Phillips County News - One Nation, Under God

Malta High School Junior and Olympic Developmental Program of Montana athlete Kendrik Wright spent a few days sharing a wealth of knowledge with youth aged four to 14 during his first Soccer Camp last week.

"It's fun and it's fun to teach people," Wright said. "I just like soccer a lot and I thought it could be something they could have like I had when I was their age."

The camp was a collaborative effort by Wright and Malta's Department of Parks and Recreation. The event was held on Wednesday, June 26, to Friday, June 28. The camp was broken up into three sessions: The beginners were ages 4-6 and held camp from 10 a.m to 12 noon. There was a skills session for children aged 7-10 at 1 p.m. through 3 p.m. and there was a skills session for kids aged 11 through 14 at 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Wright started soccer at an age younger than most of his students at the age of four and never looked back. He has travelled all of the state with his a couple of soccer teams including his current team Lewistown Soccer Club.

"Soccer is his life; he loves it," his mother Sally Wright said. "So he wanted to bring something more to Malta."

Kendrik got he idea to host a soccer camp after finding out he enjoyed helping referee youth soccer games during the Parks and Recreation Youth Soccer League.

One of the games the kids worked on to help their fundamentals was King of the Ring, a game in which they had to kick each other's ball out of a circle of cones, while maintaining control of their ball. Though it was one of the camp favorites, Ling of the Hill was not the favorite game.

"The kids love scrimmaging," Sally said. "They love playing different kinds of games, learning their technique, learning how to dribble and keep control of the ball."

Seen at the camp were new goals and targets that will be used for the Rec League. The campers were also taught how to use goalie gloves.

Attending campers received drawstring backpacks, an item that the mother-son duo hopes will be used for the Rec Soccer League later this year.

In addition to everything that the campers learned and practiced, Kendrik made sure to teach them respect for game and during the game.

"We teach them how to respect each other when someone gets hurt," Wright said. "We take a knee."