ayso camp off to strong start

The AYSO soccer camp being held this week at the Seymour Community Park is off to a particularly strong start, according to camp director Bill Kee.

Kee said about 40 campers are participating in the camp, which began Monday and will run through Friday.

“We’ve had a good turnout so far,” said Kee. “It might even get better as we go along. At last year’s camp we had kids join us as the week progressed and I think that could very well happen again this year. We certainly encourage anyone who wishes to join us to come out and take part in the camp.”

Kee said the camp features three professional soccer players from the UK as instructors, allowing young students of the game some different viewpoints—that they might not learn in local leagues—on learning the vast skills of soccer.

The AYSO-sponsored camp is being attended by young athletes of ages varying from five-to-14-years of age.

“We have everything from the munchkin guys, the little 5, 6 and 7-year olds, up to the 14 and 15-year old players,” Kee explained. “The different age groups are separated and players are worked with individually depending on their skill level. The older guys are actually in an advanced camp.”

Kee said the local kids are fortunate to get to the opportunity work with the skilled instructors at the AYSO camp.

“These instructors are all professional soccer players in the UK,” said Kee. “In addition to being pros, they go through a lengthy screening and background check by the AYSO. They also go through training on the AYSO philosophy and undergo rigorous background check and screening just to make sure they are safe.

“These guys provide a great learning experience for these kids.”

Kee went on to explain that the AYSO camp taking place this week actually comprises three regions—Sevierville (440), Seymour (1266) and South Knoxville (263).

“I think that’s important because we’re planning on running the camp again next year and we want to promote it being a tri-region project. The first tri-region camp we’ve had,” said Kee.