“Jim, thanks so much for the card at the end of camp. The girls loved the camp at Belhaven College. Several of them have asked if we are going back next year because it was so much fun - I hear them talk about it all the time. They can’t wait to get started this year! We start conditioning in mid-September and can’t touch a ball until mid-October but they are already jumping at the bit to get out there with each other again. I cannot say thank you enough for the team chemistry your camp produced! I have handed out camp brochures to several local coaches and told them what a great experience it was for our girls. I hope that we will be able to come back again next year. We are in the process of raising money for a practice field right now and as soon as we are done with that we will begin raising money for camp. I will keep you updated on our season. Again, thank you so much for all that you and your coaching staff did for our girls!"
Brooke Lincoln, Head Girls Coach, Terry High School, Mississippi
“Just a quick note about your camp. My son attended your camp as a 12 year old in 1999 at St. Paul’s School, Covington, Louisiana. His coach (who is probably not with you any longer), Andros Kattides put on his evaluation “If you keep up the hard work and with the attitude you have towards soccer, I can see you playing Division 1 soccer in college.” My son’s name is John Tilghman and he signed in February to play for Penn State University-Division 1 with Barry Gorman!”
Dale Burke, Parent & Executive Director, Tennessee Youth Soccer Association, Tennessee
“Well let me start by saying…. I NEED MORE CAMP BROCHURES!!! There are a lot of parents that I have talked to about Eurotech® as well as coaches and after last year I know I’ll have more kids coming to Wisconsin. I am also writing to thank you. Joerg had invited JT (Joey) to come to Germany and play for him at Allamenia-Aachen while attending camp at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Wisconsin this past summer. Well, we leave on March 4th and JT is staying for 4 weeks. This has been his dream ever since he found out people can actually make a living playing soccer!! (before that he wanted to be a soccer coach!!) None of this would have been possible without Andy Dallas showing up at a tournament in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin! He was demonstrating a “skill trainer” ball and was having fun with all the kids. I talked to him between games and immediately thought, what a class act. Well, I grabbed a brochure for Eurotech® and the rest as they say is history. He as well as Joerg, Renaldo and the rest of your staff are a true testament to why you are so successful with Eurotech®. Well, I just needed to let you know about my son and also the incredible help I’ve been getting from Joerg via e-mail and phone, he has gone to great lengths to make this trip happen - there is nothing I could ever do to fully repay his kindness. Drop me a line when you get a chance and I hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks again Jim!!”
Brian Tennyson, Parent, Croatian Eagles FC, Wisconsin
“Thank you very much for the personal note about camp at Lake Forest College on July 13th. However, I will not be able to attend this year. I am very excited to share my good news. I learned so much at your camp last year. I improved myself and as I finished my Senior year in Varsity soccer, I was named the MVP for my team and All-Conference. It was the best year I have ever had as a goalie and I saw in myself a great deal of self improvement in my skills. For that I want to thank you for a great camp. By taking the goalies out of the group and focusing on our skills and strategies, I felt that I had been given the opportunity to truly challenge myself. The best news of all is that because of my increased knowledge and skills, I have been drafted by Lake Forest College to be their varsity goalie for the next four years and now have the opportunity of a life long dream—to play at the college level. Thank you. I hope you have a great turn out. Your camp is terrific!”
Kristyne Operzedek, Division 3 Lake Forest College, Varsity Goalie, Illinois
“Thanks for the info on summer camps. I will send it on to our girls teams. I know that these camps are great because my daughter participated two years ago and learned a lot. She is presently a player for the women’s team at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, IL. She had an outstanding year—broke lots of records for the school! Your camp was the best she attended locally in her long career. Have fun---it’s spring soccer.”
Parent, Pegasus SC, Illinois
“I greatly appreciate the Kelme boots. They are a great graduation gift; a new pair of boots is just the way to celebrate what has been completed and what is to come. I also like to thank you for giving me a first class soccer education. With what I learned at the first Performance camp I went to at Illinois State University really changed my soccer career around for the better. Your camp challenged me mentally and physically to become a better soccer player and that’s why I’m here at Alma doing what I like most, playing soccer. Jim, thank you again for the boots, the soccer education, the encouragement, and for being such a great person and showing such passion for the game.”
