July 27, 2009
WASHINGTON - On a hot, sunny July afternoon, 100 young men run around Multi-Sport Field on the campus of Georgetown University. Some are clad in bright orange pinnies while others are wearing a smart navy blue t-shirt emblazoned with the Hoyas logo. To a passerby, it may look like a maze of mini-goals, cones and soccer balls but it is actually one of the largest and most diverse sports camps on campus.
Georgetown Head Men's Soccer Coach Brian Wiese and his staff have been slowly building the soccer camp into one of the best in the country featuring a number of players that fans will be seeing at universities across the country in years to come.
"This camp wasn't set up when I got here, but it was something we had done when I was at Stanford and Notre Dame and I think it is a great opportunity for high school players," said Wiese.
The camp is designed to attract top-level club, ODP and high school players. It is also a good opportunity for players who want to learn more about Georgetown or playing intercollegiate soccer. The setting on Multi-Sport Field gives campers the opportunity to eat the food at O'Donovan Hall, live the dorm life and most importantly, play high-level soccer.
"We had an all-star game at the end of our second session and of the 24 players on the field, every one has the potential to play Division I soccer," remarked Wiese.
The camp's reputation has begun to spread among soccer's elite high school players. This past summer, Wiese and his staff hosted more than two hundred players over two sessions. Boys came from Mexico, Spain, Singapore, Puerto Rico, England and South Korea to learn soccer on the Hilltop. Among the American attendees, over half of the 50 states were represented including players from both Alaska and Hawaii.
"Hosting 200 boys is a substantial number, but it's actually not that big as camps go," said Wiese. "We cap the camps at 100 per session, so our players don't get lost among other people and they get a lot of individualized attention."
This personalized attention is in part due to the many coaches on staff. Georgetown assistant coaches Zach Samol and Josh Shapiro do a bulk of the organization, but camp is staffed by a good mix of college coaches and Georgetown student-athletes. This past summer, coaches from Harvard, Princeton, Richmond, American, Rhode Island, Villanova, Western Michigan, the University of Chicago and Catholic University all staffed at least one session. Additionally more than 10 current Hoyas work the camp assisting with demos and coaching teams.
"Being in the role of a coach has helped me understand what Coach Wiese has tried to do with us," said junior Tom St. George. "As a player it gives me a different perspective of the game."
The camp has proven to be an important recruiting tool as the Hoya coaches often encourage players interested in Georgetown to attend in order to get a feel for college life on the Hilltop. It has also helped the other coaches on staff identify players they may not have previously seen.
"We like to have players we're interested in come to camp because it gives us a chance to get to know them better and it gives them a chance to get to know us. They live in the dorms, eat in the cafeteria and see how we run drills. There is no better way for us to get a handle on them and for them to get a handle on what Georgetown is about."
Wiese makes no secret of the fact that campers are watched not only for their soccer skills but for their personalities to see if they will fit in on the Hilltop.
"We evaluate much more beyond soccer," said Wiese. "We'll watch if they leave trash on the field, if they say please and thank you to (athletic trainer) Melissa or the staff at Leo's. We watch to see if they are good citizens, the type of people we want representing Georgetown."
Many of the current Hoyas can speak to the camp experience.
"(Current Hoya) Erik Garciamendez and I were roommates at this camp two years ago and we are still roommates today," said sophomore forward David Madison. "Not much has changed with camp except it is definitely more international this year."
Madison cited the college pool games as one of his favorite parts of camp when he was in attendance. He was looking forward to the 2009 games that would be played under the lights that were installed on Multi-Sport Field this past March.
He agreed that now coaching camp gives him a new perspective on his own coaches.
"Coaching has helped me look at the bigger picture and to understand why the coaches have us doing certain drills. It has also made me be more aware of what other players are doing."
The Georgetown Residential Soccer Camp was once again a success in 2009 with over 200 participants and some of the best players in the nation. While the coaches aren't sure if the group held any future Hoyas they can be certain that these boys learned soccer fundamentals and got a taste of life on the Hilltop.
