Overall: Fabulous!!! A tremendous combination of competitive matches and cultural exposure. We had guided tour of Colosseum, walking tour of part of Rome, take cooking class as a team/group, and watch Serie A match while still playing high level teams. Michele, our GSA Rome host/liaison: BY FAR THE BEST PART OF OUR TRIP! MICHELE ROCKS!!!!!!! He was OUTSTANDING in EVERY aspect. Professional, courteous, friendly, knowledgeable, and caring, he was the perfect host. He truly cared about our team and did his very best to ensure that we had the ideal group experience. Bilingual (from Italy and currently living in the US coaching competitive youth teams), Michele was uniquely placed to advocate for us, both on and off the pitch. He accompanied us on all of our group activities and was available at all hours, no matter the issue or question. And he did it with a smile. GSA couldn't have recruited a better ambassador. Transportation: adequate. We came to Rome before the rest of the team so did not get picked up at airport by GSA, but GSA comfortably transported us back to airport when we left with plenty of time to get through check-in and customs. Bus transport to and from matches and activities were also overall adequate. Hotel accommodations: mixed. Hotel positives: 1. Fantastic buffet style meals, best we have experienced on a soccer tour, 2. Excellent rooms, 3. Included gym with both cardio and weights, 4. Swimming pool (opened April 1), 5. Spa (services available for fees for those interested), 4. Nearby park. Hotel negatives: 1. Location - west, 20 min distant from city center so cost $$, 2. Hotel shuttle to town too few times and not useful, 3. No onsite washers and dryers to do laundry (same day laundry service available but expensive). The location of the matches was unbelievable. From our stand, we could see the back side of St. Peter's Basilica almost directly beyond the field. Impressive. In summary, we would give the GSA event 4 out 5 without Michele as our host. With him, the trip was easily 5 out of 5. Michele is a star.

The players and parents had a fantastic experience. IDA looked after us so well, from the very start of planning the trip to the training and tournament. The players are already asking when they can come back!!

Rome was amazing, it was a great experience getting to play against international teams. The opening ceremony was a waste of our time, unfortunately. No walk out, nothing. Dinner provided was underwhelming and we ate elsewhere. The first playing surface was far from our hotel and somewhat remote. We also had to play the hardest team first, which was unfortunate since we had just arrived a day earlier with guest players and were jet lagged and not familiar with one another. The subsequent teams and playing surface were nice, with a view of the Vatican behind the field. Officiating was highly suspect, especially when we were playing against Italy based squads. Lots of fouls/offsides/jersey pulls that they turned a blind eye to. The hotel was nice, but it was far from anything central, so each trip into town was a $20 taxi ride there and back. Nothing else really walkable close by. The breakfast buffet offered is good, not amazing. Lunch was spotty, not my favorite. As for the excursions planned, the pasta making was really fun, the colosseum tour was a bit of a cattle drive but still interesting to see. The walking tour of Rome was ok. Lazio/Parma game was cool to attend, but there is currently a fan boycott by Lazio so the stadium was fairly empty and lacked the atmosphere you would expect. Overall I had a great trip in spite of the above elements, more because of how great Rome is as a tourist. We set up our own small group Vatican tour, which was incredible, and we did some of our own dinner reservations and plans and they were all great. The soccer really is somewhat of a side show to the city.

It was a great experience and very well planned!

We had an outstanding trip. Our guide was Paolo and he was phenomenal. He balanced getting us out to see things that any visitor to Rome should see with also relaxing and having a good time. He was helpful but also accommodated any suggestions or requests that we had. Everything was well run and organized. We had reliable transportation by coach everywhere we went as a group whether it was for our matches or for sightseeing. The hotel was in a nice, safe area and it was clean and well maintained. We had good food on site. The competition on the soccer field was better than expected and our team was challenged but not overmatched. I would highly recommend going on this kind of trip with your team.