Army civilian gets a kick out of European soccer

By Rachel Clark, 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Kaiserslautern, GermanyJanuary 14, 2011

Making time to practice
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Sean De Haas has been kicking up a storm after recently competing with the Ramstein Soccer Team in the Armed Forces Europe soccer tournament in Aviano, Italy.

De Haas, a U.S. citizen raised in Kaiserslautern by his Department of Defense teacher parents, attended Ramstein High School in his youth where he excelled at soccer as part of the All-Europe soccer team.

Upon graduating, De Haas made the trip back to the U.S. to attend Texas State University. While in school he knew he had to find his way back to Germany. De Haas thought majoring in international business would help him find a job in Germany. After completing school, De Haas applied for and was accepted into a government contracting internship program.

After the two-year internship, De Haas accepted a government civilian position in Germany as a contracting specialist with the 409th Contracting Support Brigade here.

"I am so glad to be back here in Germany where I grew up," De Hass said. "I really enjoy living in the heart of Europe and being able to travel all over. Having cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels right at our doorstep is amazing."

De Haas, who speaks fluent German, felt right at home getting back into the game of soccer in Germany. He teamed up with the military soccer team as his official team, but practices with the locals.

"As a team, we can never seem to get a field that\'s available on the base so a lot of us practice with local German teams to keep up our skills," said De Haas.

De Haas, along with many of his other military teammates, practice with the Mackenbach Soccer Club. Even though the soccer season is over for now, De Haas said he will be ready to play next year.

"When the American team comes together, I'll be there," he said