British soccer coaches teach Fairchild youth

Published Aug. 17, 2011
By Scott King
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Fairchild Youth Programs hosted a British Soccer Camp for base youth Aug. 8 - 12.

This is the fourth year that the base has offered this camp for Fairchild youth during summer months.

Challenger Sports, a United Kingdom-based company, approached the base in 2008 with the idea of providing summer soccer camps for the base and the initiative took off from there.

"We had preliminary discussions with Challenger Sports about the camp and what they offered," said John Smith, 92nd Force Support Squadron youth programs chief.

"Following the discussions, we felt that their philosophy of youth skill development was in-line with what we do in Air Force Youth Sports Programs so we decided to bring them on, and so far, all the camps have been a big hit with the kids."

This year's camp was for youth ages 3-16 and was broken down into several age groups and lengths of time. The kids participated in camp each day, and the week culminated with a special event on the last day of camp where the instructors had a mini "World Cup Match" with kids and teams representing different countries around the world.

"The instructors are all from the U.K. and have experience playing for British club teams," Smith said. "They are put through a serious training regimen prior to being placed in the program through Challenger Sports and then they travel throughout the U.S. to various locations for a week at a time -- including Fairchild. The coaches were placed with 'host' families whose children participated in the camps, which also made this a very unique arrangement."

The British instructors really enjoyed coaching Fairchild's kids.

"This is a good way to get out of the U.K. for the summer and travel to the U.S. to teach kids our soccer practices," said Anthony O'Brien, a Liverpool, England native. "I've been playing soccer since I could walk so I like passing on my knowledge to these kids. It's different coaching the kids at Fairchild because a lot of them are world-traveled and they are also pretty disciplined - it's been smashing [terrific] for me to learn new cultures."

The parents also think this program is a good fit for Fairchild kids.

"The British coaches brought something different," said Molly Marshall, parent and a major with the 141st Air Refueling Wing. "They brought, of course their distinctive accent, but also taught the kids sportsmanship with excitement and humor. They really identified with them - it's amazing what they learned in such a limited time."
Eight-year-old Sara, Marshall's daughter, was glad to have shared her experience with the British coaches.

"I think it's cool they traveled so far to help us," she said. "They helped me and I liked the way they talked."

All in all, the soccer camp went well for the kids and the coaches.

"I think this was a great opportunity for our kids," Smith said. "They got to experience a high-quality form of instruction from people with a different culture. So, not only were they exposed to excellent skill development in an international forum, but they also learned to appreciate the efforts of other countries - win win for all."