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Patrik Zwingenberger is a freshman soccer player at Grand View. Having been raised in Mannheim, Germany, what Patrik describes as being a small city, he was granted many opportunities to play soccer and further his game from a fairly young age. Through years of hard training, Patrik reached a level of play that would qualify him to attend one of the highest-level youth soccer academies in Germany, where he would have been granted opportunity to one day play professionally.

“I had the chance to play professionally,” said Patrik. “There are many players that have the possibility. In Germany, there are 36 clubs with a youth academy. If every team has 20 players each year, that is a huge number of players that want to play, so the chance of playing professionally is bismal.”

In light of the unlikely chance of becoming a professional player, Patrik decided to follow his dream of running an electric car company.

Unfortunately, it was difficult for him to pursue this dream when practicing soccer took up the majority of his time. Not wanting to simply quit one of his favorite past-times though, Patrik sought out education elsewhere.

Throwing Out 21; From 20 to 1:

Patrik received 20 offers from colleges across the United States. Ultimately, he narrowed his search down to one; a school found in the center of rural Iowa known as Grand View University. It is at this farmstead-encompassed university that he is pursuing a degree in Business Administration.

Upon arriving in his new place of residency and study, Patrik was greeted by a culture both very similar and different to his own.

“I really like all there is to do here,” Patrik said. “It’s not like that in Germany, at all. In Germany, you go to school, go to classes, then go home. You don’t have contact with other guys. You talk to them at school, but after that it’s not like they’re your best friends. I like how it’s not just about study and soccer, but it’s a new hard challenge.”

Since arriving on campus, Patrik has made many friends both on and off his team. These friendships have led to a number of new hobbies and clubs that he has come to enjoy. He notes that he can be often be found taking part in activities held by Campus Fellowship, and Student Activity Council (SAC) events. Each of his new interests remain consistent with his notable and intentional way of living for others and his future aspirations. Patrik also attends the Spanish Club with hopes of being learning another language.

Patrik has joined each of these clubs and fellowships to help further his vocation. Other than getting involved with multiple school organizations at Grand View, Patrik has a few goals he wants to accomplish during his time on and off the field. He believes the Vikings have a tremendous chance to win it all.

“I think we have the potential to win the championship … err … tournament … it’s a different system than Germany,” Patrik said. “I need to learn how it works here.”

Fuel for the Future:

Through his Business Administration classes, he wants to learn all that it takes to be the man behind the wheel, driving his own electric car company. He has a passion for cars and loves reading car newspapers. His opportunity to play soccer in the United States has given him the chance to pursue his electric car dream.

Before any dreams could be chased after, Patrik would need first drive around many obstacles to be recruited. According to Alex Piedras, the language barrier can very easily be enough to keep international students from making it to the checkered flag and being able to attend Grand View University.

“Sometimes, English is not their first language, so we ask them to take the TOEFL exam.”

“They go through a very, very long process because as you know, we send documentation to their home; we send it in English. So if they are living in a place like maybe…Hungary, where English isn’t the first language, then they have to have those documents translated,” mentioned Piedras.

American Education Meets German Engineering

 

Patrik was recruited after creating a profile on the sports recruiting website, Scholarbook. That is where Grand View’s Men’s Soccer Coach, Blair Reid, discovered the German Goalkeeper. Coach Reid made Patrik a priority, as he didn’t even seek after another goalie. Former Grand View Men’s Soccer player Marten Muelenhaus, was a crucial part in recruiting Patrik. Marten, also from Germany, left Grand View after two years to go back to Germany to pursue a semi-pro level soccer contract. During the recruitment process, Coach Reid had told Marten, “Please speak in German. You know, get the information, be as in-depth as you want, be as direct, be as honest as possible with Patrik.” The Skype calls with Marten obviously made a difference in Patrik’s decision-making.

Germany is a country that although has been present on campus before now, is not an incredibly common place for our students to be from. This presented an opportunity for a cultural exchange and new view of a new place for both Patrik and the campus.

During the recruitment process, there are many questions asked of the school looking to bring on a player. For international students, there are many more than for those coming from nearby town or states.

Coach Reid mentioned past players having asked questions ranging everywhere from what the schools past season record was to things as humorous as, “What are the girls like?”. And, although Patrik did not ask these sorts of questions, he was very curious of the community found both on and around the school.

Patrik was recruited after creating a profile on the sports recruiting website, Scholarbook. That is where Grand View’s Men’s Soccer Coach, Blair Reid, discovered the German Goalkeeper. Coach Reid made Patrik a priority, as he didn’t even seek after another goalie. Former Grand View Men’s Soccer player Marten Muelenhaus, was a crucial part in recruiting Patrik. Marten, also from Germany, left Grand View after two years to go back to Germany to pursue a semi-pro level soccer contract. During the recruitment process, Coach Reid had told Marten, “Please speak in German. You know, get the information, be as in-depth as you want, be as direct, be as honest as possible with Patrik.” The Skype calls with Marten obviously made a difference in Patrik’s decision-making. Patrik decided to join the Grand View Team and play as a Viking. But he journey to college wasn’t quite over. The German player still had a few road-bumps to drive on over before he could meet his teammates and play in any games.

Freshmen Viking’s Soccer player, Noah Bardwell, told us about how the bonding experience the teams has in the pre-season.

“We are all pretty good guys. Whenever there is a new player, everyone is really welcoming. When you go through three practices a day, like, for a couple of weeks with everybody, you get to know each other, which is cool for when you’re new.”

Due to an injury he suffered prior to arriving in Des Moines, Patrik was unable to take part in the pre-season workouts and practices. Although he didn’t get the chance to bond with his teammates at that time, Patrik hasn’t let that hold him back and seems very well connected with his teammates. He’s one of the guys and enjoys being with them both on and off of the field.

Looking forward to the season, Patrik is quite excited the recruitment process played out in his favor and can join as a Viking this semester.