YPT Residence Program

Dear John,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing my son Tyler to be a part of 2008 Residence Program. John, words cannot describe the great week Tyler had and the confidence he has gained at YPT. I was very impressed from the moment I entered the campus at Registration, your support staff were the best I have ever seen, they made us feel very welcome and we felt very special.

Tyler had a time of his life he described his week as awesome, professional, and most of all fun, especially playing with such high level skilled players
When we drove off from St. Andrews, Tyler first words to me was mom this was live I cannot believe I played the best soccer of my life I have learnt so much I felt I was dreaming, this week has been live.

Tyler was thrilled being trained by one of the best coaches at YPT Manu from Real Madrid, and awesome team mates and the championship tournament.
John, for the past two weeks since Tyler has been back to Canada he shares his experience constantly with his friends, he said his life is YPT, He even changed his msn email address to reflect a part of YPT.

John you are the best, credit to you and your support staff and “Professional Coaching Staff”

Thank you, again

Keep up your great work!

Selma S., mother of Tyler (CANADA)

John,

My apologies for taking so long to send this e-mail. I have been meaning to respond concerning Scott's experience at your camp this past summer. I also wanted to thank you for your efforts and interest in Scott. I am pressed for time, so please excuse the bullet format and the poor grammar.

+Overall, I think it was a great experience for Scott and he enjoyed it very much. It was a rocky start for Scott, partly because this was his first experience at an overnight camp where he didn't know a soul. But once he was placed on his team and met some of the other kids, he settled down. I think being assigned to a team, training and eating together helped a lot.

+Scott told me the training was fun but intense, and he was tired at the end of each day. Scott knew he was at the camp to improve his soccer, not for a vacation, so the more training the better and I think he appreciated that. I think Scott was surprised with the quality of all the players, not expecting everyone to be a solid player. It was good for him.

+As you know, Scott is a young '94, being born in November, and is also small for his size. He has never let that stop him, and in my opinion he plays big (of course I am his dad). He knows that he is going to regularly face larger and stronger players, but rarely backs off. That said, I think it was difficult for Scott playing against the 93's, many of whom were almost 2 years older than him. I understand combining the two age groups to get the numbers for training and teams, but I think the 94's, especially the younger ones, struggled somewhat.

+When we spoke in length prior to the camp, you stressed that too often American coaches are looking for the biggest players in order to win immediately, and often overlook the smaller skilled players. I was impressed by that, and not only because my son is one of the smaller players. If I had one disappointment in the camp it was the evening games. This goes back to my comments about the 93's and 94's age groups being combined together. The games were clearly dominated by the biggest, fastest and probably the older players. I know this is fact of life, but it might have been fun if the 94's could have been divided into two teams for a game or two, and not have to compete against the 93's all the time. The good news is that Scott seemed to come back from the camp more committed than ever to work hard on his soccer.

I hope these comments are helpful. Scott really did enjoy the camp and is looking forward to returning next summer. Personally, I was extremely impressed with you and the staff you put together, and the facilities were outstanding. I also liked the fact that your camp was a true soccer camp, where the emphasis was on training these boys to be the best soccer players they can be.

Assuming Scott is welcome to come back next year, I would like to recommend your camp to a few of the better players on Scott's team if that is alright. Let me know about that, as well as the dates for next summers camp. Hope you are having a great year. Keep well,

Tom F., father of Scott, u14 (NC)

John:

First of all, we want to thank you for the opportunity for Bayley to attend the Residence Program. We were a bit hesitant in sending him so far away for a “soccer camp” but after having experienced it, it was truly more than just your regular training camp. From the moment he showed up, we were impressed with the facilities, accommodations for the boys, the training regiment and quality of the trainers, and the overall atmosphere that Bayley experienced. He was truly disappointed to be leaving on Friday (he thought it was over on the Sunday) – he could have gone for 2 weeks!! It was the perfect format for him – he was given a soccer overload for a full week and by all accounts handled himself very well.

From Bayley’s perspective: Likes – great trainers, liked the daily schedule, loved the champions league matches, sleeping in the dorms, great food!
Dislikes – absolutely nothing!!

From Marlene’s perspective: Likes – structured disciplined environment – yet personal (Bayley was known by name as an individual), that I could watch the games and get daily feedback from him, I liked that, he was so happy, location was amazing – perfect for the program
Dislikes – nothing that I was unhappy about!

Our perspectives:
What we wanted the most was to see how Bayley stacks up against others in his age group more broadly, we have an idea locally but we wanted to see how he did against other good players attending this program. The report card although very detailed, does not compare individuals to other boys or to the caliber of the European youth. This is something we are keenly interested in.

You mentioned in the opening talk that you usually ask the trainers if there are any individuals in the camp at the level of the European youth and we’d like to know how Bayley compares. When I spoke to you after the closing ceremony about Bayley being interested in Europe, you commented that “Europe was interested in him”. We’d like to understand what this meant?

Once again, I want to thank you for a great experience for Bayley! It has been the highlight of his summer and probably year, and he is already planning for next year (he just would rather it be two weeks instead of one!).

Marlene & Garry Winkel

Marlene and Gary W., mother and father of Bayley, (CANADA)

Dear John,

First of all, a heartfelt thank you for giving our son Luke Nguyen the opportunity to participate in the YPTusa program last month. The first words that came out of his mouth as we drove home was that it was the best camp experience he has ever had and that he wished it could last longer!

