The third annual Emerald City FC residence camp was held August 12-18, 2012 at Misty Acres near Shelton, Washington. This year’s theme for both the boys’ and girls’ camps was “Accept the Challenge”, a strategy focused on accepting unexpected challenges on and off the field. Activities centered primarily on soccer and included 8 field training sessions per camp, plus other confidence and team building exercises, such as ropes course challenges. Evening campfires were also included. In addition, the boys’ camp included improvisational exercises and skits, and the girls’ camp included a mental skills workshop.
This year’s camp attracted 37 players from 7 Emerald City teams, plus one international player from Shenzhen, China. ECFC alumni donated a club jersey and scarf for him.
The camp yielded a number of huge successes. Besides the tremendous skill development of all the players on the field, one of the most notable of those successes was exhibited by one of our girls’ teams in the areas of leadership, communication, and team building. The players initiated a special team meeting to set goals and discuss a variety of methods that they can improve as individuals and as a team. That kind of initiative bodes very well for those girls, their team, and our club.
A special thank you to all of the coaches who helped make this year’s sessions successful: Jon Matsushita, Matthew Olson, Erik Oman, David Smith, and Jesse Winship-Freyer. (Article by Ruth Nicholson – Residential Camp Organizer)
