Cougars Return Home From Nicaragua Trip

Click to watch the video.

Click to watch the video.

PROVO -- Members of the BYU women's soccer team returned home from a seven-day humanitarian excursion to Nicaragua Monday, having enjoyed their new experiences and grateful for what they had learned.

Players and coaches from the soccer team joined with coaches and athletes from the men's basketball team, women's volleyball team, and men's soccer team to travel to Nicaragua. There the athletes and coaches worked with the local non-profit organization CauseForHope.org. They visited with and taught local business owners about micro credit, business training, and vocational loans and training. The soccer team members also held a soccer clinic.

“It was a really fun trip,” said senior Karen Cook, who played soccer at Alta High School and also played with the Celtic Storm. “We played with a lot of the little kids there, and we were able to give them some things. The look on their faces when they received the gifts was the coolest. I was surprised that what little I knew about business was able to help the people down there.”

The team members who made the trip all enjoyed the experience. Though not an official school-sponsored activity, team members found ways to come together as well.

“We left the world we live in behind,” said junior Megan Richardson, who also played for Timpanogos High School and also for the Celtic Storm. “We didn't have our cell phones or our iPods, and it was a very humbling experience. We saw these people who were very content, even though they had hardly nothing. It was a lot of fun - a great experience.”

A slide show of pictures from the trip can be found below.