Bryan D. Less, Former Camper & Alma College (Michigan) Player, Illinois
“This is Curtis Maier from Natchez Mississippi, I attended the St. Paul’s School camp three times and the Nicholls State University camp last summer. I wanted to send you an email thanking you for all the help from Eurotech® - it has made me a better soccer player physically and mentally. I am now currently playing soccer for Co-Lin Wesson Community College as a center right defender or as a defensive sweeper. I have had an injury with my back (a herniated disk in my lower back) but besides being out for two game because of that I have started every game for them that I could. The skills I have aquired from your camp show in the juco level (junior college). Juco is still a big difference from the high school level, but I would never have been able to get a scholarship playing soccer without the help from your camps. Even after I had an ACL replacement surgery during my sophmore year, your camp helped me recover my skills I had not been using while sitting out that year. Our current record is 3-5 overall and 3-3 in conference. We are about halfway through our season and hope to get more wins, ha, but we will see, we have a lot of injuries. Thanks for the training!”
Curtis Maier, Former Camper & Co-Lin Wesson Community College Player, Mississippi
“How are you guys doing? Well, I hope. If you’ve forgotten me, I’m the coach of the Chesapeake Mariners that you did the camp for this past August. I just wanted to tell you how well my girls are doing. The girls are all U-12 and U-13 players and we’ve moved into a U-14 league this year at Virginia Beach Soccer Club. I was anticipating that we would not do as well with the age difference, but so far they have exceeded all of my expectations. Here’s what they have done since camp - In late August they entered the Busch Gardens-Colonial FC Summer Classic in Williamsburg. I was on vacation so Mark and Andy (Chelsea’s dad) took them to the tournament. They were playing against U-11, U12 and U13 select teams and to my surprise won the tournament. As a kick-off to our regular season, VBSC held a fun fours tournament on September 7th. We broke our girls into three squads and competed in two divisions of U14 Girls. We won both divisions, the entire U14 Girls competition, with two undefeated squads. Last Saturday, Sept. 14th, we played our first regular season game on our full size field and the girls played awesome. It was the largest field we have ever played on for the past couple years. They played with width, moved the ball around well to open players, and even switched the field effectively. On defense, they smothered the other team, winning nearly every 50-50 ball. I don’t think the other team crossed midfield but twice during the entire first half. They won 7-0 and we were switching positions on the field to keep the score down. I was real proud of them and I’m sure you would have been also. I’m not going to give you all the credit for their success, but I’m sure the camp had a great influence on the girls. We refer to things your staff taught us nearly every practice and we’ll be looking forward to our next Eurotech® experience. I hope you get this and stay in touch. We’ll be playing every Saturday until November 19th except for Columbus Day weekend. If you’re going to be in the area, let me know and I’ll give you our schedule. The girls would love to see you.”
Alan Johnson, Coach, Chesapeake Select SC Mariners, Virginia
“Something my wife and I found interesting is that Stanton made it as a field player and not a goalkeeper. Over the last two years ½ his time has been spent between the posts and only ¼ to a 1/3 of his time in the field. Stanton was already an exceptional student, athlete and human being in every way. Eurotech® took our son, and in one week, sharpened his focus, gave him positive direction and helped him define specific goals (no pun intended!). Stanton came home with a new sense of person, accomplishment and a winning attitude. I want to thank you and your staff for offering such a successful program where kids not only learn soccer, but they learn about life and success as well. Stanton had nothing but good things to say of all his coaches. None more so than Eddie (didn’t get his last name) from the GK Performance Center. I had the pleasure of speaking with Eddie for some time - a very interesting and engaging gentleman. Please pass along to him that I don’t think Stanton will ever forget Eddie’s leadership, friendship and obvious love for the game. Jim/Andy, I will be glad to help you in any way I can with relations between Eurotech®, Botetourt County and the surrounding area. Hopefully our club, Botetourt United Youth Soccer, will be seeking out Eurotech® regarding Team Performance Camps next year. If you or any of your staff are ever in the Roanoke area please look us up. You have my contact info.”
