HANOVER — Rob Grabill’s become an institution on the pitch over his 13 years as the coach of Hanover High boys soccer.
But the past five years, he’s traversed more than just the fields of New Hampshire. He’s also taken his Marauders to Ireland and Iceland.
It’s part of his contribution to the ever-evolving landscape of soccer in Hanover.
“It’s life-changing for some of these guys who’ve never been out of the country,” he said on Tuesday night before the Marauders’ home scrimmage with Lebanon. “It always goes way beyond soccer. It’s about experience, and it’s about traveling together.”
For years, Grabill’s good friend, Tom Johnson, kept pestering him to think about taking a group over to Ireland through Johnson’s Atlantic Crossing company, which specializes in taking soccer teams from the United States to Galway, Ireland.
So, Grabill finally gave it a try in 2014.
This summer’s trip was Grabill’s third since 2014 where he’s taken a group of players over to the Emerald Isle, an optional opportunity for players in his program. The Marauders’ group this summer was made up of mostly varsity players, with some underclassmen sprinkled in as they played three games over eight days.
Galway’s become a home away from home of sorts for Grabill. There’s the old monastery in town that the team always visits, a few favorite pubs for food, and this year included an Irish music concert filled with river dancers and pipers.
While he wants his players to immerse themselves in the culture, he wants them to improve on the pitch, too. Grabill insures that by getting Hanover some top-notch training with Phill Trill, a full-badge Irish coach.
The trip was successful, Grabill said, as Hanover won all three games during its trip. Two of the victories came against men’s league teams, and the third was against the U-16 national champions.
“He (Trill) wasn’t just a classic-like Irish guy” said Hanover senior midfielder Latham Allison, who was one of the players on the trip. “He was awesome. Definitely super-knowledgeable. He gave us some new concepts like how to play out from the back, and then he also talked about half-space, which is like the spots on the field.”
Galway wasn’t the only trip for Hanover this summer, though.
A group of underclassmen competed in the U-16 Rey Cup in Reykjavik, Iceland. The Rey Cup’s an international competition started in 2002, and this summer Touchline, the name of Hanover’s soccer club in the summer, represented the United States.
Touchline played five games and finished fourth out of six teams in group play. Grabill’s hope is that the trip will be the start of another tradition and help the underclassmen transition to the season.
“We stayed in an elementary school in a classroom on a floor of 15 mattresses,” he said. “It was like Oliver Twist. It was great. And the coaches rotated staying with the boys. I stayed in Iceland with the boys the last two nights when the room smelled really good. … They’ve been banging on me to go for years to Iceland.”
Corner Kicks: Hanover and Lebanon scrimmaged Tuesday night on the new turf at Merriman-Branch Field. Grabill and Raiders coach Rob Johnstone always try to scrimmage since the Marauders play in Division I. … Hanover starts its season Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. when it hosts Exeter. … Grabill helped start a new high school summer league between players from Hanover and Lebanon. … Eighteen letterwinners return on this season’s varsity team, and 102 players came out for tryouts. … Charlie Adams and Kyle Doucette are co-captains this season.