Learning the basics

Published 11:59 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The rainy weather this week hasn’t stopped soccer enthusiasts from learning the basics at the Challenger Sports British Soccer (CSBS) camp being held at the Andalusia Sports Complex soccer field.

Players between the ages of 3-14 from all across the United States will participate in the camp this summer. Instructors from Europe will teach 100,000 kids about proper soccer techniques.

CSBS coach Jack Williams, of Somerset, England, said this is his first year coaching with CSBS and said the camp has gone well.

“It’s been good,” he said. “It’s quite a big place and in Florida I’ve been basically around Orlando. It’s a lot of stuff going on. Coming up here it’s sort of away from everything else and away from the city. It’s been quite nice.”

Williams said he has been emphasizing the importance of learning the “basics” at the camp this week.

“I just try to drill in the basics,” he said. “(We want to teach) how to pass the ball, dribble the ball, what to do with the ball after you receive it.”

Williams said he grew up playing soccer and, that in England, the sport is as popular there as baseball is here in the United States.

“It’s the equivalent of baseball, football and basketball put together in England,” Williams said. “I grew up playing it and the opportunity came up. I heard about this through a friend of mine who had done it and said it was a great experience and I just said, ‘why not.’”

One thing Williams said he would like for the Andalusia campers to take away from this camp is the value of learning the fundamentals.

“I just want them to get the general grasp and idea of how to play and to try and get to a level where they can progress learning the basics,” he said. “Once you get the basics down, the rest will follow. So, just at the moment getting the fundamentals. Here it’s getting the basics in.”

The soccer camp will conclude on Friday.