The Cheltenham Town under-18s team have travelled to Holland today for a 12 day tour in the country courtesy of support from the Erasmus Programme and League Football Education.
Pete Haynes' side wrap up their pre-season with a packed tour that will see them make their final preparations ahead of their upcoming Youth Alliance campaign.
In their time in Holland they are set to play in a number of friendlies including a tournament where their opposition will include Go Ahead Eagles and fellow English sides Sheffield Wednesday and Burton Albion.
Coaches from FC Den Bosch will undertake a number of sessions with the Robins youngsters, who will also participate in Dutch language lessons, a visit to a war museum and a visit to Amsterdam.
"The players are really looking forward to it," Haynes said. "The anticipation has been building over the past couple of months.
"Staff are also excited because it's a great opportunity for us to see and have more exposure to European football and training methods.
"The trip itself is funded through Erasmus and we'd like to say a big thanks to the League Football Education who provide the scholars education and apprenticeship framework we were able to access that funding through them."
The trip over to Holland is the final part of a long pre-season period for the under-18s who have faced various opposition as they prepare for the new season.
Duo Tom Chamberlain and Grant Horton have also been involved in the first team matches and Haynes feels pre-season has helped set the platform for his team in the season ahead.
He added: "We are very much aiming towards individual player development and what players need from an individual players point of view to get to where their end goal is.
"I'm very pleased with the mix of games and more pleased with how resilient the players have been. We've been very young in terms of 14, 15 and 16 year olds, and also the second years who have been pushed into the first team environment."
You can watch a full interview with Haynes looking ahead to his team's trip to Holland and discussing how pre-season has gone for the scholars so far above on iFollow.
Stay up to date with images from the under-18s tour by checking out @CTFCYofficial on Twitter.