Sports
The British Are Coming! Actually, They're Already in Frankfort, Sharing Soccer Knowledge with Kids
Future stars—and pink fluffy ones—are enjoying the unique experience of British Soccer Camp this week.
A teenager struggled a bit with his footwork during an exercise on Monday afternoon in one of the opening sessions of this year’s British Soccer Camps on the campus of Grand Prairie School in Frankfort.
Instructor Nikolas Cakarevic, better known as Niko, didn’t holler at the kid. Instead, he explained to him what he did wrong and then kindly asked him to do several jumping jacks while shouting “I am a pink fluffy star!”
Some serious soccer, mixed with a lot of good humor.
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“We bring our soccer knowledge, and my goal as a coach is to teach them how to play soccer better but also to have fun and enjoy it,” Cakarevic said. “That was one of the ways I make sure they enjoy that they’re out here.”
Challenger Sports’ British Soccer Camps are regarded as the most popular soccer camps in the country. The camps are taking place every day through Friday in Frankfort for kids as young as 3 and up to those preparing for the upcoming high school season.
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The camp boasts a camper-to-coach ratio of about 15:1. On Monday, the larger of the two groups had 13 kids, while the afternoon session had six. Coaches provide daily feedback and free T-shirts and soccer balls, along with the teaching a variety of techniques, including dribbling, passing, shooting, heading, and tackling and defending.
Frankfort resident Joanne Ketsios has five daughters, and four of them—Maria (14), Niki (12), Stacy (8) and Stephanie (6)—are participating in the camp. Ketsios has signed her children up for the camp for a few consecutive years now.
“There really aren’t a lot of camps that Frankfort offers unless you want to travel, and I don’t have time for that,” Ketsios said. “I like how it’s concentrated and they stay here a few hours and I like that it’s taught by Europeans because soccer is so big over there.”
Callum Saunders, who has played since he was 3, was instructing the youngest age group on Monday. This is just the seventh camp Saunders has worked since coming over earlier this summer from Scotland.
“It’s been a great experience so far and the kids are amazing,” he said. “They work really well and I couldn’t meet a better bunch of kids. They’re so enthusiastic to get involved and play the game of soccer.”
Saunders appreciates the opportunity of introducing the game to such a young group.
“They’re too young to understand corner kicks and throw-ins and are out there just kicking the ball around,” he said. “We’ll get them this week to understand there are two different teams, we’ll introduce some rules, get them used to kicking the ball and get them to understand some of the basics.”
With his distinct accent, Saunders had little trouble getting the attention of the youngsters, leading them through a variety of exercises but also taking water breaks where he’d field questions for the kids and allow them to try to keep cool in the hot sun.
“The camp is unique for the kids because they get a coach who came across (the Atlantic),” he said. “We make it fun. We try to challenge the kids, but we want to make sure they have fun and enjoy it so they stick with it and keep playing.”
Cakarevic, who recently finished up a college career at The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, has been in the United States for the past four years. He spent last summer running camps in Kansas City, Mo., and he decided to check out Chicago this year.
“During the first day you try to see what they are missing and help them correct that during the week,” he said. “We’ll work on a lot of dribbling, passing, shooting, turns, how to roll the ball and all the soccer skills and foot skills, and also how to think when it’s a big game. It’s not just running for the ball, but also how to create space for other players and they’ll learn how to find space for themselves.”
While he played soccer in college, Cakarevic appreciates the opportunity American children have to play multiple sports simultaneously.
“I stayed with a family last week and their kid played American football in the morning and then he had soccer in the afternoon and he also had two baseball games during the week,” he said. “That was amazing. He’s not sitting in the house wasting time, but going outside exercising and running around, which is great. America has so many camps and stuff to support the kids so they can do these things.”
After a stretching exercise and a footwork exercise, Cakarevic challenged six campers to a soccer ball "juggling" contest (see the accompanying video). The campers were allowed to tally their results. They finished with a 23. Cakarevic sat on the ground when he took his turn and mesmerized the kids, closing with a 95.
He also joked that the next time one of them made a mistake they would have to sing a Justin Bieber song to the rest of the group. Most of the group jokingly voiced their displeasure about such a rendition, although one camper offered to do it. Regardless, all were smiling, working up a sweat and enjoying soccer.
Once again, the British Soccer Camps look like they’ll be a great success in Frankfort.
