O’Fallon soccer camp has international flavor

Last week, soccer players in the O’Fallon area had a rare opportunity to learn and refine skills with an international twist. O’Fallon hosted a Challenger Sports British Soccer camp.

Over 25 players attended the week-long camp held on the Astroturf soccer field at Family Sports Park. A number of soccer players met every morning for the camp, but there was also an afternoon session. The players worked with international coach Kieran Dowling of Dublin, Ireland and semi-pro soccer player Liam O’Sullivan of Birmingham, England on various soccer fundamentals.

“This week has been amazing,” said Dowling who coaches soccer year-round at Pearse College in Dublin. “(O’Fallon) is such a beautiful town and the people are so friendly.”

Each day, the campers were taught drills involving different particular aspects of soccer. That was followed by a head-to-head scrimmage, where kids were encouraged to apply the skills they’ve learned.

Challenger's British Soccer Camp is one of the most popular soccer camps in the country. With an innovative curriculum that develops skills, speed and confidence in players of all ages and abilities, British Soccer Camps provides players with the rare opportunity to receive high-level soccer coaching from a team of international experts. In addition to teaching new skills and improving game performance, the soccer camp provided lessons in character development, cultural education and is the most fun your child can have learning the sport they love.

With a full time recruitment and training program in the United Kingdom, and thousands of qualified candidates to choose from, Challenger only recruits the most talented and enthusiastic coaches who have a genuine interest in providing your players with a memorable and positive experience. Challenger Sports will hold over 3,000 British Soccer camps this summer and will coach over 150,000 players between the ages of 3 and 19.

The local camp ended Friday with a 40-minute World Cup challenge, where the players, who pretended to represent different countries, showcased the new skills they learned throughout the week.

The local tourney was followed by coaches challenging the campers to a water fight. It was a fitting way to the end camp, as players competed in sweltering heat, with tempatures reaching in the high 90s, throughout the week.

“It was great to be out here with the kids,” said O’Sullivan, who traveled to the U.S. in 2012.

Since then, interest in soccer has grown by leaps and bounds, he said.

O’Sullivan attributed that increased interest to the U.S. women’s soccer team winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.