By YASEMIN TALAT
SOCCEROO and A-league football star Archie Thompson was in Altona North last week joined by dozens of youngsters at his soccer camp.
The Archie Thompson School of Soccer landed in Altona North’s Emmanuel College, with football fans coming from near and far for the three-day camp.
Thompson hoped the camps would nurture the nation’s next big football stars.
“I’m hoping this camp can potentially have some future Socceroos and Matildas and I can see already there’s some great talent here,” Thompson said.
The footballer was hands-on at the camp, playing matches with the kids, lending tips and advice and just having a chat.
“We are all about the kids having fun, and that’s the most important thing,” he said.
Thompson said he loved hanging out with the kids, and felt like a big kid himself.
“For me it feels like I’m in the backyard again and that’s the reason I played football because I enjoyed it in the backyard at home,” he said.
The Altona North camp was a sell-out, with girls and boys aged between eight and 17 gearing up to take part.
“Football out here, particularly in the west, has a big following, and I think there are not many camps of this sort that come out here very often,” Thompson said.
“If we can keep having schools offering their facilities we are going to only help the kids and they’re going to learn about football, learn about having fun and about nutrition and meet new friends,” he said.
“We want kids to have that discipline and belief that they can be anything they want to be,” he said.
“If they have aspirations to be a professional footballer then we teach them what they need to know to hopefully get them on the way to become a professional footballer or if they want to become anything, if they follow their dreams it is possible.”
