Ashley Lehr is a young American soccer player who is now residing with and assisting EduKick International Football Academies (EIFA) new all-girls program in Madrid, Spain.
While she grew up playing youth soccer in Erie, Pennsylvania, she is now a recent college graduate working as Assistant Director of International Students at EduKick Madrid Football & Education Academy
She’s also playing women’s “futbol” competitively in the Spanish Capital.
After living the female EduKick Madrid experience myself, I highly recommend it to any female footballer who is willing to jump out of her comfort zone and into a new cultural immersion of football and Spanish. – Ashley Lehr
EduKick Madrid is a football & education academy residential boarding school for young competitive soccer players from 13 to 24 years of age who want to live, study and play soccer abroad in Spain.
Lehr recently attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where she earned a double major in Managerial Economics and Spanish, playing all four years – and excelling in – collegiate soccer.
In 2012, she was awarded First-Team All-Conference and named team captain. All-Conference Honorable Mention as North Coast Athletic Conference Co-Champions was hers in 2011, and in 2010 her squad made the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.
Lehr joined EduKick Madrid in October of 2013 to promote and assist in directing the new EduKick Madrid Women’s Football Academy Program. This new “girls only” program is an education and football development year-long course designed for competitive female soccer players from 13-24 years old who want to continue their academic education in Madrid.
Lehr lives in a private dorm room in the same hallway as the girls and helps them with everything from academic organization to birthday parties to training sessions, where she assists in the coaching.
Working with EduKick Madrid this year has been an inspiring challenge, which has already taught me many new skills. Since the student-athletes who attend EduKick Madrid come from very different cultural backgrounds, it is an adjustment for all of them to be surrounded by new people and to be in a new environment. Fortunately, the main reason we are all here is for football, and football is powerful in itself; it unites us and reminds us that we are all here for the same reasons — to play, to improve, and to enjoy the game. Football is our universal language and through a caring staff and a common love for football, we are all continuously growing as students, players, and people. – Ashley Lehr
As EduKick Madrid expands their football and education courses to women, more female participants will be taking advantage of this opportunity previously only offered to male soccer players around the world. All of the participating female will have the opportunity to play with a local Spanish female team, Lehr had the opportunity to play with the Colmenar Viejo Femenino women’s team.
My experience has been absolutely fantastic, as it has allowed me to be immersed in Spanish culture, learn and practice the Spanish language, and continue playing football in a competitive women’s league. Since I have actually lived the experience of a future EduKick Madrid woman participant, I highly recommend it to any female who is devoted to football. – Ashley Lehr
As for Lehr’s future, she knows where she’s going both academically and professionally.
In the short run, I hope to study a Masters of Business Administration in Sports Management in Madrid and continue to better the educational and football experience with our EduKick participants. In the long run, my goal is to be a Director of an athletic program, possibly at a university or for a professional team in the United States.
Experience the language, football, and cultural experience of a lifetime!
