础听couple of local soccer players are developing ties with one of the world鈥檚 most renowned clubs.
In 麻豆社国产last month, Beynon McKeen, 10, took part in the week-long development camp that the new FC Barcelona academy, FCB Escola, held at Brennan Park.
The academy invited two players who attended, McKeen and a player from the Okanagan, to go to Barcelona for an opportunity for development at the club鈥檚 academy home.
鈥淲e know about a couple of players that went, and they said it was absolutely incredible,鈥� said his dad, Will.
At the camp in March, McKeen said he learned a lot about quick passing from the FCB Escola instructors and also noticed they were thorough during drills and would stop a play to go over what was happening on the field.
鈥淭hey鈥檇 stop and tell you what you were doing,鈥� he said.
The FCB Escola in Vancouver, which opened in the fall, is part of a network of academies the soccer club runs in several countries, as well as its main youth academy in Barcelona. The aim is to develop players at a younger age to eventually supply club and international teams.
McKeen competes at the U11 level and plays a lot of midfield as well as striker, especially in games this season with a West Vancouver team.
Already, the ball seems attached to his feet, as he manages to keep it in the air with ease, counting off each tap of the toes. He rattles off 30 and says his record is 130.
He admits his best goal, though, was a header during an early season tournament.
鈥淚t hurt because it hit the top of my head,鈥� he said.
McKeen will follow Sammy Misquitta, 13, to Barcelona, who returned after almost a week of tournament games with Vancouver-area players in the city.
鈥淚 was very happy and excited,鈥� Misquitta said. 鈥淲e had two games each day.鈥�
Misquitta has been attending the FCB Escola in Vancouver since last fall and was picked as one of the players to go for the annual tournament held in March at the home of FC Barcelona in Spain.
The teams played seven-a-side on small fields at the club鈥檚 large facility that includes training areas, a mini stadium and their renowned stadium, Camp Nou.
鈥淲e got to go to see the stadium, we got a tour,鈥� he said.
On the pitch, the team fared well, with a record of three wins, two losses and two draws, good enough for ninth out of 27 teams.
They were lucky even to make their first game as an air traffic controller strike in France delayed a flight from Frankfurt, so they ended up having to take a bus all the way to Spain and had little time before they had to lace up their soccer cleats.
The team also attended a UEFA Women鈥檚 Champions League match between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain and even had a chance to pose for a picture with FC Barcelona men鈥檚 captain Andr茅s Iniesta, who was rehabbing from a leg injury at the facility. 鈥淗e just took pictures with each team,鈥� Misquitta said.
Misquitta, who started playing with a North Vancouver Metro League team this year and will be playing U14 this coming year, hopes to move on to the High Performance League at some point, and he has started practising with the HPL鈥檚 Mountain United once a week.
