Kicking around the contracting center

Sean De Haas has been kicking up a storm lately after recently competing with the Ramstein Soccer Team in the Armed Forces Europe soccer tournament in Aviano, Italy.

Mr. De Haas, who is a U.S. citizen raised in Kaiserslautern by his parents who are both Department of Defense teachers, attended Ramstein High School where he excelled at soccer and was part of the All-Europe soccer team.

Upon graduating, Mr. De Haas made the trip back to the U.S. to attend Texas State University. While in school he knew he had to find his way back to Germany. Mr. De Haas thought majoring in international business would be a good choice in getting back. After completing school, Mr. De Haas applied for and was accepted into a government contracting internship program.

After the two year internship, Mr. De Haas accepted a government civilian position as a contracting specialist with the 409th Contracting Support Brigade in Kaiserslautern.

“I am so glad to be back here in Germany where I grew up. I really enjoy living in the heart of Europe and being able to travel all over. Having cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels right at our doorstep is amazing,” he said.

Mr. De Haas, who speaks fluent German, felt right at home getting back into the game of soccer in Germany. He teamed up with the military soccer team as his official team, but practices with the locals.

“As a team, we can never seem to get a field that’s available on the base, so a lot of us practice on local German teams to keep up our skills,” he said.

Mr. De Haas, along with other military teammates, practice with the Mackenbach Soccer Club. Even though the soccer season is over for now, he  said he will be ready to play again next year.

“When the American team comes together, I’ll be there too,” he said.