A couple weeks ago the business that I co founded with Mia and Tisha called  TeamFirst Soccer Academy, headed to Atlanta for our first camp of the year.  This camp had one additional element to it that others haven’t had.  We run a two day soccer clinic for kids ages 7-16 for both boys and girls but this one we added a day.

The day that we added was called our Fantasy Camp.  This camp which was just a 3 hour session was for people 21 and older.  It was the first time we were running a session for adults that love the game of soccer or just us!  

Going into it I was like ok this will be fun.  We will actually be running a camp for people that saw us play or knew who we were without their parents telling them.   We weren’t necessarily sure how many people would come but as the registration started building up, we were like ok this is moving along.

We ended up with about 55 people from all over the country and different soccer levels, but the same love and excitement for the game and to meet us.  As they started showing up and getting their gear on, you could feel a bit of nerves and anxiousness.  I am not sure if it was because they were going to meet us or put on cleats that they haven’t worn in a while.  Lots of hello’s and thanks for being here as they got ready and we got set up to start the session.

We warmed them up with a bit of our old school no ball warm up and make sure everyone was nice and warm and loose before we started.  Then we got into our session.  Some ball skills, some drills and then finally some playing.  This was the part they were all waiting on, to play against us, their hero’s/idols/role models.  It ended up a bit short because of some thunder and lightning but we all walked off the field in one piece and a bit tired and sore.  

We wrapped up our event with some food and drinks and a question/answer and autographs.  The whole experience for everyone seemed to be what they were hoping for but for me was more than I thought I would feel.

It was such a great night.  I think for me it was seeing people no matter of their age or sex and come out to do something they love with people they looked up to.  It was about getting out of t19heir comfort zone (which we always preach to young kids) and putting themselves out there.  I think for me to see woman and men come out to be with us and learn from us or just hear stories of our time on that National Team and step out of their comfort zone is so great.

I am the first one to admit I sometimes get nervous or anxious about starting something new or stepping outside that comfort zone.  Just think about the things you could miss if you don’t.  let’s all try to get out of our comfort zone and live a bit and maybe even hang out with your heroes.