our July 4th holiday, flying overseas.

Wish us safe flight

Ciao

Ed

July 5th – arrived in Europe

Flight was great, passport control was great, if only we can find our bus, lol

Finally we find each other and yes, no luggage lost.  Once again, flying non stop has its perks.

First stop, Wooden shoe factory/cheese factory and they demonstrated both.  pretty cool actually and several kids bought wooden shoes and cheese. Not sure how long the cheese will last as its so good.  After the stop, we have a 4 hour bus ride to Aurich, Germany to see my good friend Bernd and our accomocations.  We stop at a rest area and kids eat and get their first European encounter as they had to pay to use the restroom.  Some could not figure this out, too funny.  We arrive in Aurich, a small German town and our accomodations are simple.  4 and 6 to a room.

Dinner was awesome and then we had a jog through town and a stretch.  Time for bed as you can imagine a very long day.

More tomorrow, 

Ciao

Ed

July 6th – Germany training camp

Kids wide awake, obviously due to the flight and jet lag and we have a 6:30 am breakfasat club run and training.

Great breakfast, with eggs, and I say that because we will probably not see eggs for a few weeks

After breakfast, training at 9 am, rest up and then about 45 minute bus ride to the club that is hosting us.

Great club with great fields and excited to play.

Sunny to start with as Cs play first and nervous as cats, each and every one of them.  It shows too as we are awful the 1st half but they settled down at halftime just as the rain started and played much better in the 2nd half. 

Bs up next and play a good game, losing 2-1 as Preston made numerous saves.

As finish up the friendly matches with a great game and went back and forth but they gave up 2 goals in the last few minutes and lose 3-2.

The host club made us bratworst and french fries and I have heard that some of the boys had 10 lol.

Great day and we really enjoyed the hosts and the first day of football.

off to Denmark tomorrow, wish us safe travels

Ciao

Ed

July 7th – off to Denmark

7 am breakfast and then 8 am departure for Denmark.  kids cleaned their rooms, turned their  keys and hauled there bags to our  bus.

With their phones I might add so they can access the world and family and friends again.  

long bus ride and we have 2 stops to get food/snacks and most of the kids sleep but bus rides are always good for team bonding.

We arrive at 6:40 pm, dinner ends at 7 and opening ceremonies starts at 6:30 so we make the decision to let the kids march in the opening ceremonies, which  were pretty cool, and then we return to the school, pump up air mattresses and orginize rooms.  Then off to the grocery store so we can eat and kids split into groups and shop healthy.  Pretty proud of them all.

Back to the school and off to bed as we have Cup 1 games start in the morning.

Wish us luck, 

Ciao

Ed

July 11th – Friday at Cup 1

The only team left in the cup are the Boys 17s as they play a 1/4 final game at 9:30 am.

Great game and the entire Stars ‘n Stripes group was in attendance as we played a team from Denmark, a local team as well.

We went up 1-0 shortly after halftime but gave up a goal in the last few minutes to tie 1-1.

We have to go straight to PKs and lady luck was not on our side as we missed 2 of 4 penalties and lost in the shootout.

Disappointed I know but a good week regardless.

To ease our pain, I decided it was a good day to go the beach and after lunch we went to Palm Beach, just outside of Frederikshavn and had a blast for 3 hours at the beach.

Back to school, nap time and shower and off to dinner.  Goulash tonight, not bad either.  Since it was an easier day I let the kids go to the grocery store as we are going to have movie night tonight and they are doing great with buying healthy snacks.  

So much for movie night as we ended watching some of our games which was great and then most of the kids went outside and played soccer until 10:30 pm as the sun did not set until well after 11. 

off to bed and easy day tomorrow as we still need to recover our legs  from a long week.  Plus Sarah has a final with the Scottish team and we will  go support.

time to sleep, 

Ciao

Ed

July 12th – last day in Denmark

kids slept  in today until 9, they loved  it.  Breakfast and start organizing the room.

Sarah has a final at 12:45 and we all go watch, unfortunately the Scottish team lost but she had a great week guesting with them.  

lunch and then off to the walking street as the kids finally have time to shop and then eat dinner on their own.

For me, I had a different day as one of our boys unfortunately had an injury and broke his arm.  Parents notified and not going to post his name here but he is good, good spirits, and only a small cast that should allow him to play.  Took several hours but great bonding time between me and the player.  Kids are packing, saying goodbyes to their friends they met at the school and we have a 6 am departure for the ferry.  Transfer day tomorrow and Sweden awaits so wish us luck.

