Posts Tagged ‘Camp Starlight soccer’

Camp Starlight Soccer

Sunday, July 21st, 2013

For the past several summers, some of Camp Starlight’s most successful Wayne County athletic teams have been a product of our Soccer Program, headed by Matt Whatley.  Part of the reason soccer scores so highly with many of our campers, no doubt, is the fact that “Whatley” as he is affectionately known to campers, has been in charge of Camp Starlight Soccer since 2006 and has become very familiar with campers’ strengths as well as aspects of the game in which their skills could be improved.  With such an in depth knowledge of campers, Whatley is able to guide his staff in developing and applying effective coaching methods.  With nearly eight summers under his belt, Whatley sets high standards for his staff as well as campers.  “My primary goal coming into this summer,” he says, “was to get everyone involved in soccer as much as possible and improve upon our Wayne County record from last year.”

When asked about his proudest moment as a Program Head so far this summer, he mentions the 8th grade boys Wayne County match against Camp Wayne.  “They (Wayne) had a very strong team.  But our guys played excellent.  The game went into penalty kicks, and we lost by one goal during penalty kicks.  It was heartbreaking, but the guys really played a great game and held up against the other team really well.”  Whatley also says that in his eighth summer, he’s enjoying see his staff develop their coaching skills.

Whatley himself play for a nationally ranked college team and coached three more to national rankings.  But he asserts that of all of his career highs, the most significant to him are the 43 Wayne County Championship titles he’s won during his Camp Starlight career.  “The campers here are great!” Whatley says.  “They have a lot of pride in Camp Starlight and play with a lot of heart when they represent the camp.”

Here is to Continuing success for the Camp Starlight Soccer Program for the remainder of the 2013 season.

Whatley Returns!

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

One of the most popular members of the Camp Starlight Athletics staff members stopped by to give us an update on his new position at Feather River College and to give a couple of tips to all of our Starlight Soccer players as they try to stay in peak shape for the up-coming Wayne County soccer Season.

Feather River College finished the season 15-5-2 and ranked #19 nationally. In Matt’s first season on the sidelines, the team won its conference title and competed in the Division III National Tournament. With a great recruiting class and a core of young players returning, 2012 should be an even more successful and exciting season.

Here are some things that you can work on during the early spring to keep your soccer game in peak shape:

*Work on juggling, which will help your touches.

*Also, passing against a wall will help you with your passing and trapping.

*Another great drill to help you with your dribble and touches is to do a bell on the ball. To do this, place the ball between your feet and tap it from one foot to the other.  To make it even more difficult, try to do so without looking at the ball. You can also do stationary moves such as overs, unders, sole behind drags, etc.

“Hope these couple of drills help, and I look forward to seeing you all back on Alumni Field in June.”

Matt