What is the Campioni Camp?

July 16 - 20 @ Duluth's Bunten Road Park
9 am – 1:30 pm
Ages 9-15
$325 for the week - includes Dri-Fit shirt and Coppa Tavani entry
Read our Frequently Asked Questions for more details.

Global training led by nationally licensed coaches. Topics include playing out of the back, transition, counter-attack, finishing, combination play and introduction of different styles of play & formations. In Italian, "campioni" means champions and that is what we intend to make our campers in soccer & in life.

Playing out of the back
The top teams in the world such as Barcelona play out of the back. Playing out of the back is a style of play that begins possession with short passes. It is a patient and attractive style of play that creates scoring chances as well. It is also important for youth players to learn to play out of the back instead of just kicking the ball long.

Transition
Transition is the change in the game from defense to offense or offense to defense. The best soccer players in the world are two-players in that they attack and defend. The speed and organization at which transition is accomplished can create scoring changes or prevent the opponent from scoring.

Counter-attack
Counter-attacking is a lightning-fast attack to unbalance the other team before they get organized. It often starts when a team is defending, and then the change of possession leads to scoring opportunities by going forward with dribbling or passing. The Italian national team is one of the best teams in the world at counter-attacking, and they displayed it brilliantly in the 2006 World Cup.

Finishing
Finishing is the most important aspect of the game, and is the last step of most of the other topics we will focus on. Goal-scoring takes a rare combination of composure, confidence, bravery, and technique. We will try to emulate the great goalscorers in the world like Messi, Marta, Ronaldo, Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Italy's Antonio di Natale.

Combination Play
Combining with teammates is what differentiates a team sport from an individual sport. The teams that excel at combination play will have an advantage in soccer. Examples of combination play that we will focus on are: wall passes, overlaps, take-overs, split passes, short-short-long, switching the point of attack, and patterns.

Style of play
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world! Since, it is the world’s game many countries have a culture that impacts their style of play. Styles of play can be influenced by weather, culture, history, players, coaches, and a particular situation in the game. For example, Brazil has a samba style, England plays more direct, Spain plays a quick, short-passing game, Holland employs a total football style, Italy combines a controlled possession game with a stout defense and the U.S. play with a combination of all these styles. We look forward to introducing different styles to the players in our Campioni Camp.

Formations
The game of soccer has seen different formations evolve through its history. In the past, there were five forwards, a sweeper, and now the 4-3-3 is the popular formation today. It is essential for youth soccer players to be introduced to different formations so they can adapt to different teams, coaches, and styles of play. Overall, we will introduce different characteristics of various formations throughout the Campioni Camp.

We are looking forward to a great Campioni Camp! Have fun, train hard, and learn a lot!