Ciao

Ed

July 13th – transfer day

Probably the longest day on the trip, wake up at 5:30 am

finish packing and cleaning the rooms

bring luggage outside and load bus at 6:30 for 10 minute bus ride to ferry

unload luggage and reload on luggage container for the ferry from Frederikshavn to Gothenburg

3.5 hour ferry ride, great weather, kids get breakfast buffet and most nap outside or in the movie theatre

arrive 11:30, unload luggage container and then wait 2.5 hours for a bus to take us to the school.  Not our mistake but kids juggle ball and keep themselves busy.

Get to school, put our things down and then take the tram to Heden to have lunch, see the headquarters and take in Gothenburg, which is a great city.

Dinner at the school, Chicken alfredo, kids say best meal of the tour which says a lot.

organize mattresses, take showers and crash as we start Gothia cup games tomorrow. 

Wish us luck

Ciao

Ed

July 14th – Gothia Cup games and opening ceremonies

its Monday and we started off like its Monday as all 3 teams lost their first games.  We seemed a bit tired and not sure if the travel was a factor or if kids are overwhelmed.

But not the start we wanted.  School is good and food is really good as kids are pretty happy.  The school offers a chance for our American kids to intermingle with kids from other countries as we juggle, play small sided games, etc. Mattresses but pretty comfortable.

Best part of the day was the opening ceremonies as Gothia Cup is known for a great show and this did not dissapoint.  Great show, great music, teams walking in from each country, and fireworks.  Best part was after as kids exchanging items for quite a while which was awesome to see.

I said this before and will state it again.   “Every soccer fan needs to attend a World Cup but every youth soccer player needs to attend the Gothia Cup”

Experience of a lifetime and glad we can offer this to our kids.

Round 2 tomorrow as we have some tough opponents so wish us luck,

Ciao,

Ed

July 15th – Gothia Cup games

Day after opening ceremonies and a bit dissappointed with the performance of all 3 teams.

Having said that, I think we are exhausted as we have a team nap in the afternoon and some of the kids sleep for hours.

Walking, playing, walking, more walking, etc, has taken a toll on us and the kids are just wiped.

Its good to have a chill day so we can regroup and get our legs  back under us.

Had a great chat with the team in hte evening so we as a staff feel more comfortable with upcoming games.

It was great to see the kids go outside and play small sided games, play soccer tennis, etc and that will help them greatly.

Round 3 of games on Wednesday and some may have a playoff game so wish us luck

Ciao

Ed

July 16th – Gothia Cup games

A bit of rain in the forecast but sunny so far as we start our Wednesda of Gothia Cup.

I take the Cs to the Heden complex and its pretty cool to see these young boys offer up their seats on the tram to women and elderly.

They are learning very well and makes me proud.

Another tough day with results as we cannot find the back of the net.  

Rain on and off but goals are off for sure.  

We keep plugging away and support each other.

The only group we have not seen are our girls as they keep winning and hopefully we can support them soon.

Last game of the evening was at 7:30 and after the game we allowed the parents to take some of the kids out to dinner etc.

The rest all returned to the school and we went to the grocery store as we missed dinner with the late game start.

Kids still trying to eat healthy which is great to see.

Big games on Thursday as we are now in single elimination mode and actually the game tonight, a tough loss for the Bs ended their Gothia Cup.  But they played with the most intensity all week which was good to see

Wish us luck tomororw, supposed to be hot too

Ciao

Ed

July 17th – Gothia Cup games continue

time to win or go home and today was tough as we lost the first game with the Boys C, who actually played pretty well against a German team, but the opposing gk was a man and played great.

quick snack, and then entire group takes a trek to the Boys A game, about 45 minute tram ride.

Once again we failed to put our chances away, easily could have been up 3-0 by halftime but we just cannot find the net.  Losing 2-0.

Gothia Cup officially over for all 3 boys teams but our girls keep winning and Friday we will all go and support them in the 1/4 final game.

Back to school to shower and eat dinner and then a special treat, as we got a chance to go to a Professional European match as BK Hacken, the host of the Gothia Cup, hosted a team from Slovakia in a 2nd of a double leg series.  Hacken won in Slovakia 1-0 so a tie for win sees them advance.  Hacken scored in the last minute to tie 2-2 and the atmosphere was awesome and kids loved it.

Back to school for sleep time and tomorrow, Friday will see us take the kids on some excursions.  Fun day ahead

Ciao

Ed

July 18th – last day of soccer at Gothia

its Friday and fyi, it has been hot here.  Hottest Gothia Cup since 2018 and averaging between 85-90

No AC in Sweden as well so the stickieness and constant sweating is present. 

But we do what we can and just deal with it.

