The first time my family spent time overseas was life-changing. It expanded our world-view, it gave us new interests and hobbies, and it even enriched our marriage. Needless to say, we're hooked on traveling and want others to be able to share in the experience.
My husband coaches football at Harding University. Several athletes shared with him their disappointments about their inability to participate in one of Harding's many overseas study programs because of the time involved in training for their sport. My husband decided to try to do something about it. He approached several coaches of different sports, along with HU's International Programs director to see if he could help out. He has combined two of his passions: coaching athletes and traveling.
Bison Athletes in Training (BAT) was designed to give HU's athletes an overseas study program experience. Our group will leave on May 30 for one month to study/travel in Europe together. Our family will travel with representatives from the following HU teams: football, basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, baseball, and golf. The group of 24 students will include male and female college athletes, and the Beasons will add 3 more to the group to bring the total to 27 travelers.
Because Clay is the Strength Coach, workouts and healthy nutrition were big considerations when planning this program. Mandatory workouts are built into our schedule, and our collegiate athletes will be eating healthy meals with an international flair. We will both be teaching classes, both on-site and in a classroom setting. The Bible House in Scandicci, right outside Florence, Italy, will serve as our home base. This will be a June to remember!
