May 22, 2018
NASHVILLE – The Vanderbilt soccer team, coaches and staff began a 11-day trip to Japan Tuesday.
The Commodores will blend competition, educational opportunities and sightseeing on the visit. The team will compete in two scrimmages against Japanese professional teams while visiting significant sites along the way.
Vanderbilt head coach Darren Ambrose said his team is fortunate to embark on such a unique opportunity.
“There are a lot of kids that have either been to Europe or will go to Europe by the time they’re 30 – that’s been my experience with a lot of our kids,” said Ambrose. “I wanted to offer a place where they would – more than likely – not have an opportunity to visit from a cost perspective and even from an unfamiliarity of language and culture perspective. The Far East checks all of those boxes.”
The Commodores will spend the first half of the trip in Tokyo where they will train and play their first match against FC Ventus. While in Tokyo, the team will also take in many of the city’s sights, including Harajuku and the Sumo Wrestling National Championships.
The team will also visit the US Embassy to meet the US Ambassador to Japan, Vanderbilt alumnus William Hagerty ’81, JD’84.
Later, the team will head west to Kyoto where they will take on Bunnys Kyoto SC. They will also tour Kyoto and explore the Geisha District in Gion, as well as the Peace Park in Hiroshima before returning to the US.
Prior to the trip, the team and staff had the opportunity to receive educational seminars on Japanese culture, etiquette, and language from faculty in Vanderbilt’s Asian Studies department and the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.
“We wanted to show a willingness to respect cultural norms in another country,” said Ambrose. “We want our kids to represent Vanderbilt, their families, and themselves appropriately. We also wanted to give them an opportunity to learn a little of the language, be prepared for the dining experiences that we might be exposed to, and a little bit about what they’re going to do and see.”
Be sure to follow the team on Twitter (@VandySocr) and Instagram (@Vanderbilt_Soccer and @vucommodores) for daily updates from the trip, as well as vucommodores.com for blog posts from the student athletes.
