Day 3 Course & Calgary Foothills
Busy 3rd day on the course with 56 boys and girls in attendance, the weather was a shocker and the rain did not stop all day (Love the English summer!!)
It didn't affect the day as we always have the sportshall to use for days just like this one :)
Our coaches organised an action packed programme for everyone and the players went home having had a taste of indoor 5 a side and futsal to keep them going throughout the rain.I must also mention that the behaviour and attitude of the players was excellent and kept the fun going :)
My visit to see successful Canadian club Calgary Foothills and coach Leon Hapgood
Whilst the coaches were doing a great job back in Torquay i went to visit my best friend Leon Hapgood who had travelled over to the UK with two teams, U13s and U14s from Calgary Foothills for a "Live like a Pro" tour.
The 12 days include staying at Mount Kelly College in Tavistock and using their excellent facilities to host games against professional clubs.
So far they have played Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and i watched them play Swindon Town on Wednesday. They have shown their class against the best in this area with good performances and wins and did so again in the game i watched with a 6-2 win and a 2-2 draw. They will also be playing Reading and Chelsea at the end of the week.
It was nice to spend time with Leon who left England 9 years ago to take up the post in Canada and he has not looked back since, he has helped build a club that has just over 3000 players, their own full size indoor pitch and training facility, a U23 PDL team and is now just about to be part of a Canadian professional league set up. Its safe to say the hard work has paid off.
It was a great experience to see how Leon and the coaches work and to pick his brains on what they do over there. They have a great team of coaches and it was great to meet Wayne Cleverly (Clevs) and Jonathan Wheeldon (Jay) the other coaches who travelled over as well. The enthusiasm they showed and the relationships with the players was refreshing to see and the knowledge they have between them was worth staying up for to listen to their stories and ideas.
I also had the pleasure in meeting the organiser of the tour Tommy Wheeldon snr, an ex pro and A licence who's experience in football is right up there with the best of them. Im hoping to hear some stories when we next meet as im sure he has some crackers!!!
All in all it was an amazing day despite the rubbish weather and it has given me some new ideas to bring back to Select Soccer but more than that it was great to see my best mate again and catch up like old times.
Im sure the club and all involved will continue to flourish and they deserve all the rewards that come with it, i wish them good luck for the season and hope to see them all again soon.
Oggy
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