Soccer Club Has Kids Teaching Kids

Most athletes say they play for the love of the game.

So maybe that's why more than 30 young soccer players from the village are giving back to the game they love by teaching the basics to the younger generation of soccer stars at a summer skills clinic run by the Rockville Centre Soccer Club.

The free program — Kids Teaching Kids — pairs teenage and young adult athletes with three to seven-year-olds in a two-week soccer training camp hosted at the Dean Skelos Sports Complex from July 19 to July 29.

The 10-day camp entails teaching the fundamentals of the game to aspiring young soccer players, from dribbling and passing, to trapping and juggling the ball. Many of the 30-plus instructors who volunteered either participated in the program as a child, or were village soccer club members. More than 200 kids signed up for this year's camp, which has been running since 1983.

Tyler Kahn, 19, has been an instructor for the last four years, and said he signed on because he loves soccer, but also likes helping the up-and-coming generation of soccer players. "It's a nice way to give back to the community," Kahn said. "It feels good to teach them the ins and outs of the game."

He added that he stresses one main objective to the kids: have fun. "That's the most important thing," Kahn said. "Just try your best because if you don't love it, then why do it?"

Joe Diiorio, 21, along with his sister Jenna, 18, have worked as instructors for the past three years, and said they both try to instill different things into the youngsters. "Each day I try to teach them something different," Joe said. "One day it's dribbling, the next day it's the rules of the game. I did this when I was a kid, so I know the young ones look up to the older kids."

Jenna, who plays in an intramural league at Villanova University, said she preaches sportsmanship. "I teach them to be nice to each other," she said. "They get to learn what a team is and that's important for soccer."

Rockville Centre resident Lou Mediros said he signed up his four-year-old son, Aiden, in the camp to help teach him the basics of the game and make new friends. "It's a good way for him to socialize and meet kids from the neighborhood," Mediros said. "Plus, it keeps him moving and healthy and he gets to learn the technical aspect of the game."

Another village resident, Glenn Yarris, said he put his two daughters, Sarah and Juliana, into the camp for separate reasons. One of his daughters is more social, while the other keeps to herself, he explained. "It teaches them the fundamentals and discipline," Yarris said. "Also, it helps them be more expressive in a peer group. It's a team sport."