Squamish鈥檚 Sammy Misquitta will get a rare opportunity to play at the facilities of one of the world鈥檚 most renowned soccer clubs, FC Barcelona, in March.
He has been invited to the fifth annual FCB Escola International Tournament for young players from youth academies around the world.
The club, itself, is famed for its home academy, which has produced contemporary stars such as Xavi Hern谩ndez, Andr茅s Iniesta, Cesc F脿bregas and arguably the greatest player in the game today, Lionel Messi.
It also operates academies in other cities, including Vancouver since last fall.
鈥淲e accidentally saw this academy open,鈥� said Misquitta鈥檚 father Andrew, who was surprised to discover the school.
Although Misquitta began playing soccer in Squamish, he started playing with North Vancouver Football Club鈥檚 U13聽 Metro team this year, and he has also trained with the Vancouver Whitecaps鈥� academy held at Simon Fraser University under Bart Choufour and his team of coaches.
Misquitta also began attending the FCB Escola academy twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays since it opened in September. While he typically plays on the wing, he credits the academy for helping him learn more facets of the game such as defensive marking.聽
For the upcoming tournament in Barcelona, the academy chose a group of players to make the trip. Misquitta, who just turned 13 this week, is a young man of few words, but he admits he is 鈥渆xcited鈥� to be making the trip.聽
Approximately 1,000 players from 22 academies in 15 countries are expected at the event, which runs March 19 to 25. (FCB Escola is also setting up a visiting March break program in 麻豆社国产March 14 to 18.)
To get ready, Misquitta has been training six to seven times a week in Vancouver. He will also be busy once he gets to Barcelona as he will be playing a half dozen games over the four days.
He has been playing soccer since he was about a year old, often with older brother Matthew and his cousins Brandon and Denver Francis, and later with close friends Michael Weiland and Colby Venekamp.
Misquitta also developed his game under coaches including Margaret Christiansen within 麻豆社国产Youth Soccer, where he quickly showed a knack for scoring goals but also learned to play as part of a team, to be a 鈥渟oldier鈥� rather than a 鈥済eneral,鈥� according to his father.
In particular, the young Misquitta credits local coach Peter Weiland for turning his attention to another renowned European club, Borussia Dortmund, also known for its one-touch passing, and one of their star players.
鈥淢y favourite, Marco Reus, is on the team,鈥� he said.
Even while spending much of his time on the pitch, Misquitta has managed to maintain an A average in school, take French immersion, study piano and cross-train by playing other sports.
He is unlikely to forget his local roots, as the family points out that he and his brother Matthew decided to decline birthday gifts to help raise money for a new turf pitch in Squamish.
As to where he goes in soccer, a next step for Misquitta would be moving to B.C.鈥檚 High Performance League, and he has lofty goals for down the road.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to become a professional soccer player,鈥� he said.
