Adrian Penrose gets down to work

This year’s Grand Bahama soccer camp will field the most highly-qualified team of visiting coaches in the annual event’s 11-year history.

The trio from the UK all have professional level coaching licenses and have then gone on to successfully complete further programmes aimed at making them particularly skilled in working with young people. In the process they learned how to blend high-level teaching with making kids have fun.

All have since set thousands of children on the pathway to becoming quality players, with one having coached a youngster who went on to play for England as a full international.

It will be their first time in the Bahamas and they have been very excited about coming ever since they learned of their invitations in February. They have been working on the programme for the camp, which starts on June 22, ever since.

Well over 100 children are again expected to sign up for the week of fun and games which is being held at Freeport Rugby and Football Club in East Settlers Way. Thousands have taken part over the years and many come back year after year. They know that it is a great value summer package with free uniforms to keep and lunch every day as well as the top quality coaching.

The camp is only four weeks away and places are filling fast. Registration forms are available on this website, or from Town and Country in Yellow Pine Street, Animale in Port Lucaya Marketplace, or at the rugby club in the evenings.

The three UK coaches are all dedicated to teaching young people to play the game better. One of them, Adrian Penrose, gave up coaching adults specially so he could focus on children and he now leads a team of other similar coaches in the south of England.

“ Initially I wanted to work my way up from the bottom, and work with adults and senior teams in the professional game but over time my outlook has changed and I am now specialising in the foundation phase with pre-teens, something I am passionate about doing. I’m looking forward to supporting the children and local coaches I meet in the Bahamas!” he said.

“I started my coaching career when I was only 17 years old working for a local grassroots football club for nine years, successfully starting a women and girls section for the club. From there I visited the US to coach on two different occasions before focusing on children for the past seven years.”

James Lofthouse

All three coaches work full-time for the Football Association, the English soccer governing body, on a programme aimed at developing an international team of the future which could win the World Cup.

James Lofthouse has been coaching soccer for half his life and he is an award winner at what he does. “My proudest moment was b eing named Grassroots Coach of the Year for developing a girls’ football team with hardly any players and no teams into a club with more than 50 girls across four teams – with some of them now playing in a Girls Centre of Excellence .

“Numerous players I have worked with have gone on to play in academies and centres of excellence with some going on to gain professional contracts and one to represent his country. Being a coach for half my life and a local footballer since I was four, I have gained experience to help players nurture their skills at whatever level they are at, not only help them play the game but also aid the development of their social skills so they can easily interact with others.”

The third member of the trio, Lauren Phillips, still plays at a high level in the ladies game in the UK and perfected her coaching skills while working at the world famous David Beckham Soccer Academy.

She started playing soccer at the age of four and made her early name taking on boys because there were no opportunities for girls at the time. By the time she joined a girls’ team at 11 she was good enough to play with a team of 14-year-olds. And she is now a professional head coach leading a team of four, all of them men!

Lauren studied sports and exercise science at college and was then recruited to join the David Beckham Academy in London, a state of the art soccer indoor soccer school. It was one of two the famous player founded – the other was in Los Angeles where he was playing for the Galaxy team at the time.

Her experiences there prepared her for her next role as head coach at the Ladies Academy founded by the English Premier League club West Ham United. Now she is a team leader working for the FA in its big initiative to develop youth football in England.

She said, “ From an early age my ultimate dream was to be a professional footballer or to work in football or sport generally. Unfortunately at the time it was not possible to become a professional because of the growth of the women’s game in England was not as developed as it is now. So my focus turned to my education and completing my first coaching badges as soon as I could which I started to do at the age of 16.

She added, “I have always been very driven in trying to give others opportunities to play, learn, develop and most importantly have a positive experience playing the game. I am in a very privileged position to be able to do this every day working with players, coaches and students which I hope I can continue to do”.

Children who attend the Freeport camp not only get great coaching but if they do well have the chance to win one of the top four prizes, pairs of personalised gold boots to play in next season, or take home one of 15 golden balls for kick abouts with their friends.

PARENTS NOTE – children need to be pre-registered. Forms available attached below.

Camp kick off 9am, Monday June 22. Camp ends 3pm June 26.

 

Lauren with two budding stars