We looked at a barca and Real camp in Spain plus a couple in England. They all seemed like fun and there was no Scouting involved, just pay to go to a Camp. I think you should do it for the experience and if in Spain for the language immersion but people not in the know will think you are trying to go pro or something. We ended up doing a tennis camp abroad and for some reason with tennis, nobody assumed we had pro aspirations (all the kids were there for fun). I think about soccer and language immersion but there are so many camps that sound good its hard to choose. I wish we had started younger with sport camps and they'd have the confidence to do backpacking camps that require more independence skills. They're only considering sport camps now but I hope they fall in love with a country and branch out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid did Barca at like 14. Said it was very fun, cool and learned some things. The Barca coaches were great(not the dumb dumb soccer here).
Talking to the chaperones. The American girls under u13 do well, older girls struggle against the club teams. Boys will play what are considered weaker clubs and get destroyed.
They will have like 3 games 7v7 against Spanish clubs. They try to pick one club that they should beat, another that they are competitive against and one club that is a lot better.
You get gear, stadium tours, museum tour, first team game or two, training at the clubs training facilities with coaches from the club, an ex player meet & greet and see Barcelona.
No idea what Real Madrid is like.

Remember it’s more of an experience. It’s a week camp and the kids are adjusting to the time zone. At U9 the kid may not remember it. U13/14 is a better age.

My son did Real Madrid at 12, after being "selected" from a summer camp. Exact same experience. His favorite parts were training everyday at the Real Madrid facility, touring the Atletico and Bernabeu stadiums and watching a Real Madrid La Liga game. His team beat two local academies, lost to one by 1 goal, and lost to another by 3+ goals. The competition got progressively tougher. I took him out for a day of touring, other than that, he was with them the whole time.

NP here. Thanks to the quoted PPs. DS (13) also got "selected" (definitely not scouted!) from the Real Madrid camp at Episcopal and we are pondering this option. We would definitely view it as a soccer-related travel opportunity and nothing more. I'm glad to hear that other kids have had fun on these trips. DS did an unrelated ODP soccer trip to Spain earlier this year and had an amazing time. On one hand, if he loved the last trip to Spain, he'd probably love this one too. On the other hand, two soccer trips to Spain in one year seems like a lot! But he really did have the time of his life on the last one.

He's also done a residential camp (no selection or scouting involved) at his favorite Premier League team in England and loved that experience as well. Both the England and Spain experiences were without parents and they were great for his independence. But he was 12 and 13, respectively, for those trips and those ages seemed perfect. I don't know how it would translate for a 9 year old (although the Premier League club camp definitely accommodated younger kids as well). But, for an adventurous soccer-loving kid, it could turn out to be a really memorable experience.

OP - did you see that there is a call scheduled for 8/17 to learn more about the trip? The link to the call-in details is in the selection email. I'll plan to join the call and see what they have to say.

Anonymous wrote:My kid did Barca at like 14. Said it was very fun, cool and learned some things. The Barca coaches were great(not the dumb dumb soccer here).
Talking to the chaperones. The American girls under u13 do well, older girls struggle against the club teams. Boys will play what are considered weaker clubs and get destroyed.
They will have like 3 games 7v7 against Spanish clubs. They try to pick one club that they should beat, another that they are competitive against and one club that is a lot better.
You get gear, stadium tours, museum tour, first team game or two, training at the clubs training facilities with coaches from the club, an ex player meet & greet and see Barcelona.
No idea what Real Madrid is like.

Remember it’s more of an experience. It’s a week camp and the kids are adjusting to the time zone. At U9 the kid may not remember it. U13/14 is a better age.

My son did Real Madrid at 12, after being "selected" from a summer camp. Exact same experience. His favorite parts were training everyday at the Real Madrid facility, touring the Atletico and Bernabeu stadiums and watching a Real Madrid La Liga game. His team beat two local academies, lost to one by 1 goal, and lost to another by 3+ goals. The competition got progressively tougher. I took him out for a day of touring, other than that, he was with them the whole time.

^^ Many people add on another week and travel around Europe.

My kid did Barca at like 14. Said it was very fun, cool and learned some things. The Barca coaches were great(not the dumb dumb soccer here).
Talking to the chaperones. The American girls under u13 do well, older girls struggle against the club teams. Boys will play what are considered weaker clubs and get destroyed.
They will have like 3 games 7v7 against Spanish clubs. They try to pick one club that they should beat, another that they are competitive against and one club that is a lot better.
You get gear, stadium tours, museum tour, first team game or two, training at the clubs training facilities with coaches from the club, an ex player meet & greet and see Barcelona.
No idea what Real Madrid is like.

Remember it’s more of an experience. It’s a week camp and the kids are adjusting to the time zone. At U9 the kid may not remember it. U13/14 is a better age.

My kid did at 12 and had a blast.

Not looking for scouting - I don’t even expect him to play in college so I’m not unrealistic. Just curious if it’s training is more than scrimmaging and if anyone’s gone who can share their experience

Sorry if DC is 9 then it is a cash grab. Would probably very much enjoy it and remember it for a lifetime, but they aren't scouting your kid.

Anonymous wrote:OP. I’m aware it’s not to actually scout him but more of a perk. The camp wasn’t impressive so wondering if it’s worth the expense for the training and reward for him.

If you are already planning to go to Europe and want to plan a vacation around it, a lot of families do it that way.

Otherwise, just think of it as a very expensive camp, but I’m pretty sure a 9 year old would enjoy it.

OP. I’m aware it’s not to actually scout him but more of a perk. The camp wasn’t impressive so wondering if it’s worth the expense for the training and reward for him.

That is the purpose of signing up for these clubs here, to get an opportunity to go on these trips to see the main club.

I remember hearing about this a few years ago from other parents, the kids were around that age.

Some also got a chance to see the team when they came here, like if they played for Barca.

I didn't know they were offering it to other clubs.

Anonymous wrote:Which camp exactly? Is it a true invite from a scout?

For an American 9 yr old?


Hahahahahahha.

Want to buy my beachfront home in Iowa?

It’s from the camp held at episcopal HS in Alexandria. Not the scout as it says kids from all over the country are invited to train but he was selected by the coaches from his camp.

Which camp exactly? Is it a true invite from a scout?

Does anyone have experience with this program? My son was just invited but he’s only 9. I’m curious if it’s worth the money or how exclusive it is.