Local Kids Turn Out for British Soccer Camp at Beaumont Sports Park

Carl Marcellini was being a good parent when he brought his daughter Katelyn out to Beaumont Sports Park on Monday.

He likes to keep her busy and wants her to try new things.

Neither have dabbled much in the sport of soccer but that didn’t matter when they signed up for this week’s British Soccer Camp.

“The main thing is being active and to be social,” Carl Marcellini said. “It’s about interaction with other kids, to follow instructions, to have fun.”

That task will likely be accomplished because the camp is a hands-on event, one that keeps the participants busy throughout a myriad of fun and easy soccer-related tasks.

“It’ our first soccer camp,” said Marcellini, who has also had his daughter take part in swim and tennis camps and girl scouts activities. “We’ve been at the park and kicked the ball around but that’s about it. We aren’t serious about soccer. I just like to do a lot of different things.”

The British Soccer Camp is making its debut in Beaumont.

The camp is in its twentieth year and is conducted by coaches from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The camps are offered to soccer players’ ages 3 through 16.

For the first time the camps will feature the “1000 Touches Curriculum,” which features drills and practices designed to improve individual ball control, foot skills, fake and moves.

“What we want is for the kids to have an experience they enjoy and that it sticks,” said Nathan Mushtaq, one of two coaches conducting an early morning session on Monday. “The biggest thing is that we want these kids to have fun with the sport.”

Mushtaq hopes his camp participants leave camp with good memories.

“We want to make it a fun as possible,” Mushtaq said. “We want to make it memorable. We want the kids to look back and feel it wasn’t a chore.”