Published: June 14, 2008 10:27 pm            

Sunday Special: Trip to Italy is chance for Rose football to heal after player tragedies

TERRE HAUTE — The game itself — an 89-0 exhibition victory over the Italy Lenaf All-Stars on June 1 — was fun and memorable for Rose-Hulman’s football team.

But for most of the 117 people (including 35 players, six coaches, an athletic trainer, a student-manager, a sports information director and dozens of friends and family members) who took part in the Engineers’ recent trip to Italy, football probably ranked third in order of importance.

Dealing with the aftermath of player tragedies — the death of Brandon Couch on April 8 and the serious injury to Drew Christy on Feb. 22, both from auto accidents — ended up being the top priority.

“Playing was a good way to remember them and still have fun,” noted Paul Spreen, a senior-to-be defensive linemen from Williams, Ind.

“The [Couch] family said it was good for their healing process.”

“It was a great healing for us to go,” said Rose coach Steve Englehart, who actually played a little quarterback in the game because it was not regulated by the NCAA.

“They dedicated the game to the Couches,” mentioned Derek Eitel, a junior-to-be quarterback from Marshall, Ill. “I think it helped the family have a good time without Brandon.”

Members of the Couch family who accompanied the team were Brandon’s mother, father, both sisters, brother-in-law and fiancée.

The winner of the game, Rose-Hulman, received the Brandon Couch Trophy in memory of the former offensive lineman. In a further showing of respect, the Italy Lenaf All-Stars wore No. 64 (Couch’s uniform number) on the back of their helmets and Rose-Hulman wore Nos. 64 and 7 for Couch and Christy on its helmets.

The traveling Engineers also did plenty of sightseeing to make this a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of those involved.

Getting it started

Englehart said the Global Football company arranged this package, which consisted of two days of travel and seven days of vacation in Italy. Cost for each person was roughly $3,300, although fundraising efforts from the previous 1 1/2 years brought in $1,500 per player to help with their expenses.

In addition, Global Football allowed one person to go free of charge for every 10 trips sold. The final total came to 107 paid and 10 free trips, Englehart said.

Englehart said most of the travelers flew out of Indianapolis at about noon Memorial Day, May 26. Split into different groups initially, they stopped off in London before ending up in Rome on May 27.

People from the group were allowed to go their separate ways most of the time, but Englehart said there were daily get-togethers.

“Every morning, we all had breakfast together,” he said. “And we all had dinner together every night… I didn’t have to do much, except for when we had team meetings, practices and our game. I was there to enjoy myself.”

On May 28, the group woke up early and headed to ancient Rome, where it received a tour of the Colosseum.

“We got to go inside and walk around,” Englehart noted. “We learned a lot about the history of the Colosseum.”

Later that day, the group toured the ancient ruins of Rome, including the site of Julius Ceasar’s cremation.

On May 29, three days before the football game, Englehart put the team through a walk-through at its hotel complex. To prepare for this exhibition, the Engineers had conducted 10 full-pad practices in Terre Haute, the maximum allowed by NCAA rules.

Later that day, the group visited holy Rome, including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.

“There were statues and all sorts of things Michaelangelo did,” Englehart mentioned.

“My favorite part of the trip had to be the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Basilica,” Spreen reflected. “I just can’t believe they built those so many years ago.”

On May 30, group members traveled by bus to Florence, where they saw the Statue of David and the Duomo of Florence. Coaches and players still found time later in the day to have a team meeting before hitting a “disco.”

After members of the group did individual sightseeing in Florence on the morning of May 31, they hopped back on a bus and journeyed to the Venice region in northern Italy. Being that this was the day before the game, Englehart got serious and led the Engineers through a full-pads practice outside their new hotel.

As one might expect, that attracted the attention of other guests at the hotel.

“There was a wedding going on at the hotel and everybody from the wedding party ended up coming over to watch us practice,” Englehart said with a chuckle. “It goes to show how much people overseas are in awe of American football.”

It’s game time

With the game scheduled to take place in the city of Muggia, near the border of Croatia, Englehart and his team prepared for a two-hour bus ride early in the morning of June 1. They stopped off in Trieste to have some photos taken by the Adriatic Sea, then proceeded toward Muggia.

Once in the city, they received a welcome from the mayor and a few members of the opposing team at the Muggia Town Hall.

The game itself, played in front of a couple hundred fans in an old stadium with field turf, didn’t prove to be much of a contest. Englehart mentioned that Italians don’t usually start playing American football until age 18 because soccer is so popular in their country.

“They don’t necessarily care about the score over there,” Englehart added. “They just enjoy the opportunity to play an American football team.”

Rose running back Tim Schrock earned Most Valuable Player honors after scoring back-to-back touchdowns in the first half, including a 66-yard kickoff return and a 35-yard sprint to the end zone. Austin Davis, a linebacker, added a pair of defensive touchdowns to spark a 54-point first-half effort.

Perhaps the highlight of the day from the Engineers’ perspective was the on-field appearance of Englehart, who played quarterback for Indiana State in the late 1990s, in the second quarter. Englehart ended his stint at signal-caller with a 32-yard TD strike to Nate Richter in the final minute of the first half.

“He played well,” Eitel said. “I don’t think he was used to throwing it because all he did in college was run. He said he wasn’t nervous, but I don’t believe it.”

“He did well,” Spreen assessed. “He was telling someone on the sideline that he had happy feet.”

Afterward, players traded gifts with members of the opposing team, then gathered for a tailgate party next to the field.

The non-football part of the trip resumed June 2 when the group went to Venice. Englehart said all 117 members traveled on a big boat across the Adriatic Sea.

Later that day, the team took part in a farewell awards dinner at its hotel.

“Global Football announced at the dinner that an extra free trip will be given in the name of Brandon Couch, as decided by the Rose-Hulman football team,” Englehart said. “That’s another way for us to remember what Brandon Couch stood for.”

Then the group embarked on a three-hour drive bus ride to Milan, where everyone flew out from June 3. Englehart said he arrived at home June 4 after 27 hours of almost non-stop travel.

“I knew for the last year that it wasn’t going to be about the game,” Englehart reflected. “The experiences from the whole trip will be held dear by the players for the rest of their lives.”

Englehart plans to start fundraising for another team trip in 2011, possibly to Ireland or Australia.

As for the recently completed trip, Englehart said it was well worth the effort of planning it.

“Absolutely, it was the best experience I’ve ever had traveling with a football team,” he insisted.

        

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