Arriving In South Africa

Christian Isquierdo makes his second entry for IMS as he reports in from South Africa.

Day one plus some
We’re here at camp for the first day after traveling for over twenty hours from Minneapolis to Atlanta and a fifteen hour flight to Johannesburg. The flight was packed full of travelers eager to go to South Africa to cheer on their favorite teams. Honduras, Brazil, Mexico, and the US were some of the jerseys worn on the plane. On landing and takeoff the passengers cheered as the excitement of the journey was becoming real.

We arrived in the crisp cool of the evening, where the cold air was an unfriendly welcome after leaving ‘Hotlanta’ and the ninety degree humidity of Georgia. Yet as the kids and adults transitioned from customs to baggage claim you could tell we had our share of travel-weary souls. The evening ended with room assignments, beds turned and Coca-Cola uniforms passed out to the boys and girls.

The LeftFoot Coaching kids are part of 23 other winners of the Best Buy drawing, including two from Minnesota. Our group of Coke chaperones, two coaches, and Best Buy chaperones total 31. What’s fun is that everyone is from the entire US and there have been the fun exchanges about language and commonalities that happen when diverse groups come together.

The morning festivities began with a training session held at the University of Pretoria TUKS village. There are over twenty fields, all of them with exquisite lines, grass and training tools. The coaches are South African and have led the boys and girls in several challenging activities. I’ve jumped in several games and had some fun against boys from Brazil, Romania and Canada, including a couple of fellow Americans. Just as training began the staff turned on the loudspeakers and it felt as if we were in a European discoteche rather than a football camp. It brought up the energy, the enthusiasm and the rhythm of all the kids.

In soccer culture we’re still a young country. You could see it in so many ways of how the training and the environment is fostered and created here at the camp. I loved how the coaches used the music to teach the boys and girls how to get into the rhythm of the game. During a simple heading and skills drill the coaches encouraged us to move to the beat, and get our feet moving. I felt that this simple exercise was much more enjoyable because of the music which is constantly on during every event. It is a constant rhythm in the background as if every moment is a party. The vuvuzelas were passed out after lunch so the constant hum of horns blowing are in the air as well.

After training our small group of Americans stuck around to watch some of the competitive games between Vietnam and Egypt as well as Mexico vs Egypt. The Mexican team scored several great goals, their pace, technical skills and communication were on display for us to appreciate. One diving header and several goals were celebrated in true soccer fashion. A group dance and team bowling were greeted with cheers from both fans and teams. The announcer would add in his own twist that brought smiles and laughs on all the faces.

Zukumi, the official Mascot of the games, joined the camp during some free time and there were some optional activities for the kids to join in. What has been fun to watch is the pickup games that have sprung up with adults and kids from all countries. The friendships and the flirting with teenagers fills the air as soccer is the common bond that everyone enjoys here.

Everyone is getting getting ready to go watch the game, and Coca-Cola has been generous enough to give everyone free winter jackets for the cold nights, I’m super grateful, since I would have been one of the cold souls in the arena tonight. Well, I’m off to cheer on the bafana bafana in the second group game!

Christian Isquierdo is a coach for Minnesota Thunder Academy and runs Leftfoot Coaching Academy. He recently won a contest along with four of his students which will fly them to South Africa to attend a game and participate in the Coca-Cola Live Positively campaign soccer camp along with 250 other coaches and youth players from around the world.