Soccer camp a ball this year

Hungry Horse News

Elena Potter headed a soccer ball to her teammate during a drill in perfect form, watching as the ball bounced across the field exactly where she wanted it to go.

With a t-shirt that read "got soccer?" and a small flag of Argentina painted on her cheek, Potter, 12, was all smiles during the last day of the Challenger British Soccer Camp, held in Columbia Falls from July 11-15.

Earlier in the morning, the kids of the camp had broken into different groups, been assigned a country and competed in a mini-world cup. Potter, with her Argentina teammates, played well and finished with a flourish.

"We got first," she said proudly.

The Challenger camp, full of mini-games and skill drills, was designed to teach fundamentals, with an emphasis placed on the enjoyment of the game.

The 15-year-old program was started to help teach soccer skills to clubs and players across the country and routinely employs experienced coaches to help guide the children as they learn.

Neil Watkins, from the United Kingdom, was a first-time coach this year and said that his experiences playing in Europe could help benefit the children of the camp.

"I originally played professionally until I got injured," he said.

Watkins, a former player for the Luton Football Club, said that after his playing days, coaching became a real goal.

"Basically I wanted to get into coaching," he said. "I coach my college team back home, the women's team."

Watkins coaches at Cardiff College, where he said they run many of the same drills he teaches in camp. For the youngsters across the sea, however, special care is taken to ensure that the enjoyment is there.

"We coach them new skills, but we also coach fun, and also the right way to play the game," he said. "It's brilliant, all the kids love it."

Potter said she has been attending the camp for the past few years and that there isn't another like it in the area.

"First of all, I love soccer," she said. "I haven't been to many soccer camps that I like."

For her, the laid back approach by the coaches is what sets Challenger apart.

"The coaches here are awesome, they are really good," she said. "They're calm and try to work with people. It's a good place to learn skills."

Watkins said that having exposure such as this will help soccer grow in popularity and help children learn how to play better in the coming years.

"In the U.S., you don't have much soccer on the TV," he said. "They can definitely learn from that."

Potter said that she'll be back again next year and hopes to see more people join her.

"I would recommend it to a lot of people," she said.

- More information on the Challenger program can be found online at www.challengersports.com