Food here has been great, according to the kids, best in our Europe stay so far.

After breakfast the boys all go to watch our girls who are guest playing with another American team.  Singing and chanting is everywhere and they sing and chant the entire game and help the girls win in pks.  After the game, we grab lunch and then take the kids to the mall, central station to change money, and Heden to shop and watch more  soccer.

The team bondng is awesome and when we break up into groups of at least 4, the groups consist of boys from all 3 teams.  Love this.

Gothia Cup is awesome and the best in the world and the kids have enjoyed it.

Relaxing night tonght for the kids as they play small sided games in the play ground or soccer tennis in the school yard.

Saturday should be anothe hot day but we get to watch some  high level finals.

chat tomorrow

Ciao

Ed

July 19th – finals at Gothia Cup

Another hot day and we let the kids sleep in until 9. 

After breakfast we take them to an area called Haga, great place for shopping and some unique stores.

After Haga the kids all go to Gamla Ullevi for the finals and we watch a great game between Nigeria vs Ivoray Coast.  Great high level soccer and saw 2 American girls teams in a final.

And then the fun begins.  We go to Liseberg, one of the best amusement parks in Europe and as we enter the system goes down and the rides are limited.  We have fun nonetheless and severa kids have lucky nights as they win huge boxes of chocolate. Great time for all.

Light packing and we say bye to Santi and Matias as they leave the group.  

Sunday is transfer day as the boys C go home and the others transfer to the Dana Cup.  Long travel day but fun as well.

wish us safe  travels, 

Ciao

Ed

July 20th – transfer day

Woke up to another hot day in Gothenburg, but its been a good week.

I took 4 boys with me and went to a Swedish Catholic Church, which was a great expereince.

We let the kids sleep in and then the older group took a 4:45 ferry to Frederikshavn and then a bus to Hjorring.  Long but fun and got settled in around 10 pm

I took the 2nd group to Copenhagen on a train and we had a blast,arrived around 10:30, got a bit to eat ahd napped a bit on the airport floor before the 6:45 am departure.

All kids and luggage on plane and I now took a taxi to Copehagen to grab a bus to Hjorring. Long day/night but finally arrive in Hjorring around 12 pm.

Opening ceremonies tomorrow and a light training so getting ready to kick off the Dana Cup

More tomorrow

Ciao

Ed

July 21st – 1st day at Dana Cup

Well, the heat we endured at Gothia Cup has ended and the rain has begun.  Lots of it. 

We let the kids sleep in and then take them to the grocery store to get breakfast/lunch.

noon saw us have our first training session in Dana Cup as we prepare for 3 age groups.

Boys 17s, playing 11v11, Boys 15s playing 11v11 and Boys 16s, playing 7v7 as well as Sarah guest playing for a Norwegian team and Ainsley and Jodie guest playing for an Indian team.  Pretty cool to mix with different cultures and teams.

We have 1 team per classroom, mattresses and the kids are really enjoying the bonding.  The smelll is another thing and I will try and attack that later.

We walk to dinner and then line up for the Dana Cup Opening Ceremonies.  We walk about 2.5 miles through town siimilar to a parade, culminating with a march into the sold out stadium.  Nice walk until the last 15 minutes and it opened up on us and we got drenched.  A quick wave to the crowd and then a jog to the school so we can get to bed.

Games start tomorrow so wish us luck and the kids are rested and prepared.

Wish us luck

Ciao

Ed

July 22nd – Dana Cup games

1st day of games started at 7:30 am, actually  6:30 departure for the game but the 16s playing 7v7 wake up and win 3-0.  Great start to Dana Cup.

Boys A next, lose 2-0 to a Norwegian team but good battle.

Boys B next, win 5-0 and played best game on tour.

Sarahs wins 4-1, and Jodie/Ainsley lose 5-0 and 1-0 but enjoying guest playing.

Boys 16, 7v7, end the day as we started, winning 5-0.

So a good day on tour for Stars ‘n Stripes

Now after dinner, back to the rooms for washing uniforms in the shower and cleaning the rooms.  They smell or we smeil, but the smeil is awful.

Gotta drop the hammer and get this smell sorted out.

Food has  been good but kids constantly wanting to eat more.  I think all of the walking and playing are zapping our energy and they need to refuel, or they are just used to eating all day long.

Day 2 tomorrow and raining again tonight, hard too, so tomorrow might be muddy day.

Wish us luck

Ciao

Ed

July 23rd – Dana Cup games

big day at Dana Cup as all teams are in  position to advance.  Raining like crazy through out the night, but fields are sand based and ready to play.

fyi, al results and games that are livestreamed so all back home can watch.

