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August 9, 2001
BY JIM THOMAS What separates Euro-Pro Soccer Camp from other summer camps is that the girls attending get to find out what a typical week might be like for a professional soccer player in Europe. Certainly, camp director David Weidner knows what it is like. He has played seven years as a pro in Germany and he has a Europe "B" coaching license. He retired a few years ago (now 31) and is a film editor by trade. He began playing the game when he was 7 years old but a move with his family to Germany developed a stronger desire to play the game at a top level. After playing in youth leagues he came back after getting his degree at California-Irvine and attained his goal of playing professionally. He also played briefly in the Major League Soccer with the Dallas Burn and the Colorado Rapids for parts of 1998 and 1999. "This camp has one full purpose and it is in the name," Weidner said Monday afternoon, Aug. 6, the first day of camp at Parque de Vida in Cortez. "What it is like to be a professional athlete. I want to give kids in America the opportunity to know what it is like to be a pro in Europe where soccer is THE sport. I want them to see if they enjoy it and perhaps to see if they want to make it a dream they want to try." Weidner said the girls attending this week’s camp, which ends Friday, Aug. 10, with a day of games. He reported the campers get to find out what it is like to be a pro not only on the field but off the field. They work hard in camp like professionals and then learn to relax in between practices or just before games. "We want them to acquire a work ethic like a professional. We actually take them through a typical week with drills they would do on a Monday. The work gets harder on Tuesday with Wednesday being the hardest day of the week. On Thursday, before the game, the practice is light, mainly shooting drills and no running. They relax and not play around between practice sessions or before games. When relaxing we sit down and talk tactics and strategy. We do a lot of game-type situations and play some low-maintenance games like soccer tennis or soccer basketball. We will then split them into teams and play games on Friday, the last day of camp. They will come two hours before the game, just like the pros do. They will have a tactical strategy session, then take the field a half-hour before the game, and then it’s lights on and we play. That’s the end of the camp," he commented. Montezuma-Cortez High School head girls soccer coach Monica Plewe brought her brother, David, to Cortez from his home in Southern California to conduct the camp. Plewe said not only are there big girls (high school) but young ones as well attending the camp. She said they were expecting only 20 to show up but 33 are on field. "The first couple of days the veterans and the younger ones mixed things up with everybody else. By mid-week, judgment is made on their skill levels and put them with players with like skills. However, I’ve been very surprised that the 10- and 12-year-old girls are taking on the 17- and 18-year olds and they are actually doing well," Weidner noted. He said the reason that no boys are at this camp, with the exception of a couple of them who are being used for demonstration purposes, is that Euro-Pro Soccer Camps conduct two separate camps for boys and girls. And now girls who do a lot of hard work can realize their dreams of playing professionally not only in Europe but in the United States with the new WUSA. Colleges are crying for women soccer players. The opportunities are there for those who desire it where in years past those dreams were only for boys. Also, Weidner films his camps. If a coach does not want to wait for a video and wants to see a specific drill, for a fee, coaches can download video or streaming video on specific drills designed for boys or girls on a website: www. Europrosoccer.com. |
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