Thursday, July 12 WILLAIMSBURG, VA – Throughout the 2007 summer, top level soccer players come in from all over the region to compete at a high level of play here in Williamsburg, VA. Each year, the Virginia Legacy Soccer Club offers a top notch professional atmosphere for each player invited to their PDL franchise. This professional environment has been evident on the field as the team has proven to be competitive across the nation, reaching the playoffs four times in the past five seasons.
Yet, as the Legacy franchise continues to make an impact on the field in 2007, this year’s squad is distinctively unique from teams of recent years past. As the players from the team have instructed and coached camps during the summer in former years, the club has gone one step further this year to reach out to the young community around them.
The Virginia Legacy Soccer Club has implemented a program called the Legacy Apprentice Program in an effort to expand on its PDL franchise and get more involvement from the club’s youth. This program, which is open to kids ages 8-14 in the club, gives each participant a chance to become part of the team. Each child who is in the program is given a player from the PDL team to act as their own personal “mentor,” which in return, the child becomes their player’s “apprentice.”
During this eight-week program held throughout the summer months, each apprentice will meet once a week with the PDL team and train in a one-on-one setting with their assigned player. Apprentices are paired up with a player from the team who plays the same position as them, so they can get a “player’s perspective” on what they need to work on as an individual player. This free-flowing training is one-of-a-kind because it gives the player an opportunity to express what they feel they need to work on to become a better player at their position.
“I like playing with all the guys from the team,” said eight-year-old Kevin Tripp. “Coach Beans has taught me a lot of cool things.”
In addition to the extensive training the apprentices get, each home game the children are treated like players throughout the event. All Apprentices are on the field during part of the pre-game warm up with the players from the team. While on the field, the apprentices also look the part of the team as they are sporting their official Legacy replica jersey. Once the pre-game warm up is complete, the players get to enjoy walking out with the team during the player introductions. Throughout the entire event, the apprentices are part of the team, experiencing first-hand what each PDL player encounters week in and week out.
From players at the youngest ages and most beginner level, to players at the highest level at their age group, the Apprentice Program offers a certain appeal to kids of all talent levels.
“This has been a great chance for me to get coaching from a player who is still playing at a top level,” said Frankie Imoehl of the VLSC U14 Wizards. “He gives me a lot of tips about different things that I wouldn’t normally get with my normal coach. It helps me get better as a player myself.”
The unique training atmosphere allows players to work on specific things that the child wants to learn. Whether it be improving one-on-one skills or finishing, the apprentices can express what they feel they need to work on and the mentor can specifically train their player to improve on a distinct skill.
This has been the first year of inception for this program in the Virginia Legacy camp and the feedback from players and parents has been extremely positive.
“It is fun to get out there and work together with the kids,” said Virginia Legacy PDL player Beans Kroening. “[We] teach them some of the finer points of the game. The one-on-one interaction is really beneficial to these young players.”
The Virginia Legacy PDL team has been a huge influence within the community of Williamsburg, VA and this year is no exception. The club, players and franchise have really gone the extra mile to make this PDL season something special and with such a positive response from everyone involved, this has the makings to become a new tradition in the Legacy camp.
For more information about the Virginia Legacy Soccer Club and other programs the Legacy has to offer, visit their website at www.valegacysoccer.com or call 757-253-1947.
About the Virginia Legacy Soccer Club
The Virginia Legacy Soccer Club is a 501-C3 non-profit organization based out of Williamsburg, Virginia. Legacy Soccer offers some of the top facilities in southeastern Virginia including the Williamsburg Indoor Sports Complex (WISC) and the Warhill Sports Complex. The Virginia Legacy, a USL Premier Development Team, is at the top of the Legacy Soccer tier. The club offers a variety of playing level options, cost packages, and opportunities. Legacy Soccer aims to pioneer, develop, and continuously be on the cutting edge of youth soccer in the area and country.
