chris d.

We take the organization and structure of The No. 1 Soccer College Showcase ID camps very seriously and appreciate any and all feedback with the goal of continual growth to serve our participants and provide the best possible experience. Our college showcase ID camp is an opportunity for campers to get identified by college coaches regardless of the position that they play. To that end, there will always be sessions which involve playing so that our college coaches in attendance can evaluate everyone in a proper match environment. With that said, our No. 1 Soccer College Showcase ID camp at The Phelps School consists of 6 total sessions. Two of these sessions were specific goalkeeper training sessions with Division 1 goalkeeper coaches. Both of these coaches played division one soccer and now coach goalkeepers at their perspective division one college soccer programs (Manhattan College and University of Maryland respectively). The last thirty minutes of these two goalkeeper specific sessions involved 8v8 games where all the goalkeepers received significant playing time in a small sided environment so they receive more realistic match type of decision making, additionally they could utilize what they learned in the goalkeeper specific training sessions they had just participated in. To further provide opportunities for the players in attendance and an important session for the goalkeepers and the college coaches, is a shooting/finishing session. This is another session that specifically benefits the goalkeeper’s exposure to the college coaches in attendance. During this session the players get to work with 4 different college coaches and participate in four different finishing exercises for over 90 minutes. This session is utilized so the goalkeepers can get some specific goalkeeper work and can be seen by the college coaches in their own environment. At a College ID camp, the majority of coaches in attendance want to see campers play in 11v11 games (both goalkeepers and field players). We structure the camp to be mutually beneficial to the players in attendance and the college coaches who are observing the players. To that end, 2 of the 6 total sessions are set up to have specific 11v11 games. These games are 75-90 minutes long. So, a team with 3 goalkeepers would be getting 20-30 minutes of playing time each, on average. Field players share similar amount of minutes. The last session was a 6v6 tournament. Due to severe thunder storms that took place in the evening on July 22, we were informed by the University that we could not go outside. However, the way we structured the session, four teams played at once and all of the goalkeepers were given significant playing time, and the college coaches had ample time to continue their evaluations. The camp schedule looked like this:

Session 1: Goalkeeper specific training session
Session 2:11v11 game
Session 3: Goalkeeper specific training session
Session 4: Shooting/finishing session (specific for goalkeepers)
Session 5:6v6 games

If participants are looking for a goalkeeper specific training environment every single session, then a college ID camp wouldn't be the best option for them. However, if players are looking for a dynamic player centric approach to the College ID Showcase event, then the No. 1 Soccer College ID Showcase provides that. We offer significant exposure to an impressive list of college coaches and to all players in attendance, as well as significant goalkeeper training at our Showcase event at the Phelps School.