Suburban Football Club starts after school program

Just because there is snow on the ground doesn’t mean high school students can’t start training for soccer.
Thanks to the East Hants Sportsplex soccer dome, the Suburban Football Club (FC) has put together a skill development program to help soccer players get back into shape before the summer season.
“It’s a great opportunity for them, especially in this facility,” said Mike Senz, president of East Hants Soccer and one of the coaches for the program. “I mean this is a state of the art facility so it’s great, it’s perfect for them to be able to touch the ball as much as they can.”
Suburban FC – which encompasses the soccer associations of East Hants, Bedford, Sackville, and Scotia – plays at the highest level of soccer in Nova Scotia, making this a valuable camp for soccer players wanting to improve their game. Senz said the idea to have a development program in the soccer dome was presented to him by Matt Blair, the regional technical director of Suburban FC.
“So we took it to the high schools to see if anybody would be interested and here we are,” said Senz, referring to about 30 soccer players warming up around the dome for their Tuesday training session.
Hants East Rural High Grade 12 student Neil Surette came to the after-school practice to work on his fitness, speed, and passing for the summer.
“It’s definitely important to get some work in because if you’re just sitting around you can’t expect to kick into high gear once summer season starts,” said Surette. “If we have something like this, I mean, might as well take advantage of it.”
Senz said the dome provides soccer players with a opportunity they never had before – the ability to play local indoor soccer.
“They had nothing,” said Senz. “They could maybe go to a gym and wreck their knees on the hard gym floor while they’re playing soccer, or go play hockey to get into shape.”
The eight-week program will be working with soccer players on their skills, fitness, and potentially some scrimmage games with other high school teams in the district.
Alyson Bremner, athletic director for Hants East Rural High, was in attendance at the Tuesday session assisting the players with her fitness drills. She said she was invited by Blair to help with the fitness training aspect of the program.
“This is a place to get back into shape, develop your skill, and a chance to figure out what you need to work on before summer tryouts,” said Bremner.
She encouraged players of all ages to not be intimidated and give the program a shot. Most of the players in the program are in the Grade 9-12 range, but Bremner would like to see younger students come out.
The price for the eight-week program is also affordable, with registration at $50.
“We could possibly bump it up to two days a week if we get the interest,” said Bremner. “And for a Suburban coach to being able to give that much time for $50 that’s pretty good.”
As much as the program is centered on improvement, Bremner said it seems like the players are all out to have fun, too.
“This seems to be more of a friendly thing,” she said. “You know, after school they know they can just come here and play.”
timvanderkooi@enfieldweeklypress.com