Denver, CO - The men's soccer team is driving to Winter Park, Colorado as part of a winter term class and its coaches and players will be blogging daily about all the activities.

The team has already spent two days in the classroom learning about the psychological and physical processes involved when learning new skills and they will be participating in community service activities on Friday, Jan. 20 in Denver. From there, the team will continue its journey to Winter Park where they will be taking ski lessons.

"This is an excellent group that we are taking to Colorado," said head coach Guillermo Sanchez. "I am blessed with this group of guys, they have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.2 and they are truly a family. I like to believe that we are more than just a soccer program and that these experiences will last forever for everyone."

Day 1

Day one started with coach Sanchez already falling on the ice before getting into his car. It might be a long trip for him and all the guys that have never skied before.

We, as a program, would like to thank the Rassmusen family and all the alumni for the endless support and for making this possible. They have allowed this program to have the wonderful experiences that change our lives. Thank you John and Mary Ann.

"It was a fun-filled day for all at Children's Outreach Project last Friday. We are so grateful to the men's soccer team from Graceland University who spent the afternoon at the school volunteering and working on much needed clean up projects. Much as accomplished as the team worked worked away the day! The afternoon ended with a wonderful display of some pretty fancy soccer footwork. Then children were invited to participate and practiced kicking the ball and making goals. The team provided a much needed dose of positive role models to our school community. Thank you ALL! It was a great day." - Stephanie Baer, Executive Director

You can watch a video below of the soccer team as they prepare for their trip!

Day 2

Despite the long and restless night of trying to sleep on a charter bus, it was nice to wake up to the sight of the Rocky Mountains on the horizon. We started our day with breakfast at the International House of Pancakes in Denver. After we finished breakfast we went to a super market to shop for the rest of the trip. The team was divided into 3 groups and each group was given a budget and an agenda for purchasing the meals that they would prepare for the next few days. Next to the grocery store was a sporting goods store which gave many of the students the opportunity to purchase some of the ski equipment that they needed.

From there, we drove to the other side of Denver to the Outreach Children's Project. The OCP is a program for at-risk children ages 2 to 6. Many of these children have issues of development and are given a great opportunity through the OCP to catch up and excel despite the challenges they face. We were fortunate as a program to witness some of the activities that the kids engaged in and be able to lend a helping hand to an organization that is so worthwhile and meaningful.

We spent much of the afternoon helping to clean and organize the facility and finished the day by spending some time playing soccer with the kids. The guys on the team seemed to really enjoy their time with kids at the OCP. "It was great to have an opportunity to be a positive male role model for these kids today." - Austin Re. "Seeing the smile on their faces really puts a smile on ours." - Michael Triano.

By the time we finished the community service project, the roads in the mountains had started to become covered with snow and we were eager to get to Winter Park. As we ventured up the mountain, it became clear that the bus was going to have a hard time with the snow covered roads. Indeed, halfway up the pass the bus began spinning its tires so we had to stop and with the help of Grant Webster and Brady Blankenship, the bus driver was eventually able to get the tire chains onto the back tires which allowed us to make it the rest of the way up the mountain.

After getting pizza for dinner, everyone retired to their condos for the night to play games and watch television before heading to bed at a modest hour so that we could get an early start the next day for ski school.

Day 3

The Graceland men's soccer team hit the slopes in Winter Park, Colorado today. The day started very early as the team scheduled lessons started bright and early. Right away you could see some of the nervousness in many of the members of the team while everyone was being fitted for their snow gear. The fact that a majority of the team has never skied could have explained this. This nervousness quickly went away and the fun started. From snowball fights to people putting on skis for the first time.

The team was split into three groups with instructors to help with teaching the team to ski. The day was split into two parts. There was a morning session, a break for lunch and than right back at it in an afternoon session. These sessions covered anything from basics of skiing to more advanced type of skiing for the select few that have been before. The instructors that the team had did a great job and made the day extremely fun.

"We had a great day out on the slopes but it was hard to keep up with experienced ski instructor Alejandro when he wasn't stopping for pizza or French fries." - Brady Blankenship. The day concluded with a team dinner. The team was split into three groups for the next three nights. Each group has the obligations to cook one night for the entire team.

Day 4

As the snow continued to fall, we made our way to the mountain for our 2nd day of skiing. The 6 inches of fresh powder excited the whole team, especially the first time skier's. Also, having recently signed recruit Trenton and Graceland Alumni Garth Rasmussen joining us on the mountain added to the excitement for the day.

