Local soccer players got the chance to learn from the greats of the game this week when Canadian soccer legend and guest coach Colin Miller visited with some former Glasgow Ranger teammates. The former pros were instructors at a weeklong soccer camp taking place at Riel Park.
This was the fifth year that St. Albert Soccer Association Head Coach Graham Wood brought the Ex-Pro Soccer School to the city, and the popular camp has many participants coming back summer after summer.
“This year is record numbers and I got to 126 kids for this week,” Wood said.
The annual soccer school isn’t just a summer camp for kids who happen to like the game; it’s for serious soccer players. Boy and girls from the U10 to U16 categories participated in morning and afternoon sessions July 9-13.
“It’s sort of an elite camp if you like and it’s a little bit different from most camps where it’s almost like a babysitting clinic,” said Miller. “This one here there’s a little bit more attention to detail.”
Miller was happy to be able to join instructors and international soccer talents Scottish Premier League legend Dougie Bell, Glasgow Rangers Hall of Famer Bobby Russell, Scottish Football League ex-pro David Thorburn and professional scout Glenn Kelly.
Wood said bringing in the professionals helps to bring a different coaching perspective to the players and exposure to higher levels of play.
“A lot of things they work on are what our coaches work on with the kids anyway, but they bring a professional perspective so their demands are higher and their expectations are higher,” said Wood. “The kids are getting specific expertise at a professional level so it gives them insight so if they ever do aspire to play at higher levels, then these are the demands that are going to be placed on them all the time.”
Ten-year-old Noah Quintela is back for his third year at the soccer school and finds it very beneficial. “It improves your game,” he said.
Ty Sinclair has also learned some skills this week like “how to control the ball more possession-wise, making better passes.”
“It’s good,” Sinclair said of the camp. And Quintela agrees. He enjoys the soccer school “because it’s a fun camp and you make new friends.”
Miller said all the players have put in a lot of effort throughout the week. “I think the kids have really enjoyed it, and they’ve done well. They’ve really improved, which is what we want.”
More than just the technical skills on the pitch, Miller tries to teach his young charges about the value of a good attitude and hard work and inspire them with his own story.
“Here’s an ordinary guy, working class guy, my old man was a coal miner and my mum was a nurse so no better than anybody else, still no better than anybody else,” he told the young players. “But I went and I made it because of my attitude and my willingness to do the right things all the time.”
Miller has had an impressive career. Coming up through the B.C. soccer system after moving to Canada from Scotland at the age of 10, he played for Canada’s national junior and men’s soccer teams. He has played professionally with the Glasgow Rangers in Scotland, and then the Toronto Blizzard. He has also coached at the university and MLS levels—most recently with the Vancouver Whitecaps. This depth of experience means that Miller knows what paths are available to players within the sport.
“I’m here to coach the kids, but I see the bigger picture all the time for the kids and I know what is required to get to the next level and if I just come here and I supervise, I‘m not doing my job properly,” he said.
Though the group of instructors encourages the young athletes to build their skills and improve, Miller says that they don’t focus singularly on the goal of making the national team or having a professional career, they identify other paths of success for the players.
“Realistically, are these guys going to be professional football players? We would hope that somebody might do it, but it’s not easily done,” said Miller. “But, you never know. A university scholarship? Yes, that’s more reachable for all these players, and why not?”
At the end of the day, Miller hopes that the kids come away knowing that if they have the right skills and the right attitude, they can go far in the sport. “I said (to the kids) you can look at me and say, ‘Well if Colin Miller can do it, why can’t I do it?’”
