SVD Beaumont visits the Lilies

How is it that a Texan soccer club wears the SV Darmstadt 98 jerseys?

The answer lies in the childhood of Jaime Roesch, president of SVD Beaumont Texas. The American lived in Germany for several years as a boy, and part of his family lives in Gräfenhausen, in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district. „As a boy, I spent a lot of time here. That’s where the special connection to the Lilies comes from,“ Roesch tells us with a beaming smile.

He took his love of the Lilies with him to the USA, where he founded a so-called „co-ed team,“ an amateur team where anyone could play, regardless of gender, age, or education. This isn’t a given in the USA. „Players from our co-ed team wanted to play for a real soccer club in Houston and even had tryouts there. However, I generally hadn’t had a good experience with people getting into US club soccer, so I thought I could make it easier.“

That’s why Roesch founded SVD Beaumont Texas. Due to his connection to the city and the club, only SV 98 jerseys came into consideration as his playing kit.

After a few years in the Lilies uniform, Roesch contacted SV 98 to explore the possibility of a collaboration. „I would never have imagined, however, that the club would support our project.“

But Roesch is preaching to the choir at the Lilies, as Lilies Managing Director Martin Kowalewski explains: „We’ve been registering a high number of jersey orders from Beaumont for some time now, and then we also noticed that Texans were frequently present at our games at Merck Stadium. After Jaime contacted us, it was important to us to get to know the club better. And we immediately liked each other. We quickly decided to offer our support.“

This support places particular emphasis on social aspects, as Kowalewski emphasises: „We want to give young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds access to soccer because it’s more difficult to just play soccer in the US.“

Unlike in Germany, where soccer has long been a sport for everyone, getting into soccer in the US is associated with high costs. „It’s comparable to golf or tennis in Germany,“ says Kowalewski.

Together, the Lilies and SVD Beaumont want to use the unifying power of football to communicate social and societal issues through sport. „Our goal is to use the Lilies‘ club culture as a model for our own identity,“ reveals Roesch, before adding: „The visit to Darmstadt also provides completely new insights in this regard and, in a sense, makes our group ambassadors because we can pass on our experiences in Beaumont to everyone else.“

The 20-person US travel group first attended the Lilies‘ away game at SSV Ulm and then spent a week getting to know SV 98, Darmstadt and the surrounding area, and the Lilies‘ club culture. Below, we look back at some of the highlights of the visit.

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One item on the itinerary that should not be missed during an international visit: the stadium tour of the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor.

For the guests from SVD Beaumont Texas, the tour began in the headquarters, where they were personally greeted by Kowalewski. From the historic South Stand to the VIP area of ​​the stadium, they then visited all the grandstand areas of the Lilien living room. The tour then continued two floors below – into the press conference room and the „holy catacombs“ of the Böllenfalltor, combined with an exclusive look into the SV Darmstadt 98 home locker room.

Finally, the Texan visitors were even allowed inside the stadium and to take a seat on the home bench – the perfect opportunity for souvenir photos.

„It’s impressive what’s hidden in a stadium like this and how many small details can be found everywhere,“ said Roesch after the tour.

An important part of the visit also involved the integration of six youth players from SVD Beaumont Texas into the SV 98 youth teams. For a week, Juan, Said, Jose, Braxton, Diego, and Coy participated in training sessions with the U17, U19, and U21 teams, gaining an insight into the level and comprehensive football training offered by a second-division club’s youth program.

In addition, the Texan six-player team was challenged in individual training sessions in technical and athletic areas and will surely take valuable experience back home with them.

The same applies to the accompanying coaches, who were able to gain a wealth of new insights not only by attending the training sessions, but especially through the extensive exchange with the Lilien coaches.

During a meet-and-greet, the SVD Beaumont Texas players had the opportunity to bombard Lilies striker Fraser Hornby with questions. The players were particularly interested in the 25-year-old’s daily routine and asked for numerous tips on preparing for and following training, optimal nutrition, and the most important attributes of a striker.

Following the Q&A session, the Texans had plenty of time for photos and autographs.

In addition to visiting the youth academy and meeting Fraser Hornby, the guests also got a taste of real professional football – at two training sessions with the SV Darmstadt 98 team. The Texans watched the action on the pitch with great interest and took home many impressions: From effective training exercises to tactical approaches to the pressing style of the professionals – there was plenty of inspiration for their own athletic development.

And what else is part of an unforgettable training experience? That’s right: the chance to get autographs from players and coaches, take plenty of souvenir photos, and have a quick chat with the players or head coach Florian Kohfelt.

On Friday afternoon (April 4), another highlight was on the agenda: a city tour through Darmstadt on an e-scooter – led by Alexander Lehné, fan representative of SV Darmstadt 98.

The tour began on the market square in the heart of the city and continued via Karolinenplatz to the historic university stadium. In the city center, the group admired, among other things, the Heiner Statue and the Residenzschloss (Residenz Palace) before continuing through the Herrngarten park to Schlossgartenplatz.

Other stops on the varied route included the Mathildenhöhe – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and cultural landmark – the idyllic Grosse Woog (Great Woog), and the Hundertwasserhaus (Hundertwasser House). Shortly before the e-scooters‘ batteries reached their limit, a visit to the Orangery was a must as the crowning finale.

The visitors from Beaumont experienced the perfect conclusion to their stay in Darmstadt on Saturday afternoon (April 5) at SV Darmstadt 98’s home game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth. After a week after being in the away section at the game in Ulm, the visitors were able to experience the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor in its full matchday atmosphere – and all in an exciting, hard-fought match.

The Lilies‘ 1-0 home win was the proverbial icing on the cake. The traveling Texans cheered enthusiastically in the stands. The perfect end to a very special week – both for the visitors from the USA and for the Lilies.

You can get many impressions of the visitors‘ visit to the stadium in our video.