ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The first summer camp for the Lobo Soccer Academy took place last weekend and is now in full swing with three more this week. While some of the camps are geared towards high school-aged players with advanced technique training, the half-day and full-day camps currently ongoing have a simpler goal at heart: have fun.
Associate head coach Paul Souders made that clear when he was addressing the campers at the start of the day.
“We don’t have too many rules out here,” he told them, “but we really want you guys to have a great time.”
Soon enough, kids were running around on the practice fields and in the indoor practice facility laughing and having a blast while being coached by current and former Lobo soccer stars.
One of those player-coaches is junior midfielder Josh Goss, an Albuquerque native who knows the importance of these camps.
“These camps are important for both the kids and us,” he said. “A lot of us have been in their shoes. Growing up I definitely learned to love the program, learned to love New Mexico because of these camps. They made me want to become a Lobo. Now as a coach hopefully I can inspire these kids to want to be Lobos. But most importantly I want them to enjoy their time here and grow as a person and meet new friends. It’s good for them to learn new games and new tricks on the ball while helping them learn to love UNM or just enjoy their time in Albuquerque.”
The campers rotate through a number of different stations that focus on every aspect of the game: dribbling, passing, shooting, defending, and most importantly, games. One minute a camper might be practicing dribbling with a current Lobo like Goss, Niko Hansen or Chris Wehan. A little later he might be working on defense with former players like Patrick Poblete or Travis Campbell, who is now the program’s director of operations.
“A lot of the kids come to camp with friends from their team or something, but this is a great way for them to meet new people and make new friends,” said Goss.
Camps will continue to run through next week before the Lobos start to prepare for the upcoming season.