Long bus rides and fourth quarter drives

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nick McNaughton
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  Football season has officially kicked off and is in full swing. Two-a-days in the hot August sun are now a distant memory. Friday night is high school football night all across America. Kids in America aren't the only ones playing football though. Students of RAF Lakenheath high school in the United Kingdom spend their Saturday afternoons out on the grid iron, and football is still football, even if you live in Europe.

"Coaching football in the UK is actually no different than coaching in the states, "said Matthew Martinez, head coach of the RAF Lakenheath High School Lancers. "The spirit of the game is still alive, and the kids come out here and work really hard."

Playing football in Europe presents some unique opportunities for the players.

Emmanuel Toots, Lancers outside linebacker said, "To be able to travel around Europe and play football is a really great experience. To go and actually see another country like Germany, it's actually a good experience to meet other cultures and see how they play."

Traveling around Europe by bus can mean some long hours on the road, but to these players it's an opportunity to get to know their teammates a little better.

"Traveling to different countries is really interesting. We get to have a lot of fun on the bus and we get to really bond as a team," said Alex Federinko, quarterback for the Lancers. "Trips in the states were a lot shorter. You didn't get to bond with each other, or get to know each other as well. Traveling to other countries gives us a chance to do that."

And that extra bonding has its advantages on the field too.

Mitchell Christiansen, Lancers running back added, "It's definitely a lot better traveling and getting to know people. Like when you're on the field, it's the fourth quarter, you're feeling the pain, you get together as a team and say 'we have got to pull through this'. It's all about the team working together as a single unit."

Getting to play football in Europe is quite an experience, but it's those long bus rides and fourth quarter drives, that will stay with these players forever.