Timo de Graaf and Tren Drexhage will be joining Chowan University in North Carolina to pursue their masters in organizational leadership. Timo and Tren have been teammates at sv ARC since the age of 15, progressing through the academy to make their first-team debut in the Dutch Hoofdklasse at age 19. de Graaf, a 6ft5 center back, and Drexhage who’s comfortable playing as a striker and winger will be joining a team looking to win their conference championship after a tough loss in the semi-finals last season.
The combination of studying and playing seems perfect to us - Tren Drexhage
While still playing and scoring for sv ARC, Tren has studied Real Estate Management at Rotterdam University of Applied Science and Technology, whilst Timo graduated with a bachelor’s in Marketing and Management. In an interview with the Dutch daily newspaper, ‘Algemeen Dagblad’, de Graaf cited the opportunity for personal growth, the university’s ”absurdly good” facilities and experiencing a new culture, and being part of a tightly knit community as his reasons for making the move to Chowan.
Timo and Tren will be joining three fellow Dutch players at Chowan as well as assistant coach, Luke Staats, an ex-professional player who played for Volendam FC and SV Spakenburg.