The American Eagles is a pilot project in cooperation with the German government and the to immerse young talented American players into ’s education and player development system.

Dates: October 16 – November 14

The young players will fully immerse into the German system; attending school, training daily, embedding into German teams, and playing and attending games. It is designed to introduce the experience of Bundesliga academy prospects, and advance our young players through an accelerated learning environment. Throughout a month of intensive programming, the boys will be trained by and viewed by key personnel of major clubs such as Bayern , Borussia , Leverkusen, FC , and Schalke 04.

The Elsa Brandstrom School

The players will attend the Elsa Brandstrom School, one of 29 public schools throughout Germany specially designated by the German Football Federation as an “Elite School of Soccer”. The school is attached to FC Cologne, and our players will be attending school with players of the FC Cologne Academy. The primary course emphasis will be German language immersion, and we expect that all our players will return to the US with a solid working knowledge of German.

The American students will have time allocated each day to continue with and keep up assignments from their normal US schools. A certified teacher will accompany the players to assist with assignments.

Where We Live

The players will live at the Guesthouse of the Hennes Weisweiler Trainer Academy on the campus of the German Sport University in Cologne. It is a very safe and controlled environment that provides full service room and board and has 24/7 supervision. Each room is equipped with 2 single beds, desks, private bathroom, generous closet and drawer space, and a small refrigerator. In addition to providing graduate and undergraduate diplomas in various areas of sportsmedicine, sportscience and sport management, the campus serves as a German Olympic Training Center and offers some of the best sports facilities in all of Europe. Directly outside the Guesthouse is the Rhein Energie Stadium, built for the 2006 World Cup and home of FC Cologne. The training fields are a 5-minute walk from the Guesthouse.

Training

Our objective is to deeply immerse our boys into the Bundesliga protocols that were specifically designed to create a generation of young players capable of becoming world champions. In order to accomplish this, and to provide maximum exposure for our boys, we will have an assortment of German Federation and Bundesliga coaches working with the boys on a regular basis. Periodically, we will visit and train at various Bundesliga academies. There are 9 Bundesliga clubs within an hour’s drive of our home at the German Sport University.

By immersing our boys into this world-class system, we aim to demonstrate our grand objective of proving that American talent learns quickly, can adapt to new environments, and have the capacity to play at Europe’s highest levels when given the same education advantages.

Our Training Field at Rhein Energie Stadium and Olympic Training Center

A Typical Day

06:30 – 07:20 Wake-up and breakfast

07:30 – 08:45 Training at German Olympic Training Center

10:00 – 2:00 School at Elsa Brandstrom (including lunch period at FC Cologne section)

2:30 – 5:00 Individual study time for completing school assignments from home. We will have an Education Coordinator on site to assist students and to ensure progress with school at home is maintained.

Evenings Training with German teams, or games

10:00 Lights out

SELECTION

Every boy that is part of the American Eagles will be watched and evaluated both on and off the field by both US and German staff. It is therefore a priority for us to not necessarily select the best players, but the right players

Candidates will be born between 1998 and 2002. Key criteria for selection are: Excellent character, high talent potential, proven ability to learn quickly in an academic environment, adaptability, and professional soccer aspirations. Every candidate must come recommended by a trusted coach or scout.

To be considered, candidates must complete an application that includes character assessment questions, and a written essay.