CVU players are the star attraction at youth soccer camp

The soccer fields outside the Fieldhouse complex in Shelburne were buzzing last Friday morning as a group of boys and girls CVU soccer players greeted the next generation, along with many of their parents, in the parking lot. All players, young and old, were getting ready for one last day of fun after four days of serious soccer action. It was the final day of the 17th Annual CVU Youth Soccer Camp, which is designed for younger players to get first-hand instruction from the high school players they look up to. “This is the day where the campers get to relax and have fun after a really busy week for them,” said varsity CVU girls coach Stan Williams.

Williams originally started the camp 16 years ago, and he was still in charge on Friday, along with boys coach Katie Mack. But according to the two coaches, the real stars were the counselors, all CVU players who the younger kids looked up to. As the group was getting stretched out and waiting for everyone to arrive, some of the younger campers were literally hanging off their high school counselors, and others were just swarming them the same way they would a pro athlete. Many of the counselors, who were all assigned their own team of youth players to coach for the week, shared their recollections of the week as they waited for camp to start early Friday morning.

Max Brown, an ex CVU striker who will be playing at Colby College in the fall said, “I went to this camp as a kid and I always wanted to give back.”

Other counselors echoed the same sentiment. Sierra Morton, an upcoming junior striker said, “I remember coming here as a kid and it is cool to see all the kids in my position.”

Other players appreciated other aspects of the experience. Malina Carroll, a fullback who is going to be a senior said, “We basically get paid to hang out with kids. It is pretty cool because we do a lot of things as a team, so we get to know the kids pretty well and get close with them.”

Upcoming junior striker Naomi Burhans, who will be moving to picturesque Winchester, MA next year and playing for legendary coach Chris Scanlon noticed some additional benefits to working the camp. “I like how much energy the kids have. It inspires me in way to work harder on my own game because of all the energy they have.

Dylan Hamrell, a junior left back on the boy’s team also noticed the kids improving just in the course of four days. “As the week went on the players got better and better and were able to make an impression on me. I also made some more connections with them.”

Contact Matt Keller at 598-9366 or matt@windridgepublishing.com. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/KellerOnSports.