Joel Coman, Parent, Botetourt United Soccer Club, Virginia
“Thanks for your note. Jaime is still at Wofford, the D-I school and playing outside mid, but wishing she was more up front making goals, but the team does not have outside mids who can run the whole game, so she is stuck playing this position even though her ball skills, etc. are far superior to the front line people! Jenna is at NYACK, A D-II college in NY, and playing on the front line. As a freshman she had a good year, but had tons of pressure as the top scorer with 20 some goals from last season, broke her foot early in the season and Jenna really needed someone like her to get through some tough defenses. We watched both girls play some college soccer for the first time and witnessed some beautiful goals by both. Jenna gets here in a few hours from NY and Jaime arrives tomorrow, so we are looking forward to some time together before we leave for Papua. We are in Gainesville, GA till we depart. What is the best # to catch you at? Wishing you a Blessed Christmas, and may your 2003 be the best year ever!! Let us know If you ever want to do a clinic in the jungle! Some huge fans of EUROTECH!!!!”
The Cutts Clan, Parents, Louisiana
“We had a terrific week at the recent residential camp at Christchurch School. The organization was solid, the instruction was excellent, and most importantly, the camp facilities were generally good. (Food was decent, lodging for the girls was good and the athletic facilities were excellent.) I would like to extend my appreciation to all for supporting this wonderful opportunity.
Training and instruction was excellent – The girls drew Londoner Matt King as their primary instructor for the week. Matt had a well organized training program appropriate for the age level and based on a critique I had provided on the team when we registered. Matt adjusted the training sessions based upon his own observations and analysis, and adjusted the sessions throughout the week based upon the response of the girls. The result was a fun and effective week-long training program. Matt is a professional coach and athletic instructor/teacher in England. His experience as an instructor was particularly valuable in maintaining the attention of the 13 pre-teens for 5, 8-hour days of soccer.
Team building – From the perspective of team training and on-the-field team building the camp was a success and a good spring board to the season. By the end of the week the girls were better organized on the pitch, communicating better with voice and body language, and playing more exciting and effective soccer than we were at the end of last season. Sam easily transitioned to her new team, Emily has quickly found her way back. So much so that by the end of the week I was once occasionally again calling her “Lisa”. While still adjusting to her new team from a social perspective, Rhyann made an easy transition to the Galaxy style of play and showed versatility that I think even surprised her.
From my perspective and listening to the camp coordinators, trainers and other coaches (my roommates) the Galaxy players were some of the top students at the camp. They were consistently early to training sessions; wonderfully attentive, responsive and respectful to Matt during the training sessions; and at generally the same level in their technical, tactival and athletic abilities allowing Matt to move forward with the group without having to take a lot of time out to bring individual players up to speed with the rest of the group. Despite having a series of injuries ranging from slight muscle pulls to some foot abrasions Julia ended up easily winning the 12-and-under juggling contest against approximately 130 other campers in our age group. She also won the week-long Galaxy 1v1 competition followed closely by Alex, Lisa and Heather. Lisa and Morgan tied in the finals of the Galaxy shooting competition. In the 18-team 3v3 competition made up of the Galaxy players and the 13 to 18 age groups we had two teams make the semi-finals, Lisa, Heather and Morgan, and Alex, Jennifer, Julie and Ali. The team of Lisa, Heather and Morgan advanced to the finals where they lost in a shootout to a group of 15-year-olds.
Within this very attentive group of Galaxy players, Tina, Lauren, Ali and Emily get extra high marks for focus, attention and hard work through out the entire session. Several players were recognized by trainers other than Matt in the a.m. wake-up session (7:15 start time!). Tina was asked to demonstrate specific dribbling techniques for a group of about 40 campers during the 7:15a.m. foot skills session on Monday morning. Sara received “hoots” of joy from a group of otherwise quiet trainers for her step-over-turn during the early morning small-sided games.
Evaluations
At the end of the week Matt provided each of the girls with an evaluation form. Coach Matt also provided an overall team evaluation that he shared with the girls at the end of the camp. He emphasized five areas that need focused attention:
Communication (organizing and information sharing)
Transition
Recognizing situations on the pitch
Changing the point of attack
Heading and chesting in open play
Bob Fithian, Coach, Springfield YSC Galaxy, Virginia
