By Rob Potter
GRAHAMSVILLE — September 2, 2003 – The Major League Soccer (MLS) camp made a stop in Grahamsville last week.
AYSO 647 of Tri-Valley sponsored the MLS camp, which was held from Monday, August 25 through Friday, August 29 at the Grahamsville Fairgrounds.
About 35 kids between the ages of 5 and 16 attended the camp. The camp was divided into two sessions, one in the morning mostly for the younger kids and an evening session primarily for the older campers.
One of the camp’s coaches was Rene Scott, a semipro soccer player from Trinidad. Scott is also a physical education teacher in his homeland.
“We teach the concept of fun first,” he said. “We want the kids to develop a love for the game. Then they will enjoy improving their skills and playing the game.”
“It’s a good thing,” said Steve Jackson of Monticello as he watched his sons, 8-year-old Shane and 5-year-old Shune, participate in one of the camp’s drills. “They’re learning more about the game, which is really good.”
Jackson also liked the way Scott and other coaches guided the young camp attendees.
“These guys are very skilled on how to deal with the kids,” he said. “The teachers keep things at a fun level for the kids.”
Chances are the youngsters will take the lessons learned at the camp and apply them during the upcoming AYSO season. Many local AYSO teams begin their season this coming weekend.
The T-V event was the second MLS camp in Sullivan County this summer. An MLS Camp was held from July 28 through August 1 at Rotary Park in Livingston Manor.
MLS Camps has been the nation’s number one soccer provider for 34 years. Each year, over 270,000 young soccer enthusiasts participate in the MLS camps, which are held around the United States.