Sharpen your skills at Virginia Tech

by Alexander Hoffman

May 23, 2012

In order to improve, athletes need to train. This is never truer than during the summer months when athletes are often left to their own devices. For the dedicated few who choose to continue training and practicing, Virginia Tech will be offering an opportunity you won’t want to miss.

Providing players the opportunity to work with professional coaches and staff, the Virginia Tech boy’s camp allows players to develop both mentally and physically while improving overall performance.

The curriculum of the camps will focus on tactical and technical training. Coaches will break down the game and focus on individual aspects during intensive sessions, before building it up into fun and realistic small-sided games.

While these training sessions are meant to improve players’ performance, there is a limit to what can be achieved over the course of three days. Mike Brizendine, the camp director and head coach of men’s soccer at Virginia Tech, acknowledges this problem. Brizendine states that “while we do teach the campers, we recognize that it is hard to improve in just three days. We want our campers to gain experience and skills that they can take with them so that they can get better in the long term.”

Another appealing aspect of these training camps is that they allow players to experience life on a college campus and simulate the life of a student athlete.

“These camps put athletes in a college environment so they understand what it is like,” Brizendine said.

All campers will spend three days on a college campus, with full access to the facilities and dining hall, while overnight campers have the opportunity to receive a tour of the Virginia Tech campus. In addition, the Virginia Tech camps offer a college recruiting seminar to provide high school players with an opportunity to have questions answered concerning the process of a selecting a college.

Virginia Tech will be offering residential/commuter camps and day camps during the months of June and July. There are three residential/commuter camp sessions that take place June 23 – June 26, July 18 - July 21, and July 22 – July 25.

The residential/commuter camps also have a position specific option for goalkeepers which are run on the same dates.

For more information about the Virginia Tech boy’s soccer camps, or to register, visit www.msoccercampatvt.com.