RICHMOND, Va. - For the first time in program history, VCU Men's Soccer has taken their game overseas, and headed to Costa Rica from June 30 until July 12. Each day, this blog will expand by an entry and share their daily experiences.

For daily updates and photos please visit here or see below...

Thursday, June 30

Pura Vida Ram Nation! Greetings from San Jose Costa Rica. We have just arrived after a long day of travel and had our first Costa Rican meal. We have a busy day ahead tomorrow of touring and our first training session, but one of the guys can tell you all about that tomorrow night. I'm here to take you through the last 10 days as we prepared for this trip in Richmond and what this international tour is all about.



First, I want to say thank you to the athletic department and the donors who helped to make this trip possible. We have been working towards this trip since 2010 and are unbelievably excited that it is finally here.



Once every four years, the NCAA allows college athletic programs to take an international trip. For a sport like ours, it's incredibly significant. Each year when the fall sports return, we have only 21 practice opportunities (two a day) to prepare for the new season. So in just over 10 days, we try to put together the team that you see playing at Sports Backers stadium on game day.



Once the games begin, there are almost no training days for the kids who play a lot during the fall. With 2-3 games a week, it's really about recovering from the last game and physically preparing for the next one. I would say on average, we get one good training day a week maximum. Therefore, so much of our team in the fall is built in the winter and spring. Needless to say, an extra month in the summer with additional training and games is vitally important.



Off the field, all of our student athlete's days are filled with an enormous amount of activity. A typical day in life of a player on our team goes from around 6:30am-9:30 pm. So sometimes, you aren't able to accomplish as many extra things as you would like to help them, because there just aren't enough hours in the day. That's been another great part of this trip.



We had 10 days here in Richmond as we prepared for the trip and we were able to add some programing such as daily nutrition and physical preparation sessions with our trainer James Benzel and our strength coach Guil Moreira. We were also able to bring in some different speakers to chat with the guys. I'd like to give a special thanks to Steve Zakuani and Marine Corps Captain William Yarborough for their time with our team and their inspirational messages.

We have a lot more planned for the trip, including 6 games in 12 days against youth national teams and professional teams in their preseason preparations as well as some cultural sightseeing and some time with some of our Costa Rican friends. Those who are interested, can read all about our journey each day in this online blog.





Hasta luego!



- Head Coach David Giffard





Friday, July 1

The alarm clock rang aloud begging for the three of us to get up and begin our first full day in Costa Rica. Lyndsey, RJ and I lethargically wandered down the hall towards the breakfast area to join the coaching staff and our teammates. I must say this is the first time I’ve ever eaten rice and beans for breakfast…and it was fantastic.



Following breakfast the team met on the bus to start the day with a quick tour of San Jose. The mountainous terrain and chaotic, yet amusing traffic within the city proved to capture the entire team’s attention. A few notable sites we drove past include the University, the City Square, the National Theater of Costa Rica and the Supreme Tribunal of Elections building. The latter on that list as explained by our guide here is important tot he political infrastructure here in Costa Rica and maintains order within the other 3 branches of government.

Subsequent to our brief tour, we exited the bus and were given around thirty minutes to explore the central market of San Jose. I couldn't resist the urge of buying myself a local jersey from one of the athletic shops along the street. We then joined together again for a quality meal where I decided to order pasta with meat sauce. It was a lighter lunch because we had training immediately after.



We arrived at a second division professional team’s stadium, which is where we would train for the afternoon. In the backdrop of the stadium stood the mountains and volcanos, making the training session that much better. Our strength and conditioning coach along with our trainer put us through an intense warmup to loosen up our legs.



We then got right into it getting touches on the ball and playing a few fun games throughout the session. I of course won the final game of knockout (juggling game), so I am currently the reigning champion. Sorry. By the time we left the stadium and arrived back at the hotel the whole group was exhausted.



Our first day was a major success and I look forward to playing in our first game tomorrow! We are all super grateful to the athletic department and all those who helped assist in making this trip a reality for us. It is truly surreal that kicking a futbol has led us to an international trip and we promise to return to Richmond a better and more focused team.





Hasta Luego!



- Eli Lockaby



Saturday, July 2 Game day! There is no better feeling than waking up in the morning knowing you get to play the beautiful game of soccer. This morning I decided to wake up my two roommates Steven and Luc with some hype music by the rapper Future. Of course, Steven, the early bird of the room was already coming back from breakfast so he didn't get the pleasure of waking up to it but got into as soon as he walked in. The preparation in the morning is something I always look forward to. Making sure the boots and jerseys are all pristine and ready for kickoff. The trip to the game began quiet. Max, our tour guide asked, "It's awfully quiet for a team getting ready for a game." The team response was pinpoint accurate, "We are getting in the zone."



