Spreading a passion for soccer
From adn.com
ONE ON ONE: Mobile coaching camp featuring former pros hits Anchorage.
By ERIC SMITH of the Anchorage Daily News
(Published: July 18, 2004)
Aside from his trademark curly locks and distinctly un-Alaska suntan, Ethan Zohn blended in with the soccer junkies Friday morning at Alaska Pacific University.
Like the others bustling around APU’s campus a little before 9 a.m., Zohn seemed impervious to the television crews milling nearby. Instead of pursuing the media spotlight directed at him, he juggled a soccer ball, talked with coaches and watched players from the AK United Futbol Club go through their warm-ups.
Zohn, however, was hardly just another face in the crowd.
His face, defined by a chiseled jaw line and perpetual five o’clock shadow, is quite familiar to fans of the reality TV show “Survivor.”
In 2002, Zohn collected $1 million dollars for winning “Survivor: Africa,” and he later appeared on “Survivor: All-Stars.”
He shied away from discussing the fame he earned on television, not believing that Alaskans would know or care about that, and turned the conversation toward his real passion.
“I’d rather people know me for soccer than ‘Survivor,’ ” he said.
Zohn, 30, has been a soccer fanatic his whole life. He grew up in Lexington, Mass., graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and later played professionally as a goalkeeper in the United States and Zimbabwe.
He’s visiting Alaska because of soccer, and the warm weather that greeted him was a pleasant surprise.
“I thought I was going to be playing on ice,” he said with a laugh.
Zohn is part of the coaching staff for One on One Soccer, a Lancaster, Pa.-based mobile soccer camp that spent last week training AK United’s U-16 boys squad.
Beginning Monday, the coaches will host a weeklong clinic open to the public at Anchorage Football Stadium. Zohn will help instruct goalies along with One on One Soccer founder and director Todd Hoffard, 32, a former professional goalkeeper.
One on One Soccer began 11 years ago with a clinic that drew six children. Now it instructs more than 1,200 kids at year-round clinics across the country. The camps are open to anyone, although they cater toward those aspiring to play college soccer.
“Our goal is to get kids to the next level,” Hoffard said.
One on One Soccer recently formed an affiliation with Grassroot Soccer, a non-profit organization Zohn started with his prize money from “Survivor.” That organization, which operates in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Ethiopia, aims to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS by training professional African soccer players to educate at-risk youth about AIDS prevention.
Zohn now helps coach One on One Soccer camps, and Hoffard helps promote the fund-raising efforts of Zohn’s charity.
While Zohn’s face may be the most recognized among One on One Soccer’s coaches, he is far from the most famous soccer player on staff. That distinction is shared by Terry Phelan and Earl Barrett, a pair of retired English Premier League stars.
Phelan, 37, earned 42 caps (a recognition garnered for each appearance a player makes in an international game for his country) with Ireland and played a key role for Ireland at the 1994 World Cup.
He played for six Premiership teams, beginning at age 13 as a prospect for Leeds United. His professional career spanned 20 years, and for a brief period he was the highest-paid defender in the world when Manchester City paid Wimbledon $4 million for him.
Raised in Europe, the home of top-notch soccer, Phelan hopes to bring a similar playing level to Alaska, although he had no idea what soccer in the 49th state would offer in terms of talent.
“We didn’t know what we were going to get,” Phelan said. “But the children are willing to learn.”
Barrett, 37, earned three caps with England and played for five Premiership teams. He liked what he saw from the AK United, but he said Alaskans — all Americans, actually — have a long way to go before catching up with the rest of the world.
“The 15-year-olds here are not as good as the 15-year-olds in England … but it’s not the number one sport here,” Barrett said.
Phelan, Barrett and Hoffard spent four days with AK United, which used the camp to prepare for the upcoming state championships. Players worked on all aspects of the game and put their lessons to work with nightly scrimmages.
“I see ‘em think about things a lot more,” AK United coach Dan Rufner said of his players. “They seem to understand the game better.”
The players agreed the visiting coaches did wonders for their technical skills as individuals and for their cohesiveness as a team.
“It was a great experience,” said Andrew Hitz, 15, who will be a sophomore at South High and the only goalkeeper at the camp. “They know a lot about the game and they teach it well.”
Matthew Stratton, 15, a sophomore-to-be at Steller Secondary, noted at least one benefit gained from the camp: he became more confident using his non-dominant left foot for touches.
Just as important, players said, was the non-soccer instruction learned from Phelan and Barrett. The campers were quick to pick up British “football” slang, like “ground route to the back stick,” which means a far-post run, and “take the Mickey,” a reference to juking someone on the pitch.
Phelan and Barrett routinely dropped phrases like brilliant, mate, lad and “luvly” into their conversations, and the players grew accustomed to their thick Irish and British accents.
“I could barely understand them the first day,” Stratton said. “Now it’s second nature.”
For Stratton and his teammates, the soccer lessons learned from the coaches are as indelible as the linguistic ones. And most of them believe any soccer player hoping to get better should check out the One on One Soccer’s clinics.
“I definitely recommend other players taking the camp,” Stratton said. “They’re great teachers.”
One on One Soccer Camp
Dates: Monday-Friday
Place: Anchorage Football Stadium
Ages: 10-18 (boys and girls)
Clinics offered: 1. Goalkeepers clinic with former professional goalies Todd Hoffard and Ethan Zohn; three full days of training costs $300. 2. Field players clinic with former English Premier League players Terry Phelan and Earl Barrett; 20 hours of training costs $265.
More Information: To learn more and to register, contact Dan Rufner at 332-5540 or visit www.oneononesoccer.com.