ARLINGTON, Va. - A contingent of 11 Arlington Soccer directors and coaches embarked on a week-long coaching education trip from Feb. 10-15 to Milan, Italy.

Led by partner WorldStrides, executive director Frank DeMarco, technical director German Peri, director of coaching Mo Tayari and travel coaches Inty Arteaga, Sam Bader, Nick Civetti, Carlos Dubose, Chris Smith, Katia Thomas, Terrell Williamson and Ingrid Zegada-Frias were able to get a firsthand look at how some of the top clubs and academies run their organizations. 

They attended training sessions and talked to the coaching staffs of the academies of Serie A and Serie B teams, including Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atalanta, Brescia, Verona and AC Monza. They also watched several matches between top-tier academies such as Inter Milan U19 and Bologna F.C. In addition, they toured historic San Siro Stadium, the home of Inter Milan and AC Milan, and attended several professional matches, including the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between AC Milan and Tottenham.

"It was a great opportunity to see how soccer clubs are run in another country," DeMarco said. "The exposure and having access to academy directors, to have a dialogue with other coaches and academy directors from some of the top clubs in the world and to watch training sessions and games was extremely helpful for our staff. We got a glimpse of how clubs build their culture. We were immersed in the environment of another country where soccer is not really a sport but a passion and lifestyle for a lot of these people. It was a great team-bonding experience."