A number of my teammates yelled out sporadically and it was true. We didn't know the competition, we didn't have any friends on the other team, this was about to be a very new experience for us. When we walked into the lock room the t vibe immediately changed. Music started to be blasted Lyndsey and Brandon were doing some sort of dance.. I'm not really quite sure what it is but the energy was flowing. Nerves seemed to have been masked by the excitement to play and I could tell the team was ready for challenge at hand. The game ended in a 2-0 victory for the Rams! For our first outing in Costa Rica it went how I thought it would. We learned a lot about ourselves in our first game of what really is preseason for the fall. We excelled in places we have worked hard in and struggled in a few areas as well but that's what this trip is for to prepare for the fall. On a personal note in the game I clocked in at 18.9 mph which is a team record and also up there with a couple of soccer super stars. the reason I say this is because Guil, our strength and conditioning trainer, and James, our medical trainer, have worked tirelessly to help us remain healthy and fit to play. The team was very quick to shower and get to lunch because the Euro Quarterfinal game between soccer powerhouses Germany and Italy were playing. Having such a diverse team is truly an honor and creates a lot of "healthy" little rivalries when games like this come up. The game ended up going into penalty kicks where unfortunately for my Italian friend Cesco was quite upset while Greggy, Jason, and Rahim rejoiced together. We ate at La Princesa Marina, a seafood place very close to our next tour site of the National Stadium of Costa Rica. The stadium holds around 38,000 people and when we were there it was getting groomed for the Costa Rica National Games that start in couple of weeks. One fact I learned from the stadium is that it was part of a business deal between China and Costa Rica. If Costa Rica would open up trade and being relations with China then they would pay for a new national stadium. Our site seeing was done for the day because game two out of six is tomorrow morning at 8am and we needed to get back and rest up. Majority of the team was in and out of James and Guils rooms getting treatment and doing recovery so that tomorrow we can continue to be at our peak performance. Now it's time to get the legs up watch some Netflix and get a goods night sleep for game number two! Hasta Luego Dakota Barnathan, #8 Sunday, July 3 This morning, the alarm was set at 5:45. As Max, our guide, told us: Costa Rican usually wake up that early so why not us? Indeed, here the sun comes up at around 5 30 and goes down by 6 pm. After a good breakfast highlighted for me with some papaya, we headed toward the stadium for our second game of the trip at 8am.



For me, no game today. This was Joe’s turn since I played the all 90 minutes in goal yesterday. From the bench, I assisted to a good game that we won 3-0 against a group of players preparing for a tournament is Sweden. We scored an early goal by Jorge and maintain our control on the game until the end not letting our opponent get a single chance to score. Luc and Dakota added two other goals. The best way to make coach happy! That second win and the progression in our performance is important for our confidence as the level of the competition will improve progressively during the trip.



After the game, we drove for about 1h 30 to get to the pacific coast of Costa-Rica. During that time, Max told us a lot about the history of his country. We learned for example that Costa-Rica does not have any army since 1948. For lunch, we had to cross a particular bridge to get to the restaurant. That was impressive. A few feet under us… 25 to 30 massive crocodiles! After lunch, we headed to our hotel situated right next to the beach and the jungle. For Steven and I, that ride was all about the Euro 2016 game France-Iceland that was going on. After a 5-2 win, we could exult. We are in semi-final!



Then, arrived at the hotel, we all went to the beach to get in the water and play with the ball. The view there is wonderful, a postcard picture. Before diner, we also spent some time playing baby-foot and ping-pong. We ate in a restaurant of the hotel and got to try fried yuka and tres leches. Today was another really good day for us as we improved on the field and got to see a new part of this Costa-Rica. I can’t wait for the next few day to explore the jungle and play some more games. I finally wanted to personally and for the team thanks the people that have made that trip possible.



Hasta la proxima!



- Pierre Gardan Monday, July 4 Last night really set the perfect tone for today's events! A couple of the guys and I went out to the beach at night and were amazed with what we were greeted with in the sky. With no city lights to obstruct the view we were able to see a rare abundance of stars in the night sky. Coming from an area back home close to the beach, it was safe to say I had never seen a sky as decorated as the one I saw here in Costa Rica. Our night came to an end when a pack of raccoons came to join us. We all figured it was best to leave the beach to them to avoid any sort of scuffle with their pack.



This morning Cedric and I were woken by the sound of rainfall which signaled it was time to head to breakfast. I know for a fact that Eli was disappointed with the layout this morning that consisted of the signature rice and beans plate. Before coming to Costa Rica I never would have thought rice and beans could make the cut for a breakfast entree.



After breakfast, we all caught the shuttle bus which took us over to la playa Blanca where we saw a portion of the beach that blew what we had previously seen out of the water. The rain held off perfectly for us. The sky and the water were equally as clear. We all explored the beautiful landscape that payed before us. I was even lucky enough to find and get a taste of coconut.



