July 19, 2008
24 players received a surprise when they were notified in a month ago that they would be given the opportunity to participate in a free SSA sponsored camp put on by World Class Coaching here in Spokane. For those unfamiliar with World Class Coaching, they produce a bi-monthly soccer coaching magazine that is subscribed to by thousands of coaches around the world raging from club and high school coaches to professional clubs in Europe as well as National Team coaches. You can read more about them by following this link: World Class Coaching.
11 players from Kevin Moon’s (SSA Technical Director) U17 Girl’s Spokane Shadow team along with 13 Academy players (U16 & above) were selected for this opportunity. Academy players were given this the chance to participate primarily based on their participation in the Academy programs offered over the last several years. We, along with our sponsor Northern Capital Management, felt that the commitment they have shown over the years deserved a reward and so SSA arranged to have WCC bring in one of their Elite Team Camps this past week.
A coach from one of the largest professional clubs in the UK was flown in for the 5 day camp in which he put the group through 2.5 hours of training a night over the course of a week. Players were trained technically, went over specific tactical situations, had a strenuous fitness day (in which the team trained for 2 hours straight in soccer specific fitness exercises used by some of the top Academies in the UK) as well as being coached from small to full side games. Positional relationships were gone over as well as establishing a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in the game from a dedication standpoint.
It was a great week of training and we were excited to have been a part of such a unique experience in our area.
Special thanks to Northern Capital Management for sponsoring this event. Without their support we would not have been able to bring in this quality camp offered by arguably one of the most well known and professional soccer organizations out there. We would also like to thank Loreen and Greg for their photo and video efforts! On behalf of the players thank you to everyone involved!
Stay tuned for photos of the event.
