The 'From The Heart' feature series takes an in-depth look at St. Bonaventure student-athletes and coaches. Named for the beloved Merton's Heart that overlooks campus, this series will tell the stories of Bonnies athletic programs on and off the field. Click here for previous installments in the series.  

---

Four thousand sixty-eight miles or about 6,547 kilometers.

That's the distance from freshman goalkeeper Felix Schöne's hometown of Leipzig, Germany to St. Bonaventure University.

Schöne admitted something felt different with Bonnies first-year men's soccer head coach Mick Giordano the first time they met.

"He didn't try to sell me a perfect picture of college soccer," Schöne acknowledged. "He was honest and talked about my game in detail telling me what I was good at and what I needed to improve on."

For Giordano, Schöne came his way from a connection in Germany toward the end of the spring semester. Talks with Schöne progressed and Giordano wanted to make everyone involved comfortable and informed along the way.

"We sit down with the student-athlete and his family so they can gather who they are sending their son off to," Giordano emphasized.

Schöne had an impressive resume before coming to St. Bonaventure. He began his soccer career with Red Bull Leipzig's academy team until U-17s, then went on to play for FC Energie Cottbuss in the U-19 Bundesliga while being on an academy contract with their first team in Liga. An academy contract is when a youth player trains and plays with a professional team while allowing the player to keep their college eligibility. 

"The level, the pressure and possibility to train with the professional team at just 17 years old forced me to grow up fast and helped me shape my mentality as a goalkeeper," Schöne continued. "It taught me to always stay calm and focused, even in high pressure phases."

While Coach Giordano believes talent can be taught in any environment Schöne's experience was unique.

"We believe Felix's experiences help our program grow as he can bring those learning moments to his teammates and program," Giordano said.

The process for getting Schöne to campus was a stressful and long one. It involves applications, NCAA paperwork, visa paperwork and worst of all waiting for approvals.

"You're excited, but you feel the pressure because you're leaving everything behind for a dream that isn't guaranteed," Schöne revealed.

Homesickness hit Schöne early with an eight-hour flight and the Atlantic Ocean separating him from his family and friends in an instant.

"Those first few weeks were really rough to be honest," Schöne revealed. "I handled it by staying busy, building a routine and calling my girlfriend whenever possible so I didn't sit there thinking about the distance."

Coach Giordano tries to implement a team culture that creates a family and a bond amongst everyone.

"We put a premium on signing good humans," Giordano explained. "We try and help players transition by spending time off the field to really get to know one another as humans not just athletes."

In his freshman season with the Bonnies, Schöne started 13 matches in net and was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week in September following a strong start to his American career.
 

American and international basketball have always widely been considered different stylistically, but soccer is much the same. In German soccer, the game has more strategy and patient buildup in comparison to the U.S. soccer where passes are more direct and transitions are quicker.

"As a keeper you immediately notice how athletic and aggressive the forwards are, they press nonstop and go all in on every duel," Schöne said.

"In Germany you may make 7, 8, 9 passes to get to the goal, but in college soccer they might skip those passes and go straight from point A to point B, so it was a learning curve," said assistant coach Danny Bermingham."

Coming to the U.S. meant transition on and off the field. There were culture shocks all round for Schöne including wearing team gear around campus, professors asking about matches and people talking about following the team.

"The openness of people here surprised me," Schöne said. "Everyone acts like they've known you forever after ten minutes."

Some things still confuse Schöne about the differences in culture.

"I'm stilled trying to understand the food portions," Schöne quipped.

Despite all this, Schöne came in and won the starting goalkeeper job as a freshman.

"It was a tight battle from our goalkeeper room," Giordano said. "Felix did a great job of doing the basics at a world class level."

Despite the Bonnies finishing 3-9-3 this season amid flashes of future potential, Schöne has the same confidence as he did from the start.

"I trust this coaching staff a lot," Schöne added "They've been honest from day one and they care about developing players the right way."

---

For the latest news on St. Bonaventure athletics, stay connected on social media. Follow the Bonnies on X @GoBonnies and get men's soccer updates @BonniesMSoccer. Keep up with the Bonnies on Facebook /GoBonnies and on Instagram @GoBonnies. Bonnies Men's Soccer can be found on Instagram @bonniesmsoccer