Shortly after returning from the beach we ate lunch then showered as quick as we all could. Our next stop on today's journey was to explore the trails of the jungle. Although I'm not necessarily a huge fan of bugs this was an exploration I couldn't pass up on. As we climbed through the rain forest there was plenty of jokes played between the guys in attempts to frighten the group (Steven especially). This didn't go particularly well with me due to my paranoia of getting attacked by some unknown forest creature. We were extremely lucky enough to get a sight of several spider monkeys leaping tree to tree overhead. Max, our tour guide, noted this was an especially rare occurrence.



Following our expedition dinner quickly came around. Dinner was held in a buffet fashion which is perfect for a group featuring some of the quickest and largest plate cleaners around (Pierre Gardan). After dinner there was no room for star gazing tonight as we have a early morning game which has the bus pulling out at 6am. Another game tomorrow to make some key improvements as a group.



"Hasta mañana"



- Brandon Eaton

Tuesday, July 5 Awoken by the sound of my alarm at 5:30 am, I quickly grabbed my phone and turned off the remaining alarms. Despite the warmth of the blankets in our freezing room, I knew it was time to get up and get the day started. My roommate Eli and I both took showers in preparation for the day ahead. We had a game to get ready for and were on a very tight schedule. Our bus was leaving at 6 am to head back into the city of San Jose for our next game. City traffic around San Jose was quite bad and added at least 30 minutes to our trip.



Upon our arrival to the national training center, the team was amazed at what we were approaching. This facility is used by all the national teams; youth and senior teams, male and female. It takes my breath away to know that I was walking on the same grass as players such as Keylor Navas, Joel Campbell, and Bryan Ruiz. Joel Campbell plays for my favorite football team, Arsenal. Although our preparations were not as uniform and smooth as we would have liked, we got ourselves warmed up and prepared to play against the U-17 Costa Rican national team.



It was an awesome experience for all of us. It is not everyday that you can say to your friends and family that you were able to play against a national team. I am truly honored and humbled by the experience. Despite the heat and our team struggling a bit to adapt to the altitude conditions, our team was able to squeeze out a narrow 2-1 victory. Steven dal Molin put us ahead early in the second half through a penalty kick, then Luc Fatton clawed back the lead later on.



After the game was finished we quickly changed and got back on the bus to head back to our hotel on the beach. Much to our surprise, the restaurant we ate at for lunch was right around the corner of our resort. The place was called Los Chanchitos. Thankfully we ordered ahead so the food came out shortly after we arrived. As all the meals have been, the food was again delicious. Rice, beans, plantains, salad, and the choice of beef or pork tenderloin. After a little bit of rest time at the hotel, some of the guys headed down to the beach to try and soak up our atmosphere one last time.



Unfortunately when we got down to the beach most of the waves had stopped and the clouds covered the sun. However, we weren’t going to let that dampen our moods. We instead moved over to the Ping- Pong and Foosball tables after a short while on the beach. Let’s just say it got a little competitive! Joe Gonnella, Rahim Costa-Dorsey and Pierre Gardan fought it out for the title of Ping-Pong champion. I personally stuck to the Foosball table and got a couple of wins there. While playing, our games were interrupted by a peculiar object. In the corner of our eyes we noticed an iguana nested above us on the roof. All of us were intrigued at how close we were to it.



Tonight at dinner the restaurant offered rice, lentils, vegetables, stuffing, beef, and chicken. When I went back for seconds I recognized a create your own pasta station. In my pasta I chose to put calamari and octopus. I’ve personally never had octopus before tonight, so I was hesitant to try such a unique food. I can safely say though, that it was actually pretty good! We wrapped up the night by taking a walk to the beach.



On the sand we recognized some hermit crabs. When we were all taking pictures, a crab ran right by Cesco’s foot. Like anyone would he kind of screamed as he was not expecting it. This caused us all to laugh. As we ventured further along the coast of the ocean, we saw eyes piercing at us from a distance in a tree. Our flashlights revealed the animal to be a lemur. It was so cool to see one up close in person, and it seemed so comfortable around humans.



By the time we started heading back to our rooms, the clouds had subsided and the stars in the sky had finally become visible. It was a great view and an image that will last in the memory for a long time. Half way through our trip and we have already had some unforgettable moments. I honestly can’t wait for what Costa Rica has to offer us next. Tomorrow we head to the national park and another beach. Our tour guide, Max, rates this beach as the second best in all of Central America! Pretty exciting stuff.



Hasta Luego!



- Greg Boehme

Wednesday, July 6

The plan for the day was fairly simple – wake up, eat breakfast, leave Punta Leona, go to a national park and beach, and finally leave for the hotel in San Jose. However, the day was nothing sort of amazing and was filled with wonderful and unique experiences. Since we did not have a game today, we got to sleep in until a super late 7:30!