Chicago women's soccer pros show kids need for practicing skills

DECATUR â€" When rain began to pour down on the athletes practicing at the Decatur Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon, none of them let a little water get in the way of a good lesson.

Girls soccer teams with participants 10 to 14 years old had assembled for a soccer clinic hosted by the Chicago Red Stars, the city’s representatives in the National Women’s Soccer League. In the eyes of everyone involved, a little bit of rain was even a welcome refresher.

“It was fun; it woke the girls up a bit,” said Nic Webster, head coach of the under-13 girls soccer team for Decatur’s MidState Soccer Club. “Soccer is the best sport to play in the rain. The ball moves faster, and it helps cool you down, since you’re always running. It makes it more competitive and exciting. Everybody seems to step up their intensity in the rain.”

Four representatives from the Red Stars were present to run clinics and reinforce basic skills with the young local players. Academy manager Margo Baker, head clinician for the organization, said that during the clinical portion of the event they focus on soccer basics the students have likely heard many times before.

“We are going back to basics and reiterating what their coaches have been telling them,” she said. “Whenever an outside coach or professional can reinforce those lessons, they pay more attention. We’re drilling proper techniques that are very important.”

As a teacher, Baker has found great satisfaction in working with preteens and teenagers who have displayed an interest in soccer. The sport continues to grow nationally as more young players are exposed to professional teams in the United States.

“It’s fun for us, and I think the kids really look up to the professional athletes, especially when they realize that these pros are doing the same kind of practices and exercises every day that they’re doing with their own team,” she said. “The pros still train all these basics day in and day out.

“Our players are very approachable; they like to get involved with these kids on the field and hang out with them, learn their names and get some one-on-one interaction time.”

The young players were able to ask questions about the sport and the professional players during an extended session, followed by an autograph and meet-and-greet period. One of the many girls passing through the autograph line was 14-year-old Alexa Kimberlin, a representative of Mattoon Soccer Club, who has already been playing for almost a decade.

“I started when I was 5,” Kimberlin said proudly. “Today we just went over important passing, dribbling and teamwork stuff. I’ve always liked soccer best; it’s my favorite sport.”

Renee Spencer, a self-professed “soccer mom,” sat to the side and watched her twin 13-year-old daughters, Gabby and Alyssa, participate in the clinics. She said the event represented a rare chance for young girls to get face-to-face time with potential female role models in professional sports.

“My daughters love soccer, and this was a great opportunity to see some professional women and ask them questions,” Spencer said. “It’s better than just watching a men’s team. They need some female role models in sports as well.”