WEYBURN – A Weyburn soccer player, Gabriella Friesen, spent part of her summer vacation taking in a soccer camp while in Toronto, and ended up with an invitation to play in an international tournament in Spain next spring.
The camp had guest coaches from Madrid, Spain, and they covered many techniques and skills for playing the game.
One of the challenges for Gabriella was she was one of the few girls taking part in the camp. As a goalie and defenceman, she had lots of opportunity for playing, which she enjoyed.
“They worked on pretty well all of the areas you need play in soccer. They had a different coach every day, so you rotated through the coaches during the week,” said Gabriella.
At the end of the evaluations of the players at camp, she was invited to be a part of Team Canada for the World Cup in Madrid, to be held on March 20-29, 2024, with the competition to take place on March 25-28.
This was a surprise to her, as she wasn’t even expecting to be playing at the camp when her family went out to Toronto for their vacation time.
“We’ll have 11 training sessions before the actual competition, and a team bonding time, along with a tour of Madrid and the stadium we’ll be playing in,” said Gabriella.
She will need to raise funds for the trip, including the cost of the flight and her accommodations, so she and her family are making plans for fundraisers to help her out.
The tournament will have 40 teams from 15 countries, with over 500 soccer players to take part in the competition.
“That’s one my dreams, is to play in a big stadium in front of big crowds,” she said.
Gabriella just turned 12 years old, and will be heading into Grade 7 at the Weyburn Comprehensive School this fall.
Once Weyburn Soccer starts up their fall schedule, she estimates she’ll be on the field playing three to four nights a week.
She noted she is very thankful to her soccer coaches for helping her develop her skills, particularly Tyler Hillstead, and Brennan Roy, who helped her develop as a goalie.
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