Interview With
Tony DiCicco
SoccerPlus Goalkeeper School started in 1982 so we are over 30 years old and our methods are tried and proven. I was a goalkeeper and found that it was a lost position, with very little instruction or coaching. Camp attendees include like Hope Solo from our Women’s National Team and Nick Rimando on our Men’s World Cup Team. They both attended as youth players. However, we pride ourselves with developing Goalkeepers of all ages and abilities. SoccerPlus FieldPlayer Academy started in 1996 after I was named Head Coach of the USA Women’s National Soccer Team. By the way, we won the 1st ever Olympic Gold Medal in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics. I am proud of the fact that I am the only coach in American history to have won and Olympic Gold Medal; a Senior Team World Cup Championship and a Youth Team World Cup Championship. All those coaching lessons, I have learned are part of our curriculum!
SoccerPlus Camps runs programs all over the country. Go to www.soccerplus.org for our full schedule. We have camps in Massachusetts and in Washington State, in Florida and Minnesota and many places in between. We find that players are willing to travel to our camps and it is common for us to have international student-athletes attend.
My camp philosophy is the same as my coaching philosophy when I won Olympic Gold and World Cup Championships with my national teams. We challenge our campers and then guide them to success. By doing this, we build self-confidence and there is a direct correlation between self-confidence and performance. The challenge has to be real, the coaching has to be great and a community of staff and students working together is established. It is positive; it is powerful and goes way beyond the soccer field and long after camp has ended.
We specialize in teaching the “total child” not just the soccer athlete. Our curriculum for goalkeepers is the best anywhere and is proven. Our fieldplayer academy curriculum is based on lessons I have learned coaching internationally and professionally and it is special. Both are annually upgraded and changed as the game evolves worldwide. For details on the curriculum go to www.soccerplus.org
This varies between programs, where the camp takes place (California is more expensive then Indiana for example) and also if the students are day or residential campers. We are not inexpensive, but we are the best. For pricing, go to www.soccerplus.org
Staff is critical for SoccerPlus because EVERYONE must buy into the “culture” of the camp…which is hard work, learning, improving, not being afraid to fail and beginning to understand one’s genius. Our ratio is 8 students to each coach for the Goalkeeper School and 10 to 1 for the FieldPlayer Academy but very often it is better than advertised. Many of our staff are former students because they have lived and know our program but we also have former professional players, college coaches, top club coaches and international guest coaches. I would match our staff with any staff anywhere in camp soccer!
Our camp is transformational. It is amazing when parents come to camp to pick up their child at the end of the week. The students are exhausted, so is the staff, but parents see early-on that there is something different. They see their child with a better sense of their dreams and visions. They are self-motivated and they now understand what they CAN accomplish, not what they aren’t able to accomplish. They have begun to formulate their “action-plan” for reaching their dreams. Finally they leave camp with another level of self-esteem!
Our enrollment starts in December and goes right up to the day each individual camp starts BUT, we do have camps that fill up so, again, for information or to enroll go to www.soccerplus.org.
I am a teacher by trade. As I have mentioned, my goal is to challenge the student-athlete, then guide them to success because when any of us are challenged and we feel good about our effort and the outcome, we build self-confidence and with higher levels of self-confidence comes higher levels of performance. We developed players, there is no doubt about that but we also develop positive character traits such as leadership or being humble when victorious or respectful when suffering a defeat. We care, I care. Great coaches make every minute count! SoccerPlus Camps!
As soon as possible. Go to the web page listed above or call 1-800-533-7371.
