Stuart Malcolm Soccer Camps

During the Summer of 2023, I was a camp counselor for my high school soccer coach's summer camps. His philosophy, and the philosophy behind everything that was done at these summer camps was: Games, games, and more games. If you ask any kid what their favorite activity is to do in relation to any sport, it is evidently going to be a name of some game. Taking this philosophy and applying it to drills to build both individual and team skills was the purpose of these summer camps.

Each day at camp, a different skill or aspect of the game of soccer would be covered. For example, this meant that Tuesdays would cover passing. In the morning, campers would arrive and be split into groups based on their age. From there, each of the six age groups would individually practice a different aspect of the topic for the day. Then, after a given amount of time, the groups would switch, and this would be repeated until each group had completed each station. So, together with a team of five other counselors, six different stations would be set up for the day. Drills would include activities such as power and finesse (a game focusing on shooting) and a segmented keep-away game (focused on touch and passing).

To facilitate these games, I would set up the field each morning with cones placed to outline certain spaces being used for each station. Then, once campers arrived, I led a specific activity for each of the groups. I ensured that all campers understood the objective of the game and that everyone came prepared in terms of equipment (most notably with shin guards). For each of the stations, I created a fun environment in which each camper would be comfortable attempting each of the new techniques they were learning. While everyone was at a different point in their development with the game of soccer, it was important that I was able to challenge those that were more advanced, and assist those that may not have had as much experience. This meant that for every group, I needed to identify each individual's skill level and how I could best support each and every one of them. I successfully withheld each of these responsibilities every day, and by the end of the week campers would leave with much more game knowledge and ability than what they came into the camp with.

Through running these activities at the soccer summer camp, I reinforced my leadership skills while also building better teaching and coaching skills. Each camper would learn in a different way, and throughout the week I was able to adjust my coaching method depending on the individual to make sure that they could grasp all of the skills that I wanted to teach them.