This year we faced temperatures which we had previously not seen in the month of July. Every day was above 31 degrees with humidity making it feel like 38. On Thursday July 21st a massive heat wave hit London with temperatures of 41 degrees and with humidity it felt like 49, so we opted to go indoors for the first time ever in camp history at the indoor gym at Fanshawe to continue our training.
This year we have made some positive changes to improve the experience of the camp. The online receipts and online report cards helped us facilitate faster, smoother and more exciting camp introductions and graduations. We also had time to recognize the talented athletes and choose the MVP of the camp which this year was Michael Leclair from Brampton (in the picture by himself).
All in all about 60 athletes attended the camp this year and the survey results coming in so far are very positive. The players and coaches alike very much enjoyed themselves during the week. The Campers loved the fact that they could eat lunch in the cafeteria and they were very respectful and well-mannered about cleaning up after themselves.
The coaches enjoyed being at the camp and getting “53 friend requests” and getting asked to go to soccer games. They all said it was nice to be part of the Eurostar Community and make connections with the next wave of professional players. The kids were in surprisingly high spirits throughout the week. The trip to the Pinery for beach soccer was well received and the kids enjoyed training in the sand.
Talented Players Identified
The coaches were very impressed with some of the talented players at the camp. All in all 6 additional players were identified for our Talent Database. They have been invited to our private social networking site. It allows our players to be seen by some of the top scouts, agents, coaches and board members of European teams. Throughout the next few years these players will receive our counsel to improve their online profile for better exposure and help them through tryouts and contracts.
Players heading off to Milan
Academy players were also at the camp to prepare for a showcase in Milan, Italy. It is always a pleasure to see our talented players abroad playing with some of the world elites. Scouts from Roma, AC Milan and Lazio are expected to be in attendance. The event is occurring as I type this and I will have more on this story once they actually come back from Milan with more pictures. I wish you good luck Lions.
Thank you
I have attached more camp pictures at the bottom of this article. I also want to take the time to thank all who attended Eurostar Camps this year and we hope to see you again next year with some hopefully cooler weather.
