ROCKINGHAM - Another Richmond Senior High School soccer program summer development camp has come and gone, and with it, comes the satisfaction of first-year head coach Chris Larsen and co-director Bennie Howard.
The four-day camp was held from Monday through Thursday this past week at Richmond’s soccer facilities, welcoming in 111 total campers between the ages of five and 18. Wrapping up its 18th year of developing Richmond County’s youth, the soccer camp proved to be a success to both Larsen and Howard, who recently retired from his head coaching role.
“The camp has grown each year,” Howard commented on this year’s group. “The first year I had 29 campers, and it’s a great fundraiser for us to buy what the soccer teams need throughout the season.
“It’s always a pleasure to see the kids come to this camp because a lot of these kids, boys and girls, have been coming since they were six years old,” he continued. “They’ve been here eight or nine years consistently. It’s good to see them grow with their soccer skills and soccer knowledge, which will help the Raiders in years to come.”
All hands were on deck in the sweltering summer heat, as Larsen and Howard welcomed in an impressive band of experienced soccer minds to assist with camp. The two directors were a roving patrol throughout the week, checking in with the different age groups, helping campers stay hydrated, and chipping in here and there with drills and workouts.
Hoke County High School’s head boys and girls soccer coach Colin McDavid was on hand, as he has helped Howard run the camp for nearly two decades. Having spent 18 years at Scotland High School as the soccer coach before moving to Hoke County five years ago, McDavid worked primarily with the middle school and high school aged boys. Assisting him was Tad Hamilton, who was recently named the new boys junior varsity coach at Richmond. He played for Howard as a Raider, before playing at Belmont Abbey College.
Rising senior Nolan Allen (green) participates in footwork drills.
Future Richmond hopefuls in action during camp on Tuesday.
With the middle school and high school girls, which totaled 30 in all, was Saint Andrews University head women’s soccer coach Brandon Standridge, who returned to his old stomping grounds to lend his expertise. Richmond assistant coach Vince Paparella spent his time working with a group of about 10 middle school and high school boys goalkeepers.
Rising seniors Jessi Graham (white) and Jayana Nicholson (pink) work on passing drills.
Rising sophomore goalkeeper Kaden Walker (black) fine-tunes his reaction time.
Working out on the Richmond football field with the younger campers was High Point Central High School’s head soccer coach Danny Villa, who has been another coaching staple during the camp’s tenure. Assisting him were two former Richmond soccer players, Brett Bowers and Altman Griffin.
“Camp went really well, and I think the kids all had a good time,” Larsen commented. “It’s good to watch them grow throughout the week, and see some new faces learn some new abilities.”
As the Richmond soccer program has become an annual contender in the Sandhills Athletic Conference for both boys and girls, it was important for Larsen to see many of his anticipated returning junior varsity and varsity soccer players in attendance. And being able to scope out future Richmond players was something he watched with a keen eye.
“It’s good to see where they (the players) left off, especially with the boys,” Larsen said. “I haven’t seen them in action since last October or November, and it’s nice to see the work they put in during the offseason pay off. It’s also good to see some of the players coming up, in terms of getting to look at all of the middle schoolers.
“We are going to focus on the current year, but as a coach, I also want to build the program,” he continued. “I’m looking at what’s coming up and what I can do to get the years behind players that are equal to coming in and picking up from the year before.”
Not only meant for local soccer players to get out and enjoy the sport, Richmond’s soccer camp was aimed at welcoming and encouraging new players to the sport, while also giving top-tier quality instruction to developing high school and middle school players.
During the four days, campers participated in a variety of on-field drills, including instruction on the correct ways to pass, trap, finish, and cross a soccer ball, maneuver and communicate on the field, and also worked on proper shooting techniques and boosted their soccer IQ.
“I’m really impressed by the number of boys who came out this year,” Howard said. “We usually have a lot of them, but I was also pleased with the number of girls this year -- they came out in a strong showing compared to last year. And it’s a credit to all the players as it shows their willingness to continue their success. The time is now to grow soccer players.
“I’m a little bit sad,” Howard concluded of his final camp as a co-director. “To this this thing grow, and watch kids play soccer, and talk to them, there’s been no negativity and they’ve had fun. And that’s what it’s all about.”
