bermuda 2016
trip
summary
Every summer our World Elite Talents travel to foreign location to experience a new culture and to exhibit their talent to local youth. This year we were invited by the Bermuda Athletic Association to attend a local soccer camp. Every young soccer player dreams of being the next Ronaldo someday, but not everyone has what it takes to make it happen. Hakeem, Jenno, Solomon and Xavi trained and played with the local youth during a 10-day trip. Playing soccer together allowed the local youth to relate to the World Elite Talents and hopefully they were inspired by their peers to make their soccer dreams come true.
For us it’s important that our talents learn about the local culture and gain a better understanding of what it is like to live like a pro. What does it mean to be a world class soccer player? We teach them simple things like answering interview questions, signing autographs, or how they should behave at local events. The trip was a mix of hard work and fun but most importantly; they did it together.
"Bermuda 2K17 was a fun but especially an educational trip because we went with boys who did not speak Dutch and to keep it fun you need to speak English so everyone can understand and talk with each other. The fun thing about that was that our English was not that great yet so sometimes we said things in a very funny way and we could all laugh about that afterwards. At first it was quite difficult but after a few days we found it a lot easier. In this way of traveling, you get to know each other better and you can see how the life of other young soccer professionals is."
Solomon Bonnah, AFC Ajax U16
"This year has been a year with a lot of professionalism and a good vibe among us all. Not all of us are from the same team and we are not from the same country as well. We've learned to communicate with each other and that made us improve our communication skills!"
Xavi Simons, FC Barcelona U15
"I've learned a lot during this trip like talking and communicating in English. The other thing is that I was one of the oldest boys of the group so it was my job to keep everyone together and to act more as a leader. I've also learned how to play soccer with other local kids which I was not used to. Last but not least: I learned that if you do something, you have to enjoy it to the fullest."
Jenno Campagne, AFC Ajax U15