Dean is 11 years old. He lives in Hampshire, UK, and has four huge football posters on his bedroom walls. They are all of Cristiano Ronaldo. Dean plays with a local kids’ team on Saturdays.
Sarah is 17, and she plays high school soccer in Colorado, USA. She is very good at the game, but needs to get into college, so that she can play at a higher level.
Jorgen from Denmark is only 6. He’s only played some football at school, but he loves all sports and outdoor activities anyway. His parents would like him to learn a second language.
Why football camps in Spain?
Dean’s, Sarah’s and Jorgen’s parents support their children’s love of sport. However, they are keen for their kids to acquire other skills and knowledge during the summer. Many parents also hope that their child can learn a second language.
Football-Soccer Camps in Spain may well be the ideal solution.
Benefits of sport with a second language
Did you know that children can lose over two months’ worth of school learning over the summer holidays? For continued vacation education, sports-related summer camps abroad are perfect.
If your child loves football (or soccer as it is known in the States), camps organised by Spain’s top football clubs are a great choice – more about these below.
Football camps are an “easy sell” for parents. It’s one thing convincing your kid to take extra classes during the summer, and another to tell them they’ll be playing football, swimming and having fun in the sun with lots of other children.
Camp situations provide natural, “painless” education. With many native Spanish children at football camps in Spain, kids from abroad benefit from peer-to-peer learning, one of the most effective ways to pick up a new language. And while they acquire football instruction in Spanish from top youth football coaches, they are also play-learning while they engage in a fun activity.
Top football camps in Spain
Two of the best football-soccer camps in Spain are organised by the Real Madrid Foundation and FC Barcelona. Both clubs offer programmes of an exceptional quality, both in terms of sport education, as well as second language learning.
The camps have different levels and age groups, making them suitable for all children and skill levels. For example, in Sarah’s case, she could join an advanced group with others her own age, and hone her technique for a future professional career in football. Dean and Jorgen would also join suitable age groups, according to the level that they currently play at.
What is the Real Madrid Football Camp like?
Aimed at boys and girls between 9-17 years of age, the Real Madrid football summer camps are led by teams of professional coaches, carefully picked by the Real Madrid Foundation itself. The camps are held either at Real Madrid’s Ciudad Deportiva in Valdebebas and Villarosa, or at the European University in Madrid.
These camps are two weeks long and include 15 hours of football training per week. There are Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced groups, and this means that any kid can join and benefit. Additionally, each group only has a maximum of 10 children, with one Real Madrid appointed coach per group, so the teaching is highly individualized. The training includes tactics, rules and techniques, strike and goal-keeping practice, ball skills, dribbling, and so on. There is also a special technique-training program available for Club affiliates.
The coaches only speak Spanish, and there are many native Spanish children at the camp too. Kids from abroad really benefit from this native Spanish environment and quickly begin to pick up the new language as they play and interact with each other.
Barcelona FC Camps – high standard and popular
The Barcelona Footb
all Club summer camp is designed for children between 6-14 years of age. During camp time, which can range from 2-4 weeks, children receive 17 hours of football training each week at the sporting premises of the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia. Enrolling at the camp also means each child gets a full, official Barcelona FC team kit.
Barcelona FC camps have four different groups of 15 children, divided by level, training requirements and age, and Barcelona FC assigns one professionally accredited football coach to each group. There is also a special group for goalkeepers, which is run separately.
The football tuition at Barcelona football club covers all the elements of the game, including theory, tactics and physical techniques, and also actively promotes important values like good sportsmanship, teamwork and playing a fair game.
Some coaches speak both Spanish and English, but Spanish is the main language during football practice. The Barcelona FC name attracts many children from Spain too, so kids and teens coming from abroad benefit from native Spanish language immersion with both their coaches and the other kids at the camp.
What about accommodation, food and other activities?
These kinds of summer camps and the facilities used are specifically aimed to be suitable for children and teens. For example, the Real Madrid camp offers two purpose-built places of residential accommodation, depending on the training location. Barcelona FC uses a modern, pleasantly decorated student residence ideal for children to feel at home. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona camps ensure children are always supervised, accompanied to and from training, and not allowed to leave the sporting or accommodation venues. Health or accident insurance is also included.
Children also get all their meals at camp, and there are established times for sleep, showering, and calling or emailing families back home. The camps include many other fun summertime activities apart from football, like playing games, swimming and supervised free time.
Want to know more?
If you are interested in finding out more about how your child can benefit from some of the best youth football coaching in the world while acquiring Spanish language skills, you can visit Ertheo.com – or get in touch for more information.
Sending your child to Football-soccer camp in Spain this summer is a no-brainer if you’re looking to fulfil both their aim to have fun, and your own educational goals for them. These camps provide children with an experience they will never forget.
There is no better way for young people to learn new things and gain confidence than through sports and peer-to-peer learning – these camps provide both.
