Premier camp fine tunes skills

Mauro Nobre knows what it takes to get the best out of his players.

Over the last seven years the Kaw Valley Soccer Premier coach has focused on strength, stamina and power in an effort to get his players in top form going into the fall season.

Last week Nobre was back at the Youth Sports Inc. complex, teaching new skills and strategies to a new crop of players at the Kaw Valley Soccer Assn. Preseason Intensive Soccer camp.

Nearly 30 Premier Leaguesoccer players from 8- to 19-years-old participated in the week-long camp.

Nobre said one of the primary goals of this camp, as opposed to others, was to focus on increasing players’ stamina and endurance.

“One of the main objectives was to get them more game fit,” Nobre said. “They should be able to play an entire game at a high work rate and still have energy.”

To achieve high intensity performances from participants, Nobre incorporated interval training that utilized three-on-three games. Nobre said these quick games provided constant action to improve agility and coordination.

Each day of the camp, the last hour of the session focused on an in-camp tournament that Nobre said encouraged competition among the participants.

Before the tournament games, players spent the rest of the camp participating in speed training, incorporating jumping, and bounding to increase their overall intensity. Nobre said the camp started with speed training so players would not be fatigued from all the workouts that took place earlier. Nobre’s strategy seemed to be working.

“I could tell the training was working by the second or third day,” Nobre said. “Players had sore muscles during the first day, but then they rebounded with energy in those second and third days.”

Nobre also noticed improvement in participants’ three-on-three work and the “quality of their touches on the ball.” He believed player fitness improved and they made fewer mistakes as the week went on.

Nobre felt the camp was most unique and beneficial to players because it worked on all areas of fitness, which in the game of soccer can be crucial.

“All the exercises are very effective and very fun,” Nobre said. “They are stimulating to the kids and they just seem to really enjoy it.”

Nobre said he plans on playing host to another preseason soccer camp in January or perhaps February before the spring of season gets under way.