Last week we showed the future of Belizean basketball at a summer long basketball camp being held at the City Center. Tonight we'll meet Belize's future football powerhouses. One hundred children from across the city spent their summer at a football camp. This one is sponsored by the City Council. We visited camp at the Yabra field this morning.
Keith Swift Reporting
In the world of football this is called juggling. It is both art and science, a mixture of concentration, precision, and touch and it is easier than it looks.
Keith Swift,
How hard was that?
Shareek Smith, Participant
“It was easy…I practiced from the Yabra Camp…I love football. I have been playing for about four years now.”
It is juggling for Shareek Smith and nothing but goal for 12-year-old Gilroy Thurton.
Gilroy Thurton,
“I just came to the camp and do the drills they taught us to do.”
Keith Swift,
They said you are one of the better players.
Gilroy Thurton,
“Not yet…I plan to play football and get to semi-pro.”
Both Thurton and Smith are participating in a football camp sponsored by the Belize City Council. There are about one hundred participants – some as young as six years old. The kids are working with various coaches including football veteran Jerome “Peel Off” Maheia alongside other semi-pro football players and coaches. They are learning everything from the basics of just kicking a ball to more advanced tricks like juggling.
Jerome “Peel Off” Maheia, Coach
“Right now we are working on some skills, individual skills which we are trying to sharpen up their heads with the dribbling, the individual control and so on. Right now we see World Cup talent right here for Belize. If we spend time with them, I think we will reach that level.”
Keith Swift,
Why did you choose to help the kids?
Jerome “Peel Off” Maheia,
“Well this is my sport. I love this sport. This is the only sport I play. This is like my next girlfriend.”
The summer camp ends in three weeks but City Councilor Phillip Willoughby says the football program won’t end there.
Phillip Willoughby, City Councilor
“A program like this is very healthy to get our youths back on track. We will be assisting all the fields, upgrading it where necessary, giving it the necessary equipment to support the fundamentals of the sport, to develop the competence. We will be giving like nets and balls to the various fields and we will be submitting a sponsor to that field to sponsor the team from the private sector and the business community.”
Later this year, a tournament will be held which will pit different neighborhoods against each other on a football field. That tournament will be sponsored by RFG Insurance and sanctioned by the Football Federation of Belize.
