Two local soccer organizations are partnering this summer for a special youth soccer camp. Nelson Youth Soccer and the Whitecaps Kootenay Academy Centre will present four days of skills training with professional coach Brett Adams.
“It’s a great opportunity to find out where you are at with soccer, see how much you love the game, and work with a professional coach,” says Nelson Youth Soccer chair Chuck Bennett. “And it is a great way to spend a week in the summer—lots of fun, not high pressure, no tryouts, and here are some skills you can learn.”
The camp will run from July 13 to 17 at the Lakeside fields, in three categories:
- Mini Caps (U5 to U6) Basic skills and fun—10 am to noon
- Skills camp (U7 to U14) Themed sessions for all levels—10 am to noon
- Skills World Cup Camp (U7 to U14) Skills camp and afternoon World Cup tournament—10 am to 3 pm
The Whitecaps academy has been running soccer camps for advanced players for years, and this collaboration with Nelson Youth Soccer will extend both organizations' activities.
Head coach and former semi-professional soccer player Brett Adams runs the academy’s programs.
“Nelson Youth Soccer has never run a summer camp,” Adams says, “but we are bringing them on board because we are the professional soccer club but we feel it is important to involve the community in what we are doing. To run a skills camp together (with Nelson Youth Soccer) makes perfect sense.”
Bennett agrees and says that Nelson Youth Soccer does not normally have access to professional coaches, and that the Whitecaps academy will be able tap into to the almost 1000 players in Nelson Youth Soccer.
Adams will be overseeing the camp, joined by Sam Heap, a Whitecaps member. He says the Whitecaps will be sending out a professional player for one of the camp days, “to do some coaching and interact with the kids. No other camp provider can offer the chance to meet a professional soccer player.”
Registration prices are:
- Mini-Caps: $129 plus GST
- Skills Camp: $149 plus GST
- Skills Camp World Cup: $175 plus GST
Players who register before May 1 will receive a $10 discount. Registration can be done online at www.whitecapsfc.com/kootenays or by calling 1-855-932-1932.