Last week, Taylor Ritzman, Harley Spier, and I had the experience of a lifetime. The three of us were invited to participate in US Youth Soccer’s U15-16 Girl’s ODP National Development Camp held in Pomona, California. Not only did we have an opportunity to play with some the best players in the country, we were also under the direction of some of the best coaches as well. We worked hard, learned lots, and still managed to have a blast all while trying to showcase ourselves to the college and national team coaches that were in attendance.

The camp consisted of small sided and full field games, group and functional training sessions, along with a “street soccer” tournament. The first couple days we played many small sided games. The main point of these games was to try and release some of the nervous tension and anxiety that was built up inside of all of us. The next couple of sessions consisted of training, with plenty of touches on the ball.

On the third day of camp we had a street soccer tournament. There were six fields, three of which, were setup with the purpose to mirror a true street soccer environment. One field used benches as goals, another narrowed at the ends, and the third had a box in the middle that players weren’t allowed to go into mimicking two parked cars.

On the final day of camp, we played an inter-regional tournament. The regions divided into three teams and each of the teams went at separate times to play a round robin tournament with the other teams. Region IV did very well taking first in two of the brackets and second in the other. All in all, it was a great opportunity for the three of us. We were lucky to have had this opportunity, and it was an honor to represent Utah. We owe it to all of our coaches, and participation in Utah ODP!