It was amazing to have coaches from some of the best clubs in the world at the camp who really cared about developing kids. Luke liked having the same coach for the entire week because it gave him and the coach the opportunity to really get to know one another. We were impressed by how well coach Phil Brogan got to know Luke and this was clearly reflected in the thoughtful assessment he gave at the end of the camp.

Luke enjoyed the young counselors you had at the camp who shared their passion about the game.

It is difficult to come up with suggestions or things that could be improved but here are a few that Luke had:

1) The food was good but the lines were too long

2) Have an award for most assists- called Silver Boot?

3) Luke's room had air-conditioning - which was great. Hope all the dorms can be air-conditioned!

All in all, it was a great experience. We hope that Luke will have the opportunity to participate next year. He is already looking forward to next summer!

Best

Tu Nguyen and Joyce Tinsley

Tu N. and Joyce T, father and mother of Luke (MI)

Mr. Fisher,

I had such a great experience at the YPT Residence Program that I really want to respond with my feedback.

Now that the program is over and I have had the amazing training, I am so grateful that I have had this experience. The program opened my eyes to the competition and I am more than determined to work hard everyday to improve on my skills and knowledge of the game. Soccer is my passion and I would love to play professionally. The coaching staff at YPT was so impressive and motivating.

I hope that you keep the camp at the same location. I really enjoyed the campus setting at St. Andrews.

Thanks for the opportunity to attend YPT Residence Program! I loved every minute of it and can't wait until next year!

Sincerely,

Henry Martin
'97 Real Madrid Team @ YPT
Manhattan Kickers - Travel Team

Henry M., '97 Real Madrid Team @ YPT and Manhattan Kickers (NY)

Michael is very competitive, strives to do the best he can, sometimes that is good and sometimes bad. With so many great players out on the field, he was not so sure if he performed to the standards that needed to be asked to return to the program. It is hard to make a person see what you see without the visual. You can tell them all you want, but seeing is believing. I saw a different player when he left your program! And for the better! He was more confident, faster. At times he will come off the field and ask “ Was I the YPT Michael today”?

He still has much to learn about the sport tactically and technically but he has participated in some good programs that afford him the opportunity to gain that knowledge little by little.

In a nut shell-Thank you for the opportunity!

I think one comment that was made by a Coach at the closing ceremony has stuck with our son to help him realize the opportunity that has been provided to him….” There is no other program like this in the world, where a group of Coaches of such magnitude come together to help develop the future of soccer players in one particular setting”.

Michael enjoyed having Phil Brogan from Manchester United for a second year to compare his evaluations for one year to the next. Phil has given my son some great feedback to help improve his skills on the field. In Michael ‘s eyes he gained the most during the morning and afternoon training sessions.

Michael and I would like to Thank you for a successful time at YPT for a second year. We look forward to a return next year with acceptance.

Yours in Soccer,

Air-Conditioning was a extra bonus for Michael’s allergies!

Laurie H., Rochester Jr. Rhinos (NY)

John

First, a belated note regarding the YPT Residence Program camp that our son , Adam Gibbs, attended this summer.

As advertised, this was by far the best camp he has ever attended. The quality of the coaches and the caliber of the player attending exceptional and unlike anything we have experienced before. Adam still talks about his experience with Philip Brogan from Manchester United. The quality of play there helped him raise his game to another level and he is off to a very successful Fall season start with the U12 Greater Boston Bolts

We will be signing up for you 2009 camp as soon as you announce it!

On another note, I just noticed the announcement regarding the June 09 Europe trip and was hoping for additional information when it is available

Thanks

Steve G., father of Adam, u12 Greater Boston Bolts (MA)

Hi John!

In any event I had intended to send you a quick note to express my sincerest gratitude & appreciation for how much my son Nick enjoyed his time at your camp this summer. We had heard many, many good things about this program over the years but neglected to sign up primarily because my wife Cathi & I had concerns that it followed too closely on the foot of his ODP camp. I wanted to also take this opportunity to mention that Nick was especially impressed with his U15/16 coach from Real Madrid, Guti, who he felt was extremely knowledgeable & who apparently had a great way with the boys.

Thank you again for providing this incredible soccer experience for the boys & we will very much look forward to applying to attend your camp next summer!

Best Regard

Ed B., father of Nick, u16 Kirkwood Nemisis (DE)

John,

I know it has been awhile since Kyle completed the program but things have been a whirlwind since then. Kyle has played in many tournaments, MRL games, Super Y games as well as league games with his Chicago Magic team. Things have finally slowed down and here I am sending you my feedback.

Kyle learned so much at your camp this past summer. Not only did he walk away a better player and more confident, but he met a lot of new friends as well. Kyle’s Chicago Magic team went undefeated in the Super Y and will be playing in Tampa November 20-25^th and I know that with the skills he mastered at your camp, he will be able to apply them to the games in November as her has through out the entire fall season. Your camp also re-enforced the love he has for the game of soccer and built up Kyle’s confidence. John, I can’t thank you enough for the wonderful experience you provided my son and we hope to be accepted again in 2009. We will be sad as Kyle will age out after the 2009 camp. I almost forgot to mention that Kyle this past September, made our state pool for ODP as well.

Jan C., mother of Kyle, u15 Chicago Magic (IL)