To Brasil and Beyond....
Here is our story....to view our photos, click here for Album 1 and here for Album 2.
On August 12, 2009, 19 Calgary West Soccer players ages 11 - 17, 6 coaches, chaperones and parents got on a plane to Brasil for what would turn out to be the experience of a lifetime! After 18 hours of traveling, the group arrived in Sao Paulo, Brasil at 9am on August 13th every one of us bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – yah right! After we gathered our belongings we all anxiously made our way to our bus to travel to Louveira where we would spend the next 7 days training Brasilian style!
We arrived at our destination to quickly put our luggage in our rooms, have lunch, and then off to the Bandeirantes field we went. That afternoon we met our educators – Thadeu, Marco, Marcelo & Josef along with the Brasilian children our group would be training with. The kids were quickly introduced to each other and then off to our corners we went. Each group was run through player assessments at three stations getting the opportunity to work with each educator and experience the first of many challenges to come – communication! All instructions were given in English and Portuguese and sometimes our educators were better at English and sometimes Portuguese was the favorite – it was an education for all of us. By the end of the week everyone was speaking a little of the opposite language, and the kids found their own way of communicating – it was exciting to watch it all unfold. After an afternoon on the field, we headed back to the hotel and the kids were off to the pool faster than you could blink. The Brasilians all thought we were crazy – as after all it’s winter and the pool isn’t heated, but of course the Canadians thought it was great! After dinner there was a meeting to review our objectives for the week. While the kids raced off to bed, the Canadian educators stayed behind to run through concepts of Brasilian soccer, including the history of the game and contrasting styles of play. It was a long day for sure!
Day 2 and we are off to breakfast at 7:30 am and on the field by 9am. The day started with the Brasilian Warm-up learned on day one and then on to our training for the day.............................
To read our full story, click here.
And here is what our players, coaches and parents treasured most about their trip…..
Liam Leeson (U14B) and Cailyn Leeson (U14G)
“We had a wonderful time in Brazil. Our parents and brothers were able to come along with us and we spent a few days at Iguazu Falls before heading to the soccer camp. At the camp, we worked hard learning drills and improving our skills, but there was also fun at the end of the day. We went to a professional game, Palmeiras vs Botafogo; visited the Santos F.C. and had our shirts signed by some Santos players; had lunch at the Fuliminese F.C. in Rio; and enjoyed a Brazilian BBQ. The coaches were strict but fun to work with. The Brazilian boys and girls we met were very nice. We learned about each other’s culture and language, and they also helped us improve on our game. We played soccer on the fields, on the beach, on concrete and basketball courts. It is a memorable trip we will treasure for a long, long time.”
Tavis Enno (U12B)
"I think Brasil was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I've learned a lot of new drills and got to play futsal, beach soccer, and foot volley. I think everyone should try futsal and foot volley to improve ball control and overall soccer skills. The coaches made us work hard, but they were nice. The Brasilian boys I played with encouraged me a lot and helped me with new things. I really liked going to Santos and getting professional soccer player signatures on my shirt."
Luke Kyne (U12B)
Brazil was an amazing experience for me, and almost every aspect of the trip was better than I had ever expected. The trip to Brazil was a perfect balance of relaxation and sport, as we spent almost a week in Louveira training and playing soccer games alongside Brazilians from the street, whereas in Rio, we had two and one half days to tour around the city and explore the concept of beach soccer. The highlight of the trip for me, however, was the professional soccer game in Sao Paulo, where players from Calgary West witnessed a Palmeiras home game (the number one team in Brazil) in a stadium that seated over 20,000 people. While in Rio, visiting Maracana stadium was absolutely the favourite part of touring because I was able to see the largest stadium in the world (seats 103,000) from my own eyes. Overall, the trip was definitely worth one and one half weeks away from home!
Madeleine Kyne (U12G)
Brazil was a wonderful experience, a place where I made many new friends. Although there were many memorable parts to the trip, I thought that beach soccer in Rio was awesome. We were really lucky to meet some professional players at the Santos Football Club, where some of them signed our soccer shirts. Futsal was a really neat experience and I think they should have futsal courts here so that we can continue to improve our foot skills in that way. I hope other players get to have the experience that we did and that maybe we can go back to Brazil some day.
Azren Raju (U18B)
This past summer, some of CWSC soccer players had the opportunity to receive some training in Brasil. It was truly a wonderful experience. Not only was the quality of training high, the Brasilian winter weather was quite hot – 30 degrees. We had four excellent trainers while we were there: Marcelo, Thadeu, Marco, and Ousef. Even though they all had their own unique coaching style, they were all very effective. When we first started training, we noticed right away that the Brasilian style of soccer was much faster and more intense compared to the Canadian style of play. In addition, we remarked that the Brasilians were much rougher than we were and had a much higher level of play. In the beginning, it was hard for us to adjust, and we lost many games quite badly. However, as our training continued, things began to click for us and we started to get results. In fact, we even managed to win our last two games played against Brasilian teams. This trip was truly an excellent experience and I would definitely go on this trip again. Thank you CWSC for providing me with this opportunity.