DanaCup.com for all results and games

Stars ‘n Stripes on YouTube to watch our games.

Now if we can only figure out how to get the smell out.  Its tough without laundry facilities but we are dealing with it and washing in the sink/shower etc.

Long days, food is decent and the team bonding in the rooms is priceless.

Moving day on Thursday as now its win and continue or lose and go home

follow on Facedbook as well so you can keep up with Players of each match.

Big massive day Thursday so wish us luck

Ciao

Ed

July 24th – moving day at Dana Cup, which means win and continue or lose and go home.

Boys 15s start off early with 8:30 game and we are still sleeping as we get hammered by a good Norwegian team 5-0

Boys 17s play a German team, we are the better team but canno score and lose in Penalty kicks, for the 2nd time on tour and their Cup is over.

Boys 16s 7v7 play a German team and dominate the 1/4 final game 5-0 and now play in the semis on Friday am.

Sarah and her Norwegian team lose in the 1/4 fins and Jodie/Ainslel also lose in the 1/4 finals.

some kids are going to eat dinner with some parents and the others will get a chance to get ice cream as they cheered very well during the 7v7 game.

massive 1/2 semi fina game at 7:30 tomorrow so might want to wake up or stay up late to watch.

Last 2 days in Europe but kids doing great.

Wish us luck tomorrow,

Ciao

Ed

July 25th – Dana Cup Final – highs and lows and some trouble

Day starts off early with a 7:30 am semi final against a Mexican team.  We go up 2-0 only to give up 3 goals and then tie it late for 3-3.

Overtime sees no goals so off to penalty kicks, something that has not been luck with Stars ‘n Stripes.

However on this day, we win 4-3 as Preston saves the final kick and off the finals we go.  KIds are going crazy and so excited.

Final at 12:45 and we just cannot get our legs under us and we lose to a Norwegian team.  Still, a great success as these boys fough their socks off and so proud of them.

Dinner and then some down time and then the fun begins.  Kids ask to go to the fields to kick around, etc, which we approve, only to find out that some of our rules have been ignored and Coach Ed has to have a fitness/reminder session at midnight.  No worries as the boys go quite the workout and pretty sure some interesting memories.

Sprints, Sprints, Bear Crawls, and then Spints, Sprints and Bear Crawls!!!

good memories

last day tomorrow in Europe and we have some fun planned.

Wish us luck

Ciao

Ed

July 26th – last full day in Europe

Kids slept in a little bit and had breakfast by 9 and then we took the day and went to Skagen.

Skagen is a small town where the 2 seas meet and lots of WWII German Pill boxes and restaurants and shopping.

Some of the kids rented bikes to see the town as its really cool

spent about 4 hours there and then a train ride home as we have our annual dress up dinner at 6:30.

Kids all dress up, boys in Ties and girls in skirts/dresses and we eat at Bones, great restaurant in Downtown Hjorring.

Ribs, steak, and of course ice cream bar so all are happy.

We walk back to school, pack and clean the rooms.

Now the fun part, 10 pm bus ride to Copenhagen for our flight home.

We are all tired and expect a lot of sleepy kids on this bus.

Wish us safe travel

Ciao

Ed

July 27th – flight home

after 3 and 1/2 weeks, 4 countries and 3 cups, time to go home.

bus ride was great but we are tired.  Arrive at 4 am to Copenhagen airport and then check in for our 6:50 am flight.

All goes well and no issues so flight home on Finn Air should be good.

We arrive to a great welcome from the parents and no lost luggage, only one boy left a Gothia Cup bag on the plane, otherwise it was flawless.

Kids are tired, some smell, but all say their gooodbyes and head home.

We did have awards for the trip and they are as follows;

Boys Cs 
Cup 1 – Austin
Gothia – Noah 
Player of tour – Eduardo

Boys Bs
Cup 1 – Mark
Gothia – Swerlyk
Dana – Logan B
Player of the tour – Ryan 

Boys As
Cup 1 – Koen
Gothia – Tyler O
Dana – Sean 
Player of tour – Colin 

7v7 – player of the cup – Preston

Golden Goal – Sarah

John Koutopuis Award – Sean Mitchell

A huge thank you to the staff, Matt Pitcock, Tiffany Pitcock, Dennis Jones Cannon Braggs, Luke Davis, and Matthew Huffman.  As they did a great job mentoring and coaching the kids.

Already planning next year so please stay on top of the website

From me, Coach Ed, thanks again for a wonderful time for of new memories and wish all the very best.

See you on the field soon

Ciao

Ed