British Soccer Camp arrives at Deer Run Park

Young local soccer players will be treated to a week-long British Soccer Camp this week at Deer Run Park's soccer fields as Challenger Sports brings three coaches to Sidney.

Local insurance agent, Brooke DeNovellis, worked with the Cheyenne Counter Community Center to spread word about the camp after her own children attended a British Soccer Camp in Scottsbluff last year.

British Soccer Camps were originally run in 1985 as a division of All American Sports Inc. When the British Soccer Camp programs grew in popularity, Ron Matsch, Jim Jorgensen, Peter Arch and Alan Jones created Challenger Sports and acquired the rights of British Soccer on October 1, 1997.

Once a part of Challenger Sports, the British Soccer Camp program expanded nationwide.

Since its expansion, Challenger has continued to grow annually and now runs over 3,500 camps for 120,000 children. Challenger Sports has also established a sister company that helps manufacture and sell soccer uniforms directly to the United States.

Challenger Sports' British Soccer Camp sends coaches around the nation to conduct soccer camps on a weekly basis. Only 1000 of the most talented and enthusiastic coaches are recruited from the UK by Challenger Sports.

For Sidney's camp there are three coaches: Brits Adam Jackson and James Bellair, and Irishman Cian Wogan.

All three coaches arrived in Sidney late in the evening Sunday and met each other just before camp. "We go week by week," Wogan said. "We usually find out sometime Wednesday or Thursday where we'll be going next."

Last week, Wogan was in Kansas. After nine hours of travel, he arrived in Sidney and got to work conducting camp.

Approximately 40 kids will be attending this week's British Soccer Camp. The kids are divided into three different groups: First Kicks, MiniSoccer and Half Day.

First Kicks includes ages 3-4 and runs from 9-10 a.m., introducing kids to the very basic elements of the game. From 10:30-12 the MiniSoccer group meets, teaching 4-6 year-olds fundamentals and side games. The Half Day camp meets from 9-12 and is open to kids ages 10-14. Half Day focuses on individual techniques and skill development.

After checking-in on their first day, camp participants received a free soccer ball and t-shirt provided by Challenger's sister company. Once signed in, the kids get to work learning different drills and techniques.

"We've learned toe touches, dribbling and aiming," said camp participator Addy Stutzman.

Addy was part of a group focusing on passing techniques. Addy and the rest of her group practiced passing between partners and later, trying to hit orange cones with their passes. "You don't use your toes to kick," Addy said "because the ball goes in the air."

Each day the coaches will take the kids through a series of skill building practices including balance and control, dribbling, passing, shooting, heading, and defending. The kids will begin learning the techniques unguarded and slowly progress to practicing against opponents.

When asked about travelling the United States, Wogan said teaching American kids soccer is the easy part-it's adjusting to the cultural differences in vocabulary that's tricky. "We'll say 'Go grab your footballs,' and the kids will just look at us," Wogan said. "Then we remember. Ah, yes, soccer. Go grab your soccer balls."

When asked for a Kleenex by one boy, Wogan had to stop and think before responding "Oh, you mean a tissue."

On the first day, when the kids were instructed to grab their balls and dribble them, rather than move forward bouncing the ball from foot to foot, many of the kids picked up their soccer balls and began to dribble them like basketballs.

"It's just little funny things like that that you notice," Wogan said with a smile. "But with this camp, we're hoping to promote soccer in a small town like Sidney. Hopefully, we can put soccer on the map."