Awesome trip to Memphis last weekend for the River City NPDC. I can’t thank the University of Memphis and head coach Richie Grant enough for hosting. The facilities were tremendous, only outdone by the great group of athletes and coaches who came together for a weekend of mental training and development. River City is known for its BBQ, and I hope the campers managed to get some quality ribs in after a hard day of work on Saturday. Coach Ian Collins came all the way over from Kentucky to join us, and with him and Richie heading up the field staff, there was never a dull moment.
Can’t say enough about some of the younger coaches who showed a great enthusiasm throughout the event. Clint Brown (Christian Bros), Mark Franklin (Memphis), Paul Conway (Lambuth), and Tom Foley (James Madison) helped deliver that 1 on 1 player coach environment that truly fosters development through closely watched games and instant feedback to players. Brian Jones (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) provided the keepers with keeper-specific training. Judging from the smiles and laughs at the end of camp, there is little doubt that the hard work by the coaches was much appreciated.
A shout out to Julio Prieto for winning the Sunday Dutch Street Soccer Contest. Awesome performance and deserves a shout out as the competition was stiff and he persevered.
All goals were accomplished in Memphis, and I look forward to next year. One of the top priorities of the NPDC is to provide players with an environment to receive personalized and direct feedback from top coaches, and with a Player/Coach ratio in Memphis of 5/1: Mission Accomplished.