Growing Hearts on the Soccer Field During Winter Break

Great Hearts Athletics was able to host a Barca Academy (Barcelona FC) Soccer Camp over the winter break at Scottsdale Prep. This was the first camp that the Barca Academy has organized in the Phoenix area and they hope to return in early June for a summer camp.

Barca Academy Camps focus on training young soccer players and improving their sporting qualities. They are run by the management of the Barca Academy in Barcelona (Spain), who provide the coaches, the work program, as well as setting the guidelines to be followed. This camp featured coaches from the Barca Academies in Casa Grande, Australia, and Barcelona.

The objective of the camp was not only to teach technical and tactical concepts of the sport, but also to transmit the 5 core values: Humility, Effort, Ambition, Respect, and Teamwork (HEART). While this was a great opportunity for the athletes in attendance, our Great Hearts coaches from Anthem Prep, Glendale Prep, and Trivium Prep, who assisted alongside the Barca coaches, learned new a few new skills as well.

Trivium Prep middle school boys A-team head coach, Maximo Moreno, has coached for 11 years and was thankful for the opportunity to coach side-by-side with what he called some of the best coaches he’s had the pleasure to work with. “The Barcelona Camp was fantastic! Every coach was very professional, and they have great experience both playing and coaching. What impressed me the most was the coaching methodology. The way they were able to communicate with the players and how they were able to take one simple drill and advance it into several other technical skills,” said Moreno. “The Barca Coaches really emphasized thinking on their own. They guided the players to problem solve rather than to tell them they were doing it wrong.”

Glendale Prep coach, Matt Blake, was impressed by how well the camp was done. “The training was thoughtfully age appropriate and helped to bring out the best in each player. I know each player came away from the camp better as an individual soccer player and as member of a team,” said Blake. “This experience will help give me the confidence as a coach in knowing how to set up training scenarios that will help the kids play and learn best. There are times when, as a coach, I should be more patient and allow the players to make their own decisions and learn from their own mistakes without second guessing them or being overly critical. I learned from their methodology that as a coach, I am there to help facilitate the players growth, observe their learning, encourage, motivate, and if necessary, intervene to correct or clarify the expectation.”

Bad habits were corrected, competencies were enhanced, and new skillsets were acquired by all who attended.  Our athletes and coaches came away from the 4-day training with a renewed love for the game and a new perspective that will reinforce their dedication and fulfillment they receive from the sport, both as individuals and teammates.

Students from 6 to 14 years old were invited to register and attend, with special pricing and preference given to Great Hearts students. Athletes from almost all our Arizona academies experienced what it is like to train and learn the Barca way, while making new friends with other athletes throughout the Valley. Be on the lookout for more information coming in the next couple of months when they return in June!

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