Youth soccer players got a chance to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the province this week.
Drew Ferguson brought his Fergie's Soccer School to Gibsons this week.
Ferguson, who lives in Powell River, has been coming to this part of the Coast for the past five years.
Ferguson played 15 years professionally and has been coaching for the past five years. He is now head coach of Canada's Para-Olympic soccer team.
This week's camp started Monday and wraps up today (July 29). Youngsters aged six to 14 took part in the camp for three hours each day.
"We try to provide them with a wide range of skills," Ferguson said. "It's a fairly young group this year, but that's OK. It's important to get to the kids at a young age. You teach them the proper skills now, and those skills just continue to grow as they mature as older soccer players."
Ferguson said over the years he has seen a vast improvement in the soccer system on the Coast.
"Coaching is much better and the improvement of all the players is very noticeable," he said. "These camps are important. You have a lot of dedicated parents who volunteer and coach. They're great at what they do, but some of them lack the technical skills to teach. This is where we come in. We help fill that void. Hopefully, when these kids leave our camp, they can take things back to their teams or on their own practice time at home."
Working with Ferguson this week was Sophie Spilborghs.
Spilborghs played last year with the Vancouver Whitecaps women's squad that won the league championship.She also played at the University of British Columbia, and for several provincial and national teams. She has also competed at the Canada Games.
Now retired from professional play, she teaches elementary school in Surrey and helps out at soccer clinics throughout the Lower Mainland.
She's been working with Ferguson for the past three years. "I love working with the kids," she said. "This week has been fun. We have a real cross-section of players. Some have played before, while others are just starting to get introduced to the game. They all have different skills, and that's good because they can all learn from each other.
"We try to touch on all the skills from passing and dribbling to shooting, defending and goaltending. We try to keep it fun, and also interesting for the kids."
One of the highlights of the week was on Wednesday when Ferguson brought up three of his Para-Olympic team members from Vancouver.
"It's neat to see the kids interact with the players and vice versa," he said. "The kids this week can say they've played with Olympic athletes."
Ferguson will also be back later in August when he puts on a similar clinic for rep soccer teams.
"That clinic will be more focused and with a high intensity level," he said. "We'll also concentrate more on team concepts and team plays. I always love coming up here and working with the players. I'm passionate about the game. These players represent our future."
