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by Michael Smith Every year, the Grain Valley boys and girls soccer teams participate in a week-long camp at the end of June. With the season beginning in just two months, it is extremely valuable for the boys side as it is preparing for the regular season play that is right around the corner. But what about the girls? Their season just ended last month and won’t start again until March 2024. That may seem like a long way away, but even so, the summer camps are something that helps the Eagles even with many months to go before they face competition. “It's really light,” Grain Valley head coach Brett Lewis said of the work his girls do during the camp. “It’s more about them getting to know each other. It also helps us prepare for next season and helps the coaches know what the team is going to look like from a personnel standpoint.” On Monday, the first day of the camp, Lewis had his team play a “World Cup” game that had eight girls on the field and broke them out in teams of two apiece. He would have one or two balls on the field at the same time and each pair had to try and control the ball while the other pairs defended. They would then try to score on the goalkeeper while yelling out the hypothetical country they were representing like Cambodia or Brazil when taking a shot. Grain Valley’s starting goalkeeper, Alayna Maybell, wasn’t able to be in the net Monday due to a broken wrist, so Lewis stepped in and stopped plenty of shots his girls fired at him. “He made some pretty good saves out there. Maybe he should be our goalie,” junior Ally Gilbert joked. Maybell said she was happy to get back out on the field after suffering her injury. She had the opportunity to try and put the ball in the net rather than defending shots, which was a nice change of pace for her. “I got to play in the World Cup with my sister, Haley,” Maybell said. “It felt great to get back out there. It was very fun.” Maybell added that the camp is especially valuable for the incoming freshman, who get to meet some of the seasoned upperclassmen for the first time. Throughout the week, Lewis said he expects to have about nine or 10 freshmen participate. “The upcoming freshman can get to know us and get more comfortable during this camp,” Maybell said. “It’s really valuable for them, especially before they get to high school.” Added Gilbert: “We all have a lot of fun. We don’t take it too seriously, but we get a good session in.” Lewis also has his campers work on technical aspects of soccer to go along with some of the fun games. The players participate in possession and dribbling drills, as well, and they also work on ball striking. “A lot of the girls out here play for a club team, too,” Gilbert said, “so it helps them get ready for that.” During the final two days of the camp, Lewis said he plans to have a World Cup Tournament in which he will divide his campers into teams of four or five. Each team will have three or four players on the field and one goalkeeper. The teams will play in scrimmage games and will represent a country of their choosing. Like a regular soccer game, whichever team scores the most points wins, and the victor of the tournament will take home Lamar’s Donuts. “It’s pretty intense and pretty competitive,” Lewis said. “It’s a fun time for the girls to just get out. Some of the girls haven’t touched a soccer ball since the end of last season.”  Senior Annabelle Totta, left, attempts to get past sophomore Aubrie Henson during a World Cup game Monday at Grain Valley's soccer camp. Photo credit: Michael Smith  Grain Valley senior Sophia Giuliano, left, tries to dribble the ball past junior Kayleigh Morris. Photo credit: Michael Smith  Comments are closed.
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