“A big hit and great way to kick-off the winter and summer camp 2020-2021 season,” said NACTM Camp Director Justin Reid. On November 27th, twenty-one players across Montgomery County and Baltimore County came to Silver Spring, MD to participate in the first North America Caribbean Training Method camp of the 2020-2021 season.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions tightening as the country heads into the winter season, the camp stayed within Montgomery County, Maryland’s 25 person restriction for a gathering. The county also mandates that anyone engaged in physical activity is not required to wear a mask, but the players took it upon them themselves to have a mask present anytime they were among their fellow campers for a duration of time. Studies however, have shown that COVID-19 does not spread while playing soccer because at no point during a training session or game are players close to one another for a long duration of time.

Of the 21 players, 17 were field players and 4 were Goalkeepers. United States Soccer Federation “A” License coach and Trinidad & Tobago born Myron Garnes led the camp. Garnes recently wrote a book Technical Skills for Life: Presenting the 5 Lanes of Play where he breaks down the soccer field into five lanes and teaches players how to play their positions within the five lanes. His session started with technical training to get a feel for the players and their skill level, then evolved into small sided play to teach them how to win the ball in the lanes and counter. At the end of the session, all 21 players received a copy of the book.

Goalkeeper Coach Sylvester Alves, a local club coach from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and protege of Lincoln “Tiger” Phillips, from Trinidad & Tobago and 1971 NCAA National Champion at Howard University, worked with the Goalkeepers. His session focused on improving the quickness of the goalkeeper’s hands, learning how to dive, and defending crossed balls in the air.

The NACTM will kick off its first summer camp of the season from June 21-25, 2021 in Orlando, FL at Deputy Brandon Coates Field. Attendance is limited to 60 day/half-day campers and 40 campers for the evening program. After the camp in Orlando, the NACTM will offer camps in 7 other cities: Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, Virginia Beach, New York, Washington, DC, and Miami. To register for a camp click here.