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Long Road Trip: Whitman Soccer Coach Taking

Men's Team on Third Trek to Native England

Thursday, July 29, 2010

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Every four years or so, Whitman College men's soccer coach Mike Washington treats his lads to a summertime trip across the pond to his native England, where they spend a few weeks training and playing a handful of games.

Mike Washington

Now in his 13th season at Whitman, Washington will have 14 of his returning players in tow later this week as he embarks on his latest Old World soccer odyssey.

Players pay their own trip expenses, but Washington tackles the organizational side of what amounts to 4,700-mile road trip (one way) across seven time zones.

Working through old friends, Washington has a handful of games slated against teams of college-age players representing various football clubs. English clubs typically sponsor a number of teams ranging from youth through the professional ranks.

"We'll face teams with players who are about the same age as our Whitman boys," Washington says.

In keeping with English tradition, games will be followed by an exchange of team banners and a post-game meal in the host clubhouse. "It's an atmosphere that's quite fun for all," he says.

This marks the third time since 2002 that Washington has shepherded his Whitman squad to his soccer-crazy homeland. 

The benefits of the trip are many, he says, starting with the early jump it gives his returning players on their fall season preparations. And, as his players soak up some British history and culture, Washington hopes they pay particular attention to the more nuanced English feel for the game of soccer. 

"We're just as strong and just as fast as the teams we'll play," Washington says. "What tends to happen, though, is that we get humbled a bit by their ability to read the game as it happens. The boys in England have grown up with soccer as their national sport, which gives them a big advantage."

Four years ago, Whitman's side held its own on British soil, winning twice, losing twice and drawing once. 

Games start this time around with the Paulton City Rovers, a club that dates to 1881. Games follow against the Bath City, Forest Green, and Weston-Super-Mare clubs, each of which started in the late 1880s.

Washington also hopes to play Caldicot Town FC in south Wales.

That would give the group a chance to visit Caldicot Castle, a sprawling structure founded by the Normans and developed by English royalty during the Middle Ages. Restored to much of its early glory, the medieval fortress sits in a 55-acre park and is reputed to be haunted by spirits ranging from a grey lady and hooded monks to a beggar boy and a mischievous poltergeist.

As it has with past trips, Whitman will cap its excursion with a visit to the storied Manchester United Football Club. Manchester and its 76,000-seat stadium, Old Trafford, are the English sporting equivalents of America's New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium.

Manchester United's Old Trafford

Washington, who grew up in southwest England (near Bristol), says he still gets "goose bumps" when he visits the Manchester grounds, which include a club museum and expansive memorabilia shop stocked with millions of pounds of soccer merchandise.

As a young boy, Washington and his friends formed the Ellenboro Football Club and recruited his late father, Roy Washington, as their first coach.

When he was 24, Washington transferred to the Worlebury Southside Football Club, where he played for nine more years, his last two as a player-coach. He was a midfielder and forward for most of his playing career, and he earned individual awards that ranged from leading scorer to most valuable player.

Before moving to Seattle in 1981, Washington had the chance to work as a player scout for Coventry City, which plays in the English Premier Division and whose history as a football club dates back to 1883.

While Whitman players can expect heavy doses of soccer over the next fortnight, there will be time as well for side trips and sightseeing. 

The Whitman contingent will stay in residence halls at the University of Bath, which is situated in an area first inhabited by ancient Celts who believed the local hot springs were sacred. Later, the Romans constructed a majestic temple and bathing complex that has since been restored (more on historic Bath).  

Washington's wife Susan, along with Joe Fleming (father of Whitman senior John Fleming) and Victoria Berg (administrative assistant in the Whitman athletics department), are also making the trip and will help with day-to-day logistics.

After returning home, the Whitman soccer squad starts its official workouts in late August, when it will be bolstered by a dozen incoming freshmen.

Whitman kicks off its season Sept. 3 with a string of three road games and then hosts Warner Pacific its non-conference home opener on Saturday, Sept. 11.

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CONTACT: Dave Holden,
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
holden@whitman.edu; (509) 527-5902