Aug. 17, 2009

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Marist women's lacrosse head coach Laura Campbell announced the signing of Hannah Rudloff as assistant coach on Monday morning. Rudloff will join the Red Foxes for the 2010 season after a four-year playing career at the University of Pennsylvania. Read more...

Twenty-one university students from across America packed their bags in June and ventured across the Atlantic. United only by their love of a game and curiosity to seek adventure in a new land, they arrived in Europe as individuals and left Global Players.

Global Players, more affectionately known as ‘GP’ or ‘Global’, aims to recruit players and staff who are interested in the give-and-take relationship of helping the game develop abroad while gaining cultural intelligence.

GP is an exchange program designed for university student-athletes based on the four tenants: Learn. Play. Travel. Serve. The program marries academic coursework with international tournament play, weekly training, and athletic-based community service.

In between playing games, volunteering and cultural excursions, participants take part in an International Coaching Program (ICP) with sessions including: Fundamentals of Coaching, Skills and Drills, Speed and Agility, Injury Prevention, and Practice Planning.  The aim is for our men and women to build on coaching and playing experience they already have and to develop new areas of communication, personal leadership, and team building. Participants are then able to use this knowledge to coach teams in Western Europe and other international destinations.
 
In addition to the International Coaching Program, participants have an opportunity to further their university studies by taking summer courses at a host institution in a chosen international city. Currently, GP students are living in the Czech Republic and earning academic credit for International Business and Global Marketing coursework at the University of Economics in Prague (VSE). This adventure allows the students to truly immerse themselves in the language and culture of their host city long after the World Cup games and tournament post-parties are merely pictures on Facebook.


As many of us know, study abroad can be truly life changing. This is particularly the case for American student-athletes who might not otherwise have the opportunity to travel during university due to rigorous training schedules.  Enter Global Players.

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Global Players 2009 Recap

The 2009 Global Players men’s and women’s teams took part in two European tournaments this summer: the Berlin Open and Prague Cup. Each was unique in its location, organization, and competition but GP’s standings remained the same. The men took third and the undefeated women were first place Championships in both Berlin and Prague!

In an effort to bridge the divide between American travel teams and European club teams, GP invited international players to compete with them in the tournaments which made the results especially unique and rewarding. We’d like to thank the players from England, Germany, the Netherlands, Wales, France, and the Iroquois Six Nations who helped both of our teams to victories.

Notably Global Players was also invited to take part in two exhibition games against the men’s and women’s Czech National Teams on June 27th during the World Cup finals! As always, the Czech teams were fierce competition but we were able to edge past them for the win in each short-sided match.

It doesn’t stop there. Not content to just play in the tournaments, see a few sights, take a few pics, and hike it back across the pond, GP planned an ambitious seven-day excursion aimed at local, in-house development from Prague to Vienna, Graz, and Munich. This chapter of the program is called the Out of Bounds Tour.

Though we experienced delays, missed flights, cramped buses, food poisoning, lost wallets, army barracks, and the summer monsoon season in Central Europe, the Out of Bounds Tour was a highlight of the trip for many of the GP students. They really enjoyed the home-stays, local cuisine, teaching in schools, nights out on the town, and making new friends with local club players.

All in all we could not have asked for a better group of students, international players, club teams, and staff to work with. The 2009 GP experience has set the bar for many years to come. We’d like to especially thank the Vienna Monarchs and Cherokees, Graz Gladiators, and München Lacrosse Club for hosting us on the Out of Bounds Tour as well as BLAX and Czech Lacrosse for organizing outstanding tournaments and events.

Next year the 2010 program will feature even more international players, developmental clinics, and students taking part in the academic coursework. The program is open to university lacrosse players all over the world at every level, including NCAA Division I, II, III, collegiate club and international players.

(Article written for European Lacrosse Magazine)

If you are interested in applying for the 2010 Global Players program or would like more information, please email us at info@global-payers.us.