By Matt Pascarella
If ever there was a definition of community it was evident during Windham’s Eagle Soccer Camp. In its first year, this week-long camp was run by the varsity girls’ and boys’ soccer programs of Windham High School and took place from July 24 to July 28 at Windham High School. |
| Counselors and varsity girls' soccer players Olivia Shaw, front, and Marley Jarvais give a demonstration at the Eagle Soccer Camp on Friday, July 28 at Windham High School. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA |
The camp combined players of all skill levels from kindergarten to eighth grade and they had the help of current and graduated high school players, as well as varsity coaches and a variety of community members. The goal was to provide an affordable community-based high-quality soccer instructional environment.
“This is building a program for the future,” said Eagle Soccer Camp organizer and Windham boys’ varsity soccer coach Jeff Neal. “The camp was about providing a niche service that would benefit both the Windham Youth South Association program and school teams; we have Windham Youth Soccer Association, high school, and college kids out here. All at the same field at the same time interacting with each other – that’s beautiful. This was a way where I could see we could kind of glue it all together and provide a little bit of cohesion and offer supports across the board.”
“It’s important for the younger kids to have older girl role models,” said Windham junior Emily Talbot. “It’s a good experience for us to be with the younger kids who will be playing high school and for them to help us and see what it’s like to [play] with the older kids.”
Talbot said it was a great opportunity to work with the boys’ varsity soccer team more because the teams are separate during the season. She enjoyed watching the younger kids have fun and get involved in playing the game they love.
Windham junior Luke Cunniffe said the week was good and the camper’s energy has been through the roof. Cunniffe said it made him excited for the future of the program. Spending a week as a coach made Cunniffe see the game differently. During the season, it can get stressful, so to see the kids playing unconditionally with a smile on their faces makes it super fun and makes him remember why they all started playing.
Windham graduate Julia McKenna really looked forward to jumping into this week. She was impressed by how resilient the second graders in her group were. It was very hot during the week, the kids were tired, but they wanted to learn.
McKenna said this was a positive experience and she enjoyed getting to know the kids on a personal level as well as being able to help them on the soccer field.
Fifth grader Natalie Brey joined the camp because she likes soccer and wanted to get better. She said it was a positive experience and she learned new moves like how to keep the ball away from a defender. She would eventually like to play in high school and college.
“Surround yourself with awesome people and amazing things happen,” said Neal.
The camp was successful because of the people involved. The campers kept their attitudes positive through the heat, tried their best and were willing to try new stuff. The staff, including athlete trainer Casey Sinclair, were the ones making it happen, making it a success.
Windham varsity boys’ soccer junior Sam Rogers said the week was a success because everyone loves the sport, and it’s been a good week with a lot of kids learning about soccer. He likes being a role model for younger players.
“Our goal was to help run a camp that served the entire community,” said Windham girls’ varsity soccer coach Deb Lebel. “We’ve connected with 10 to 12 kids in our group, and they know us and know us well. And also know the players on the field, so when they come to watch a varsity game, they are cheering on someone they know and feel really connected to.”
Lebel said an unexpected outcome of the week was the boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer teams getting to work together and become more united. There’s been a lot of excitement; kids want to increase their skillsets and aspire to accomplish as much as they can.
Eighth grader Luke Hangge is a goalie and said he wanted to improve his footwork. The week went well, and he’s learned to have control with his feet. He said he really learned a lot and enjoyed the camp; the coaches made it fun and structured. He would like to participate in it again. <
“This is building a program for the future,” said Eagle Soccer Camp organizer and Windham boys’ varsity soccer coach Jeff Neal. “The camp was about providing a niche service that would benefit both the Windham Youth South Association program and school teams; we have Windham Youth Soccer Association, high school, and college kids out here. All at the same field at the same time interacting with each other – that’s beautiful. This was a way where I could see we could kind of glue it all together and provide a little bit of cohesion and offer supports across the board.”
The camp was broken up into morning and afternoon sessions with campers divided into groups by age. The morning sessions were about working on skills, while the afternoons were an opportunity to apply those skills in scrimmages and activities.
“It’s important for the younger kids to have older girl role models,” said Windham junior Emily Talbot. “It’s a good experience for us to be with the younger kids who will be playing high school and for them to help us and see what it’s like to [play] with the older kids.”
Talbot said it was a great opportunity to work with the boys’ varsity soccer team more because the teams are separate during the season. She enjoyed watching the younger kids have fun and get involved in playing the game they love.
Windham junior Luke Cunniffe said the week was good and the camper’s energy has been through the roof. Cunniffe said it made him excited for the future of the program. Spending a week as a coach made Cunniffe see the game differently. During the season, it can get stressful, so to see the kids playing unconditionally with a smile on their faces makes it super fun and makes him remember why they all started playing.
Windham graduate Julia McKenna really looked forward to jumping into this week. She was impressed by how resilient the second graders in her group were. It was very hot during the week, the kids were tired, but they wanted to learn.
McKenna said this was a positive experience and she enjoyed getting to know the kids on a personal level as well as being able to help them on the soccer field.
Fifth grader Natalie Brey joined the camp because she likes soccer and wanted to get better. She said it was a positive experience and she learned new moves like how to keep the ball away from a defender. She would eventually like to play in high school and college.
“Surround yourself with awesome people and amazing things happen,” said Neal.
The camp was successful because of the people involved. The campers kept their attitudes positive through the heat, tried their best and were willing to try new stuff. The staff, including athlete trainer Casey Sinclair, were the ones making it happen, making it a success.
Windham varsity boys’ soccer junior Sam Rogers said the week was a success because everyone loves the sport, and it’s been a good week with a lot of kids learning about soccer. He likes being a role model for younger players.
“Our goal was to help run a camp that served the entire community,” said Windham girls’ varsity soccer coach Deb Lebel. “We’ve connected with 10 to 12 kids in our group, and they know us and know us well. And also know the players on the field, so when they come to watch a varsity game, they are cheering on someone they know and feel really connected to.”
Lebel said an unexpected outcome of the week was the boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer teams getting to work together and become more united. There’s been a lot of excitement; kids want to increase their skillsets and aspire to accomplish as much as they can.
Eighth grader Luke Hangge is a goalie and said he wanted to improve his footwork. The week went well, and he’s learned to have control with his feet. He said he really learned a lot and enjoyed the camp; the coaches made it fun and structured. He would like to participate in it again. <
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