At McCaskey East High School, on Monday through Friday of this week, the Booster Club of the School District of Lancaster (SDoL) is providing a free soccer clinic to district students. Courses are being conducted by One on One Soccer, a Lancaster based instructional school specializing in high-level soccer training, assisted by some district coaches.
This clinic comes after several dismal years in McCaskey soccer for both the boys and girls teams. Last year, the boys team was 6 and 12; the girls team was 2 and 14.
Out of sixty possible registrants, 35-40 co-ed students have attended the clinic each day. According to teacher and soccer coach Adam Wood, this has been a positive turnout, considering the other activities competing for students’ schedules this week: “With field hockey, girl’s tennis, and band camp, we’ve lost some numbers. But I think, if word gets out for next year, this number will grow.” Wood hopes that the camp will become an annual program.
The interaction with One on One’s professional trainers has been enriching for McCaskey’s coaches, said Wood: “As a coach you always hope to grow by getting different perspectives.”
Todd Hoffard, founder and national director of One on One, explained how the clinic has focused on the school’s particular needs: “I did a coaching clinic, a couple months ago, for the high school, junior high, and JV coaches. So I had a feel for what their needs were. And it was a lot of simple stuff—a lot of touches on the ball. So we put together a simple curriculum to help them with that.”
One on One has been in the business of soccer training for 16 years, Hoffard explained. They currently hold locations throughout the United States, as well as some operations in New Zealand and Australia. The business has also recently started camps in Trinidad.
Despite his extensive experience in soccer training, Hoffard has been impressed by the performance of SDoL students: “I’ve been very impressed with what they’ve brought to the table, not only soccer-wise, but personality-wise.” Hoffard, who currently coaches for Temple, indicated that he has already given the names of some McCaskey students to athletic officials at the university.
The students displayed lively and upbeat demeanors, in spite of the heat and humidity. One high school senior said that the drills have been “tiring” but valuable, incorporating “a lot of running and one-on-one practices.” Another senior said that the drills “have been great. They’re teaching us stuff that they teach in college,” he said. One seventh-grade girl characterized the clinic as “really hard but really good” in providing an opportunity to build up basic skills.
Wood was optimistic about the potential outcomes of this intensive course: “It’ll give them a jump,” he said, “hopefully get this program turned around.”
