Professional soccer players to teach at camp

Published 12:01 am Friday, July 18, 2014

NATCHEZ — Next week, professional British soccer players will be in Natchez to teach the youth about a different type of “football.”

The British Soccer Camps 2014, sponsored by Challenger Sports, will make its way to Adams County Christian School Monday through Saturday to share their knowledge about soccer to players ages 6 through 18.

ACCS head soccer coach Jimmy Allgood said the British camp found its way to ACCS through the Internet.

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“(Ryan McConnel of the British Pro Camps with Challenger sports) got in touch with me and said they had been watching the ACCS boys soccer team throughout the playoffs and the state championship game through the school’s live stream at accslive.com, and they wanted to come down to do a camp here,” Allgood said.

High school girls team camp ages 13-18 will be from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily, while the boys will have the evening session from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The two-day skills camp for ages 6-12 will be Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The two British camp counselors sharing their skills and knowledge will be Matthew Slack and Kurtis Graves.

Allgood said he expects two British players to come out and show Miss-Lou players what soccer is all about.

The camp will contain the British player’s own brand of practices, coached games, a camp world cup, cultural education and character building.

“I want these kids to be able to get what a pro’s perspective about where they started off and what makes them unique and standout in Liverpool, England,” Allgood said. “I want the folks to spend time with our kids in the Miss-Lou and teach them everything they know.”

The camp is $115 per high school player, and $50 for ages 6-12.

Free gifts include a T-shirt, soccer ball, player evaluation form, a fold out poster and online coaching resources.

Allgood said he recommends preregistering for the camp, but will accept ongoing registration throughout the week.

“We have parents saying their child can only show up from Wednesday to Friday, and that is perfectly fine,” Allgood said.

To register, email Allgood at jimmy-allgood@adamschristian.org or call at 601-597-6658.