What coverage do we look for?

Many teams shop around to find the best package for their group which we encourage. However, please try and make sure you are comparing apples to apples and not cutting short on certain areas that are vitally important such as:
1. $2m in company liability insurance with certificate naming your organization as non-liable? (All colleges, ODP and clubs are now asking for this with such an emphasis now on risk management. Copy certificate has to be submitted prior to trip being set-up.)
2. A specialty sports injury coverage policy, on top of the above, to cover any injuries to any players?
3. Licenses for permission to sell travel in the U.S. (based on your home state)?
4. An emergency procedure submitted with insurance underwriters? (all insurance companies require this now)
5. Legally binding contracts with trip participants?

If not in place these can cause major issues down the road.

2010 Travel "Deals"

Much is bring written right now about travel “deals” in 2010 such as hotels offering a free night or inexpensive European flights. Excel International Sports, as the leader in European soccer travel since 1997, incorporates all of the best offers from our various suppliers in preparing every tour proposal. We are committed to being the soccer travel advocate for every Excel International Sports client and to that end we design the very best schedule possible according to your requests, utilizing the most attractive offers available.

Supplier offers are routinely and widely subject to change and usually have very tight restrictions on them (not for groups, can only travel in certain dates or routings, etc, etc). It is our responsibility to incorporate this moving matrix with your travel wishes to create the best value assured international soccer travel experience.

When is the right time to book a soccer trip?

Ideally, as soon as your team is chosen for the upcomg year this should be addressed. This allows time to set the ball rolling, gather momentum, get people excited, begin fundraising and start the booking process.

Spain....why, when?

With many La Liga games being shown on TV, and the attraction of the beach and beautiful weather, Spain is a huge attraction for many teams. This month we have four college teams in the Barcelona region and I wanted to highlight the reasons why they chose this destination and why they chose this time of year.
1. Games - as it is the end of the Spanish season teams are still available for good quality games. The options are great as there are so many teams at each level; pro, semi pro, top amateur, youth and girls.
2. Weather - the climate at this time of year is wonderful.
3. Pro game - some of our teams who visited at the end of May managed to catch an end of season FCB game at Camp Nou Stadium, a once in a liftime experience!
4. Sightseeing - on top of the usual sightseeing options, one of our college soccer teams recently spent a day of mountain biking where the whole group (39 people) rented mountain bikes and explored various towns in the Costa Brava region....it was a very, very popular activity to break up the trip.

The most popular timefrane for US youth teams to travel to Europe is the last two weeks of July thru the first ten days of August. However, Spain is nearly impossible as a soccer destination at that time due to this being the soccer off-season. So, if Spain is your preference please look at traveling in April, May or June.

Try-Out Time....

It is that time of year again when many teams are choosing their teams for the 2009/2010 season. As a coach this is THE most important time to set the expectations and plan accordingly for the year ahead. Now is the time to set the ball rolling on a 2010 European soccer trip. Why:
1. Time to fundraise.
2. Establish your roster and bring in any possible guest players needed to supplement your roster.
3. Create trip committees; i.e. fundraising, planning, etc.
4. Lock in exact dates and destination.
5. Lock in flights and preferential early booking rates.
6. Families can firm the trip up on their calendar to avoid soccer, family and professional conflicts.

Can we still do this based on the current economy?

Many teams are still traveling in 2010. Their big challenge now, with the current economy, is to still provide a once in a liftime opportunity for the trip participants. Some ideas on this:
1. Fundraise - by booking early, many teams are raising a large majority of the costs by special fundrasing programs. Many of our traveling teams in 2009 raised over 50% of their costs per player.
2. Keep trip costs down - try and choose a trip that works for your team and avoid doing multi country trips and trips of more than 10 days in duration. There are many less expensive trips available without all the 'bells and whistles'.
3. Choose the correct country, and time of year - base your choice on the gender, age and quality of your team. Then, narrow down the options based on what works best for your particular program. Just because you - the coach/manager - have never been to Spain does not mean this is the best location for your State Cup winning U15 girls team!
4. Invite guest players - many of our team, for many reasons, are unable to take European trips with their full complete player roster. Open the trip up to other teams in your club or local high school/ODP players. This ensures the nucleus of your players who want to travel do not miss out on that chance.
5. Decide early - this is a big factor in gathering momentum, getting players/parents excited, fundraising options, creating committees, etc, etc.
Above are just some ideas for 2010 travel assistance!