Women’s Lacrosse Team Recaps International Trip to Netherlands and Belgium

Photo Gallery

The College of Wooster women's lacrosse team traveled international to the Netherlands and Belgium over fall break. The agenda featured a weeklong trip, and the Fighting Scots visited places like Utrecht, Amsterdam, The Hague, Ghent, and Bruges. The NCAA permits such international trips by teams every three years. A journal of the experience provided by team members is below.

October 4 – senior Bella McCloskey

After a long day of traveling, the team and I arrived in the Netherlands. We started our day by meeting our tour guide, Bernd, and our bus driver, Gerty, who were absolutely amazing. We stopped at a cute little park with a windmill! This started my fascination with windmills. There were also miniature ponies at the park! After some sightseeing we went on our first tour at the cheese and clog farm! We learned how Gouda cheese is made and sampled it! We continued on the tour and learned about clogs. We saw how they were made, the history behind them, the different designs, and their meanings. It was a wonderful experience. We got back on the bus, checked into our hotel, and had dinner, which was very delicious. Later that evening, we had our first game. It was definitely interesting seeing the differences in lacrosse in the Netherlands. A little change in their rules makes the game more fast paced and aggressive. The girls were all nice and it cool to learn more about them and the game, which is not very popular there. Overall, the trip was excellent and I definitely want to visit again!

October 5 – first-year Mizan Jacobs

We started off the day with breakfast at the hotel. Then we got on the bus to go to our friendly game against Domstad Devils in Utrecht. We won 11-7! The weather was very nice, and the team was fun to play against because of how kind they were. After the game, the Devils invited us to their clubhouse for toasties, the Netherlands equivalent of grilled cheese, and tea, which was lovely. Their clubhouse had foosball, tables, and lots of seating like couches and a bar top to mingle and get to know the team. After that, we got back on the bus and went sightseeing and shopping in Utrecht. After our free time in Utrecht, we returned to the hotel for a well-prepared three-course meal. This was a really fun-filled day with lots to do, and it was probably my favorite throughout the whole trip.

October 6 – first-year Rowan Pilon

The third day of our trip to the Netherlands was focused on sightseeing and exploring Amsterdam. Once in Amsterdam, we started our morning by going on a boat ride through the canals of the city. We saw many picturesque sites. There were also many famous historical landmarks, including the Anne Frank House. After the city tour, we had eight hours of free time to shop, visit museums, and wander through the streets. I began this time by walking to see the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. This was a beautiful church in the center of Amsterdam. For lunch, we stopped at a cafe and had some traditional Dutch food. Following that, we headed to the Holocaust Museum. Visiting this museum provided me with a perspective of what was happening in the Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam, during the Holocaust. The exhibits were deeply moving and offered valuable insights into history. After the museum, we walked around and explored more of the city. Everywhere you looked, there were fantastic views. We stopped in numerous stores, looking at all the unique things they had to offer. I was able to meet up with a family friend later in the day, who showed us around his favorite parts of the city. He took us through the Jordaan shopping district, where we stopped at a local bakery and tried unique croissants. For dinner, we went to a cheese bar. There, I was able to sample some different local cheeses. We finished the day in Amsterdam by going to the train station and looking at its beautiful architecture. 

October 7 – sophomore Audrey Richardson

On Monday, we traveled to The Hague, a beautiful city in the Netherlands. While there, we enjoyed a walking tour that allowed us to learn a lot about the city's rich history. One of the highlights was learning from our tour guide about the Dutch royal family's connection to The Hague, which serves as its official residence. The city is filled with picturesque canals and stunning architecture. After the tour, we had some free time to explore on our own. We grabbed lunch and went shopping around the city. The city was filled with lots of stores. Once we finished our time in The Hague, we returned to our hotel in Scheveningen, where we had some downtime and were able to get dinner.

Later that night, we practiced with the Den Haag lacrosse team. During practice, we worked on new drills and ended with a scrimmage, which gave us plenty of opportunities to get to know the girls on the other team. It was an incredible experience to practice with a team from another country!

October 8 – first-year Chels Jackson

We had an early start to our day because we had to ride the bus from Scheveningen, Netherlands to Ghent, Belgium where we would play a game later in the week. During the bus drive, we slept, played card games, and talked to pass the time. Our wonderful tour guide made sure we knew all the different aspects and history of the historical sights we passed on the route. He made intriguing references to World War I, World War II, and the connections between the union between the different cities in the Netherlands. 

Since it was a long bus ride, our tour guide decided for us to visit windmills and learn about the history while touring the inside of one. There, we took photos of the cows, ducks, and scenery. We concluded the sightseeing with some coffee at the local cafe and bought lots of souvenirs for family and friends. We were fortunate to be able to experience this international trip with some of our family members, who joined us.

When we reached Belgium, we set our bags in the hotel room and walked over to the beach a block away. There, some of us collected seashells, played in the ocean, played on the sand, and walked along the beach. Coach Ford and her family met us there where we all had a wonderful time taking pictures on the beach.

For dinner, the hotel served us a three-course meal that consisted of chicken stuffed bread, chicken pasta, and chocolate mousse which many devoured! We all talked for a bit before we made our way to our rooms to shower. Some talked, watched movies, played games, or slept afterwards to conclude our exciting and adventurous day.

October 9 – junior Amelia Knaysi

Day six of our trip was quite an activity-filled day. We started off the morning by visiting the Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum in Raversijde. The Atlantic Wall Open Air Museum is a bunker museum right on the coast. Today, it serves as a museum to remember World War I and World War II, educating the population on the Belgian experiences during the wars. The museum features animated films, cartoons, comic strips, and even Lego sets. After the museum we traveled to Ghent where we had a couple hours of free time for lunch. During this time, our team split into groups and did lots of different things like shopping, exploring, eating, and visiting different museums. A group of us went to a Belgian waffle shop which was my favorite part of the day. The food was absolutely delicious, and our group had the biggest check in the restaurant's history. They had me sign the receipt and they hung it on the wall. In the afternoon, we had a group tour at Gravensteen, a medieval castle. The Gravensteen fortress is famous for being a very well-preserved castle and fortress that offers a glimpse into life in the 12th century in Belgium. After the Castle tour we had some free time to go grab dinner and explore the town a little bit further. Later that evening we had a friendly game against the Ghent Gazelles. The game played in Belgium was very fun, fast-paced, and an overall more aggressive game. The girls were all very nice and we had great conversations with them before and after the game! Finally, after a long day, we returned to our hotel in Ostend. This was such a wonderful experience for me, and I hope I get to visit again someday.

October 10 – junior Noelle Melgar

Our team spent the day in Bruges, Belgium. We started our day with a canal boat tour. On the tour, we saw the many bridges, medieval architecture, the Old St. John's Hospital, Church of Our Lady, and iconic statues. We even got to see swans swimming next to us, and that was my favorite part! The tour guide did an awesome job showing us the beauty of the city from the canal and immersing us in the history of the city.  After the tour, we split up in different groups for the afternoon. We spent our time trying Belgium waffles and frites, which were delicious and were beyond expectations. We explored the rest of the city on foot and traveled to the famous Belgium chocolate shops before heading back to Amsterdam for our last dinner of the trip.

This was a great experience, and we all learned so much. We could not be more grateful for this opportunity, not only to play lacrosse overseas in a new country, but also to explore new parts of the world together as a team! This trip was truly unforgettable, and we will keep these memories forever.