Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Socorro youth get their kicks at soccer camp

Nat Holland El Defensor Chieftain Reporter, nholland@dchieftain.com

It's an annual tradition for the American Youth Soccer Organization — to bring experienced soccer players from the United Kingdom across the Atlantic Ocean to instruct American athletes about the game.

Three coaches are in Socorro this week to share their skills with local players and give a few tips to AYSO coaches to boot.

The veteran of the group is Dave White, from Glasgow, Scotland, who has been involved in coaching for more than 20 years. This is his eighth year of coming to the U.S. as a summer camp coach.

Along with soccer skills, White said, the coaches reinforce the AYSO philosophies: everyone plays, balanced teams, open registration, positive coaching, good sportsmanship and player development.

"The philosophies are, at ground level, very admirable," said White.

"It's not just for talk," added Tobias Palm, one of the visiting coaches. "Kids should have fun and want to come to soccer camp. Obviously there's an element of competition, but that's not the only thing."

One of the struggles is with parents who don't understand the philosophies, said Palm.

"They try and have one team dominate, but that means not everyone will have fun," he said.

Making sure the participants in the camps have fun is one of the key roles of the coaches while trying to teach basic principles.

Palm is tasked with coaching the youngest age group this week.

"You have to conceal the coaching stuff in games," said Palm. "It's very difficult and you don't always accomplish much."

"The easiest way to get them (the players) to work for you is to make it entertaining," said White.

While the younger players are learning basics, the older players may be learning more tactics and tricks. Each day is focused around a theme, such as passing, control, shooting or defending.

"We are trying to teach all different elements," said visiting coach Pritisan Patel. "One technique, generally used by all coaches, is instead of explaining things we have the kids figure things out. We let them discover these things and that usually keeps them motivated."

To keep the interest up, the coaches take regular breaks to avoid tiring out the young players and cover more than just soccer moves. One quiz covered a few questions about the U.K. and its sub-regions.

"We were just trying to get the kids to find out where we're from and how we do things," said Patel.

One of the big differences in the U.S., said White, is how many girls play soccer.

"If we were to hold a camp back home it would be about seven-eighths boys," he said. "It's a sign of the popularity of the sports amongst the girls here."

One of the biggest challenges is difficulty with understanding accents, the coaches said.

The ideal number of players in a group is around 12 to 13, said Palm, to make sure each individual gets enough one-on-one attention.

By the end of the first day, each coach has learned all of the names of the players in his group.

"I was surprised myself since I am horrible with names," said Palm. "And I can still remember most of my kids names from (four weeks ago)."

Palm said one of his original worries was whether or not he would make an impact as a coach.

"By Wednesday (the third day of a camp) I have kids running up saying, 'Look — look what I can do,' and showing me what I taught them. It's a very vivid example," said Palm. "It's a great feeling."

The coaches are midway through an eight-week tour that will end toward the end of August. White plans to extend his stay until September, to go and visit some of the families he has befriended from previous years.

"It's always great staying with the families that host us," said Palm.

On Monday, July 27, the group went boulder climbing with their Socorro hosts, and experienced a taste of New Mexico weather.

"The lightning and thunderstorms right next to the sunshine is what I call weird — especially since we got caught out in it," said Palm.

The group got hit with a downpour and hail while climbing, then got stuck in the mud briefly while trying to drive out.

Patel, who just finished a coaching and sports development degree, plans on becoming a physical education instructor.

Palm, who was born in Kenya, picked up the sport at a young age while living in Malawi. He continued to play after he moved to Namibia and became a certified referee after he moved to New York. Currently he is attending university in London at the Royal Holloway.

For more information about Socorro's AYSO Region 364 visit www.ayso364.org.

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