Northwestern Camps Will Change Your Life

by Alexander Hoffman

April 9, 2012

TITLE: Four Days That Will Change Your Life

At the beginning of summer, Northwestern will host men’s soccer camps for developing athletes. What makes these camps special is the level of passion and energy that the coordinators and coaches bring to the field. Tim Lenahan, head coach of men’s soccer at Northwestern, states that the program has steadily been improving since 2001.

Back then, Northwestern was in the midst of a 35-game losing streak. Since then, they have become one of the top programs in the country. Lenahan, who is also the Camp Director, says that “the same passion, energy, and commitment to player development that helped build the program [at NU] is put into our camps.”

Lenahan describes the men’s soccer camps by calling them “Four Days That Will Change Your Life” because they are meant to be a life-changing experience for the players who attend. These camps are designed to help athletes grow and develop so that they can reach their full potential. One of the main goals is to help the athletes get a sense of what collegiate soccer is like and what it takes to play at that level. The hope is that players will leave “inspired about what the future holds for [them] in soccer.”

The Northwestern camps are focused on training and developing student athletes so that they can play at the collegiate level, and this is no easy task. While the camp experience is meant to be fun and enjoyable, it is also meant to expose players to a college preseason. This means hard work and lots of practice. Players can expect full days of training, drills, and practice that will leave them exhausted. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

One of the additional benefits of training at the Northwestern camps is that players have the chance to work with coaches who might recruit them. If athletes are looking to play at the collegiate level, camps such as these can provide great exposure. And players don’t have to come from top clubs or academy programs in order to get noticed. Lenahan says that “we see every player that comes to the camp as a potential Northwestern player who can help lead us to a Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Tournament.”

Several times club athletes have managed to improve at the Northwestern Camp and earn a spot on a collegiate team. The most glaring example is Matt Eliason, a player whose club team was not at the Elite or Academy level. Eliason attended the camp at Northwestern but wasn’t quite good enough to play at the collegiate level. He returned the next year after improving but the Northwestern coaches were still unsure about placing him on the team. After following up later with Eliason's high school and club coaches, however, the Northwestern coaches offered him a spot on the team and he went on to be a very successful player. So successful, that Eliason became the all-time leading scorer in Northwestern history and earned over $100,000 in scholarships. It might not happen to everyone, but it does happen. And as Lenahan states, “we put just as much effort into helping those players who may not wind up playing at NU. I think we do among the best jobs in the country in getting our players placed into programs.”

There are three main soccer camps that are offered/running at Northwestern. These camps run between July 12 and July 27 and they are all held at the Northwestern lakefront campus. The three camps offered are the College Soccer Training Center camp, the Residential/Commuter Camp, and Day Camps.

The College Soccer Training Center (CSTC) camp is meant for high school and college student athletes who intend to play soccer at the collegiate level. This camp runs from July 19 to July 22.

The Residential/Commuter Camp is for athletes ages 9-18 and it is less intensive. This camp runs from July 12 to July 15 and mixes a competitive atmosphere with technical training and fun.