International soccer camp (video)

By Jonathon Brodie/London Community New / Twitter: @jonathonbrodie If Canada one day becomes an international powerhouse in soccer, Canadians may have to thank Academy Garrincha’s international soccer camp. The weeklong training session wrapped up Friday (July 6) with coaches from across North America and all over Europe running the camp and some having resume’s boasting Arsenal FC or Belguim’s Club Brugge on them. The global bench bosses made the long trip to teach kids how to play a more European style of soccer, better yet football, with short passes and a more condensed game on the field rather than the typical kick-and-run usually found in Canada. “Basically, in soccer there is only one world—you must play or you won’t,” said Alberto Pascual Garcia, who made the trip from Spain, where he coaches a professional team, to teach the youth cramming the fields of City Wide Sports Park. “If you know soccer and you play, it is a good challenge to understand what is the best way to communicate.” This is the second-year of the camp, hosted by local Academy Garrincha, and the sessions are already looking to be a winner. Since last summer the camp has doubled its coaches to eight and jumped from 50 players, between the ages of nine to 19 years old, to 95 athletes. A few players even took a plane ride of their own to attend the camp, coming from Calgary and Fort McMurray in Alberta. “This week for me is a dream,” said Academy Garrincha’s technical director Jose “Garrincha” Figueiredo. “Last year was a success, but this year definitely (a success).” For a previous article on the camp, visit http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2012/06/forest-city-goes-international-with-soccer-camp/. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bx0lWdzZAY&list=UUbU2GkpXj9UqH5NjqS0FyUA&index=1&feature=plcp [gallery link="file"] Find us on Facebook: London Community News