As we descended on our first run of the day Kevin Irr and I simultaneously wiped out, earning the prestigious "first fall" award. We were both covered head to toe in the fresh powder and enjoying our acrobatic falls, Even though I blame him for my fall!

As several of us sat at the common lunch spot on the middle of the mountain, we were observing the skiers' up the mountain. As we were watching, a skier had a terrible wipe out and had to have 2 strangers help him compose himself. We were all discussing the fall, when one person realized it was one of our own, Drake Ruth. We have all had our share of falls, but none as public as that one.

While skiing has been a great experience for everyone, spending time with our teammates and coaches has been what has made this trip one we will not forget. We would also like to thank Garth for joining us today, and not showing us up too bad. Even though we are feeling the past few days, we are excited for what the next two days has in store for us.

Day 5

Today was filled with laughs, crashes, and injuries. Slopes opened at 9:00 am, however, only half the the team was up and ready to ski. Three days of skiing has really taken its toll on some of the guys. Just about everyone, either crashed into another teammate, on their own, into obstacles on the course, or got knocked over by the ski lifts like coach Sanchez. He was a little unsure whether or not his group was taking the first chairs or second. Standing in between, he decided to attempt and back up to take the second chairs. He didn't quite get cleared from the chairs. As the chairs swung around they hit him in the side toppling him over in front of 100 other skiers.

However, none of these crashes resulted in injuries as those of Garth Rassmusen and Gabriel Gallegos. After lunch a bunch of the guys skied over to the half pipe to put their skills to the test and for bragging rights. Garth was first to hit the pipe. As he dropped in and hit the first lip he came down hard landing on his shoulder, dislocating it. He got up and skied down to the base where his shoulder was put back into place. Gabriel, however, wasn't so fortunate to ski away from his injuries. He was at full speed racing down one of the trails when his ski pole got stuck in the snow sending him end over end, only coming to a stop 40 ft later. Ski patrol had to carry him away in a stretcher. Luckily, his injuries weren't as bad as they looked. He only suffered a split lip resulting in 4 stitches.

If the day didn't seem long enough with all of the aforementioned events, waiting at the bottom of runs for Sandaly Traore felt like eternity. The Mary Jane trail was a little too steep for this beginner as he resorted to methods never seen by the ski world before. He took his skies off and scooted down the mountain on his butt.

Day 6

Our last day in Winter Park Colorado had to be one of the best. After the mountain claimed two from our group the day before to injury (one got 4 stitches on his lower lip and the other a dislocated shoulder), it would only make sense that safety would be stressed on our 4th day on the mountain. This was not the case. After a day of ski school and two days on their own on the mountain, everyone's confidence was through the roof. Many of those in our group tested their skills on the skills course that included big jumps, grind rails, and an icy half pipe. A few collisions and minor crashes would occur throughout the day on the mountain, but nothing serious. The fall of the day went to Christian Quintanilla when he went too fast over one of the bigger jumps on the course and got a face full of snow. Guillermo Gallegos also had a hard time hanging on to his poles while skiing. Everytime he fell, his poles would go every which direction. Mario Ayala andSandoly Traore were able to rent out a snowmobile for a couple hours on the mountain which was a great experience for them. I also found out today that Coach Sanchez is the absolute worst person to ride on a ski lift with. He's always crossing his skis with yours, getting his poles stuck in the lift or even steering in front of you when you exit.

Coach Guillermo, Coach Bryan and myself (Brady) were on our last run of the day. We had one last icy hill to ride down to the base of the mountain. Coach Bryan came up with a contest to see who could glide the furthest at the base without pushing with ski poles. I was on a snowboard the last day for the first time ever. Throughout the day I got better and better on it, but I decided to go faster than I had gone all day in an effort to win the contest. When I approached the base of the mountain, my tip of my snowboard got caught in the snow and I face-planted in front of 10 Winter Park staff members. With snow coveredgoggles, I looked back up to the coaches to see them both with arms raised. One of the Winter Park staff members then said, "Now that's the way to end a day!"

After another long day on the mountain, the team relaxed sore muscles in the hot tub and went out to a nice dinner at Hernando's in downtown winter park. Pizza, pasta and wings really hit the spot for the guys and most could hardly make the half mile walk back to the lodge after the meal.

The Graceland men's soccer staff and players would like to give a big thanks to the Rasmussen family for allowing us to take such a wonderful trip, and also to Garth Rasmussen to join us in Winter Park for a few days. We very much enjoyed his company. Also, another thank you from the players to the Graceland men's soccer coaching staff; Bryan and Guillermo organized an unbelievable trip that we will all never forget.