Smart Stars Football Summer Camp Culminates at the MCC Grounds
The Smart Stars Football Summer Camp culminated today at the MCC Grounds in Belize City. The annual football summer camp has been taking place for over ten years and this is the seventh year that Smart has been sponsoring it. Children from across the city have been playing ball for weeks and learning important sport skills. Today we stopped in for the final day of play.
Adelaide Sabido
Adelaide Sabido, PR Officer, SMART
“Our hope with sponsoring the camp is not only to have a summer activity for the kids but having them to remain physically active over the summer for them to strengthen their skills at the sport. We have younger kids who are learning and developing at the sport and in so doing we do hope that they discover their talents, they discover their creative prowess that they have to engage every day. Like every other camp, the camp allows them to develop their sportsmanship, develop their social skills; so there’s a lot of benefits that come forward from camps like these.”
Jahren Rivers
Jahren Rivers, Striker Position
“I play striker and it mi fun miss.”
Andrea Polanco
“Yuh score any goals?”
Jahren Rivers
“Dah bout ten goals miss. We play inna the cones deh.”
Andrea Polanco
“Bout ten; what, suh you wicked pahn the football field?”
Jahren Rivers
“Yes, ma’am.”
Kaylen McFoy
Kaylen McFoy, Forward Position
“I have been playing in this camp for three years. I like it because it give us more work out and we play football and it give we more skills.”
Andrea Polanco
“Talk to me about the position you play on the team?”
Kaylen McFoy
“I play forward, miss. It was tough fi pass some of the defense on the other team.”
Andrea Polanco
“Tell me how many goals deh score pahn yuh?”
Kaden Johnson
Kaden Johnson
“Five.”
Andrea Polanco
“Deh score five goal pahn you?”
Kaden Johnson
“Yes, miss.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, it was a tough camp?”
Kaden Johnson
“Yes, miss.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, talk to me about what all you learn dah dis camp?”
Kaden Johnson
“How to dive; how to hold the ball in your hands and how to receive passes.”
Adelaide Sabido
“It is just an initiative that we want to share with parents in the community that we have something for your kids to do. It is a safe environment and led under coach Stanley Reneau and it is safe for your kids and it is something positive and reinforcement. Most of these kids are very active in the schools that they are a part of and we do hope that strengthening their sportsmanship and their skills here will allow them to be better players on their teams and be better players generally to go abroad and play and represent their country as they progress.”
