David Spiteri is once again sending us his experiences after joining a training camp organised by Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio. As you can imagine David is a football enthusiast and I am sure that we will hear more from him in the future
It was the second time I was joining a group from Birkirkara FC youth nursery on a training camp in Castello di Fiemme, Cavalese (Trento), but I still felt excited. On Saturday 7 July at seven in the morning we were at the Malta International Airport on our way to Malpenza Airport in Milan. We were 33 in all, 16 boys, three girls and 12 parents. Our coaches, Franco Agius and Jeffrey Mifsud had spent a lot of time planning this trip and we were to join a seven-day training camp organised by the Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio. We were to be a part of a six-week event, held annually during the summer by the Atalanta Scuola Calcio where every week it welcomes a new group.
We landed at Malpenza Airport and found a coach ready to take us on a visit to San Siro stadium. We also had time to visit the Inter and Milan dressing rooms and the museum. Our visit to Milan did not end here. We then had some time to visit the Duomo and La Galleria. We spent the night at a hotel in Bergamo and on Sunday morning we were on our way up the mountains to Castello di Fiemme.
The training camp was organised on the same lines as it had been organised the year before, very professionally I dare say. Everything had to run according to plan. We were assigned to our respective age groups and given training kits to use during the training sessions. The groups included children and youngsters from Italy, Slovenia and Malta. This was a good opportunity for us to practise our Italian and make new freinds .We trained twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon. We were very lucky to be training under the guidance of professional coaches. We were continually assessed and at the end we were given a technical report which monitored our progress. This year we focused on how to defend the ball – la difesa della palla – and we learnt a lot.
Our training sessions lasted two hours and each session started with a routine warm up of 25 minutes where we practised different skills such as summersaults, skipping, juggling and different ways of how to lift the ball off the ground. After that we practised different ways in which to defend the ball. The session ended with a 25-minute game and even the coaches joined in.
Apart from our training sessions we had other activities organised for us. We played table tennis and table soccer. We also had time to relax by the pool. “Relax” is a nice way to describe the time we spent at the pool. We really enjoyed it there. Mid-week we had a day off and we went for a long walk through one of the lovely forests. On Thursday we went to Moena and watched the Sampdoria football team during a pre-season training session.
On Saturday we were given our certificates. A presentation was held and we showed our parents what we had learnt during the week of intensive training. We also took quite a number of photos. This was our last day and we all felt sad about leaving. However, on Sunday morning a great day lay ahead of us. We left our hotel in Castello di Fiemme and drove all the way to Gardaland Theme Park. Although some of us had already been there last year there were still some shows and rides to be visited. The following day we left for the airport in Venice. We were on our way back to Malta, feeling very tired but certainly very happy. It had been an unforgettable experience once again.
On behalf of all the parents and friends I would like to thank our coaches, Franco Agius and Jeffrey Mifsud for their hard work and dedication, because it is thanks to them that this experience has once again been an unforgettable one.
David Spiteri
San Andrea School
Birkirkara FC Youth Nursery U/13
Editor’s Note: David, thank you for with us your experience at the training camp. You will receive a book courtesy of Agenda Bookshop
for sending us your article.