The Eagle Canyon Football Club kicked off their first soccer practice of the year with great oomph.
Youngsters turned up with energy and passion on 1 February, as the coaches went through fun soccer drills and even played games such as British Bulldogs to develop skills in the budding players.
Club owner Peter Grgin said the club, which is based at Eagle Canyon Golf Estate in Honeydew, was in its fifth year. Although it is open to the public – even people living outside the estate, as well as girls and boys – the club only focuses on children aged three to 12, and only accommodates up to 30 players.
“We play friendly matches against teams from other estates,” he said. “We encourage competitive soccer, but we don’t keep track of which estate wins how many matches, and we sometimes mix age groups to keep the teams even. It is all about having fun, you see.”
Grgin previously launched soccer clubs at Kyalami Estates and at the Cedar Lakes Residential Estate. He said the estates mainly played with six-a-side teams, but teams can range from anything between four and seven players. Grgin and fellow coach Gary Avnit both have experience playing in the National Premier Soccer League, before they went into coaching.
“Other clubs try to teach the youngsters all sorts of fancy tricks, but if you do not have the basics, it does not help. Here, we make sure the basics are good,” Avnit said.
For coach Aphiwe Mali, teaching soccer to youngsters is a joy. “There are such great characters here. However your day has gone, they always put a smile on your face.”
Details: Eagle Canyon Football Club turquoise@iburst.co.za or 082 572 4071.
