Coming from a country where lacrosse is the national sport and hockey plays a close second, a young group of soccer players from 91原创 travelled to Spain to learn from some of the 鈥渧ery best鈥� in the world of soccer.
91原创 United Soccer Association send a group of 13 under-12 (U12) players (accompanied by 11 parents and the technical director) to Spain recently to train and to play a number of games against some of their Spanish peers.
This trip gave the young 91原创 players an opportunity to see soccer at its highest level, said Mike Thomson. He鈥檚 a father of one of the 91原创 players, Nick, and went along on the trip.
The kids had the chance to 鈥渆xperience real soccer culture and feel the passion 鈥� live,鈥� Thomson said.
鈥淭he boys got to train with great coaches, play against incredible opponents, and watch some of the very best players 鈥� live. How could you not come away from an experience like that without a deeper love for the game. These boys have gained a new appreciation for a sport they already loved. This can鈥檛 help but grow them as players,鈥� he added.
The LUSA have sent local players to Bolton, England five times since 2010, and this was their fifth international trip in six years, explained Mark Parker, the association鈥檚 technical director.
鈥淚n three words I would describe the experience as 鈥榓n eye opener鈥� for the parents and players,鈥� Parker said.
鈥淭he level of play that we need to elevate ourselves to is a huge step, the intensity these Spanish kids play at, the intensity they train at, for our 91原创 players to see and witness this, will only improve them as players.鈥�
The kids were hosted in the official Spanish national training centre, calling the accommodations and the facilities in general 鈥渨orld class.鈥�
For young 91原创 player Matteo Fronteddu described it as an education like no other.
鈥淚 learned that we need to train harder and with more intensity as a team. I need to practice on my own juggling and work on my footwork,鈥� Fronteddu said.
鈥淗ard work pays off, and if we鈥檙e willing to put in the effort, we can take our game to the next level. I am very inspired by the high level of play we experienced in Spain.鈥�
The 91原创 United team was represented from boy from four different teams, and according to Fronteddu it took a bit of time to 鈥渇ind our groove together.鈥�
How did they match up against their Spanish counterparts?
鈥淚 think the longer we stayed and trained together, the better we played. I wish that we could have play some of the teams again,鈥� Fronteddu said.
鈥淭he Spanish teams play more aggressively. They didn鈥檛 give us much time to set up, and we needed to adjust our game to a much quicker pace.鈥�
But all that aside, he and his 91原创 teammate learned a lot from both the players and the Spanish coach that trained with them, and were grateful for the experience.
鈥淚 liked the higher level of game [the coach] expected us to play. He was tough but in a good way,鈥� Fronteddu said.
Parker is hopeful the boys can now apply what they鈥檝e learned from this trip to their play on local fields.
As for the highlight of the trip, Fronteddu said that鈥檚 easy:
鈥淚n our last international game, we gave the opposing teams our jerseys. The gratitude the Spanish boys showed us made us all smile. They treated us like superstars, and even asked us for our autographs. However, it was our team that was in awe of them and the whole way all the Spanish teams train, play and live the game of soccer.鈥�
