Sweat was pouring off the face of Tanner Williams and his lungs were getting a good workout on a hot sunny Saturday afternoon at Rotary soccer field.
He was giving head coach Sonny Pawar his maximum effort, knowing he was auditioning for spot with Pawar's Whitecaps FC Northern Prospects Academy.
"I think this will develop me more as a player and make me better than I already am, it's such a great opportunity for us," said Williams, a 17-year-old midfielder. "I'm thinking of playing for a university team, maybe here at UNBC, and this will help. With this group of guys, the intensity level is so much more and the skill level is higher. Everyone's really trying to show themselves."
The prospects summer academy is the result of a new partnership between the Whitecaps and the Prince George Youth Soccer Association, announced in March. The Whitecaps program started with a four-day skills camp for all ages that attracted 160 players in eight groups, followed by a four-day prospects camp for more advanced and motivated players in the under-10 to under-18 age category. From the prospects camp, players were picked for the male and female summer academy groups.
The academy, which includes eight 90-minute training sessions, started a week ago and will continue through July 31. Players have been grouped based on ability rather than age. Thirteen-year-old Colburn Pearce is among the younger players going through the high-tempo workouts with the top group, having just wrapped up a U-14 silver medal in the provincial B championships two weeks ago.
"It's great because I get to see what the older guys do and then I can try that against guys my own age," said Pearce. "I like that we have the opportunity to be invited to the Whitecaps. Being on a northern team, not a lot of Whitecaps scouts come up here and it's great to have them watching us and have coaches constantly coming up to check on us."
Gordon Forrest, head coach of the Whitecaps FC residency program, will be coming to Prince George later this week to share help Pawar conduct the drills, which are geared to teaching game strategy rather than skill development.
Player performances in the prospects camp and summer academy will determine the 15-20 players picked for the male and female groups which will be invited to play in the Northern Prospects Academy. The fall academy will run from late September to late November (five weeks outdoor, five weeks indoor), leading up to the January-March winter session at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre.
At least one of the three Whitecaps coaches from the residency program will make monthly visits to Prince George to oversee the program. There will be also opportunities for Prince George players to compete against the other five academies and play in showcase events around the province. Whitecaps Academy programs also operate in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, the Kootenays, and Saskatoon.
The program is similar to the Pro -Touch Academy established in 2007 by Whitecaps women's team assistant coach Sipho Sibiya when he was technical head coach of the Prince George Youth Soccer Association.
"It's gone really well, we've had some excellent training sessions and the response has been really good from parents and the athletes," said Pawar.
"There's been a lot of planning and development and we're happy to finally see the product finally on the field. It's fairly new but it's the way the professional clubs work in Europe. The curriculum for coaching and the setup is the same throughout all of the academies, to try to teach the Whitecaps' way of playing soccer."
n This weekend, former Whitecaps Sam Lendarduzzi, Carl Valentine and a Whitecaps from the current MLS team will be at Rotary Field for a two-day skills camp for players in the under-seven to under-14 age categories.
