Catholic Soccer Camps Focus on the Main Goal

Camps will combine soccer instruction with instruction in - and experience of - the Catholic faith.

P>OVERLAND PARK, KS. (Catholic Online) - For the third consecutive summer, Catholic Soccer Camps (CSC) will offer children an opportunity to receive high-level instruction not only in the game, but also in the faith, from professional coaches who are passionate about both. 

CSC will run a session July 26 through July 30 at the Overland Park Soccer Complex in Overland Park, Kansas, 12 noon to 5:00 PM daily. The camp is run by three professional coaches, in conjunction with Varsity Catholic (an outreach of Fellowship of Catholic University Students) whose athletes and coaches will also help incorporate Catholic spirituality.

Head coach Antonio Soave shared some details of the camp´s faith component with Catholic Online.
"We incorporate daily Mass, as well as elements of praise and worship," he said. "We also offer confession during the week, and we pray short prayers every thirty minutes or so."

CSC offered the first such camp in 2008 at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. In 2009 camp was set up at Benedictine College in Kansas. While this summer´s Overland Park venture is the only session being offered by CSC, they are doing a "joint soccer camp" with Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Called the "National Catholic Soccer Camp at Franciscan University," it will take place on that campus from July 12 to July 16.

At the Kansas camp up to 80 children are accepted, both boys and girls, ages seven to seventeen. Both day and overnight campers are welcome; overnighters will board with a  soccer family in the Kansas City area.

CSC has also established a ministry called Catholic Soccer Missions, an apostolate offered to underprivileged children free of charge. The first was held in Belize in 2009, and they plan to return there for another camp this May.

The coaches´ professional and religious credentials are solid. Head coach Antonio Soave is a former professional soccer player and coach. He currently hosts an internationally televised program called "The Soccer Academy," and is a pro scout and consultant for a FIFA-registered professional sports agency in Verona, Italy. He serves on the speaker´s bureau for Catholic Athletes for Christ, and was a member of their official delegation to Pope Benedict´s visit to Washington, DC in 2008.

Reflecting then on the Holy Father´s humility, Soave said, "The message for athletes is that so very much can be accomplished when ego is set aside. The glory of God comes across when we can humble ourselves, not grandstand."

Soave´s love for the Mass shines forth in his reflections on the Pope´s visit. "Young people very much want guidance, direction, and the experience of reverence," he said. "They want to experience the holiness and sanctity of the Catholic Mass. For too long we had a ´marketing campaign´ that removed many sacred aspects of the Mass in an attempt to attract young people. This Pope is bringing back those sacred elements."

Soave will be assisted by two "guest coaches." Massimo Carli is currently a head coach and scout in the Italian Professional Development League. Luigi Dusatti is also a professional scout as well as a youth coach in Italy. Both Carli and Dusatti are members of the Soccer Management FIFA Verona Sports Agency in Italy, a premier professional soccer agency and management group that places players in Europe, Australia and the United States. 

The international flavor these coaches bring is also a benefit. CSC´s web site states: "Not only will campers learn great soccer skills, but they will also be exposed to a high level of Catholicism and Italian culture. It is an international faith-based experience like no other."

Information on the Kansas camp can be obtained by calling (913) 549-4871. Information on the Ohio camp is available by calling (740) 284-7043.

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James Penrice is a contributing writer for Catholic Online and the author of numerous books. He is also a writer for the Catholic Athletes for Christ website.

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