Practice makes perfect, especially when the practice is coached by three former U.S. soccer stars.
Auburn Soccer Association is partnering with Team First to host a co-ed soccer training academy taught by Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini Hoch, Feb. 6-7 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex on Wire Road.
There are currently 105 students registered to participate. Ages 7-18 are eligible to register.
According to the Team First website, the registration fee is $325 and includes two days of training, a Nike soccer ball, a T-shirt and an autographed card from all three coaches.
Team First was founded by Hamm, Lilly and Hoch to share technical and mental skills they found imperative to their success while playing professionally, according to Chad Parish, recreational league director.
The curriculum the program is based on says, "Be a personality. Be a playmaker. Be a force." The coaches teach camp participants skills for the field that double as life lessons.
The coaches will be speaking from personal experience about their strengths, weaknesses and lessons they have learned on and off the field, Parish said.
Not only will attendees be taught by Hamm, Lilly and Hoch, the team of staffers will be there to assist each student as they learn the tricks of the trade. Some of Auburn's soccer team will be present to help coach, as well.
Ryan Molt, recreational league sports coordinator, said the three coaches take the lessons seriously and are involved with the students that come to learn.
"Hamm, Lilly, and Hoch aren't just the faces of the camp," Molt said. "They get out there and coach the players. That's what makes this camp unique"
Mia Hamm encourages Auburn soccer players to lace up their cleats this weekend through a video invitation.
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