The El Faro Soccer Academy has taken a new turn this year with many new amazing things happening. This year we have a new coach, Brittany, and she has completely taken over the girls side of the academy. Brittany and Gavin were married in August of last year and came down together with a joint mission and heart to strengthen the academy and work even more with the kids involved.“We’re implementing more structure and formal training this year so that we begin to walk and talk the culture of soccer” says Gavin.
There is more structure and now each student in the academy has their own pair of soccer cleats. This is hard to maintain with their feet always growing, but so far everyone has cleats and socks and is now so excited to play not having to worry about their feet getting stepped on or slipping. “In addition”, says Gavin, “we have new balls and practice jerseys that are helping us look the part of a team.”
The younger boys academy consists of 35 players. The older boys practice once a week and roughly 15-20 of them. The younger girls academy consists of 15-25 girls, depending on the day. The older girls academy consists of 15-20 girls and they practice once a week as well.
Gavin and Brittany have also started training two young kids from the village who show much potential in soccer. “Kike and Santiago is such a new labor of love for me. They both posses extraordinary talent and natural love for the game.” The purpose is to grow them into faith-filled players and provide them with the opportunity to receive one-on-one mentorship, professional level training, and attention. The academy includes physical training, bible devotions, nutrition and dietary instructions, body development, academic requirements, and lots of footwork and ball work. There are tons of challenges with not having materials needed and each player learns differently, but so far a huge success with Santiago and kike as they are pushing each other and hungry for more.
Besides soccer, Gavin and Brittany have team activities throughout the month usually consisting of swimming in the ocean or watching a movie with snacks. This year they also had the first team sleepover. This was an amazing experience and so much fun. For many of the kids it was their first time spending the night away from home. There were a variety of activities planned throughout the event. Some of the activities included a water balloon fight, scavenger hunt, swimming, video games, and a movie.
“It was an emotional experience for me tucking all the kids in to bed at night. I realized how much love I have for each and every one of them. My heart was overflowing with love.” The camp was a lot of fun and is something we plan on doing twice a year. It was a great bonding experience for all of the kids and we look forward to the next one.
Goals moving forward for the soccer academy are getting shorts for all of the students and also shin guards to complete the uniforms. Gavin and Brittany would also like to get more training materials to help the kids try new things and push their bodies and skills. This summer we are looking forward to film training session and individuals training for the players to learn to see the complete field during games and learn through video how and where they can improve with the ball.
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