Helena builds community with annual soccer camp
Published 1:02 pm Saturday, June 7, 2025
The Helena Husky Soccer Camp has contributed to the growth of the support in the community. (Reporter Photos/Andrew Simonson)
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By DANIEL LOCKE | Staff Writer
HELENA – Youth soccer players of all ages have had the chance to sharpen their skills and receive instruction at the Helena Husky Soccer Camp from June 2-6. Kindergarteners through sixth graders have been coached by Helena Middle and High players and coaches.
Helena High School head girls varsity soccer coach Clif Naron has enjoyed his time with the 138 campers participating this year.
“They’ve just really been into it, the weather’s been great,” Naron said. “We start the day with a morning stretch and a little pep rally, and then they do drills. Then we take a snack break, we give out some popsicles and stuff. Then they play some small-sided and half-field games. It’s been really great. We’ve had a really, really good week so far.”
Helping coach at the camp is special for many players on the middle and high school rosters as they once sharpened their skills at the event.
“Most of the kids that are on our team today came to camp at some point,” Naron said. “Almost everybody was a little Husky camper at some point, and now they play (high school) soccer, so it’s pretty cool.”
The camp is not only educational for the kids, but it also allows Naron and the other coaches to observe their players in leadership roles and learn more about their personalities.
“We have a lot of silent leaders out there,” Naron said. “You can see the leadership in them, it just doesn’t stand out all the time. When they have younger kids that they’re dealing with, you can see that leadership flourish.”
In towns like Helena, athletic teams thrive off their relationships with the community. Camps like this provide a golden opportunity to strengthen those bonds, and Naron emphasizes making the most of it. It also allows them to get kids involved with the sport from a young age.
“When we started our camp, we were the first camp that Helena High School had,” Naron said. “Our very first team, we had 23 kids try out for 22 spots on the girls’ side. (This year) I’ve got 68 girls trying out for middle (school), JV and varsity to fill 45 spots. Virtually every one of them are playing at clubs somewhere. That growth is, to me at least, is part of this initiative to have camps, to get the younger kids excited about soccer.”
Parental support is another major factor that contributes to the success of an athletic program. Naron has seen the camp make an impact on parents’ willingness to support their children’s soccer careers and put them in the best position possible to succeed.
“Parents start asking us, ‘Hey, my kid wants to do this, what should we do’”? Naron said. “We’re able to start going, ‘Hey, you need to go check out Alabama FC or you need to go to Hoover-Vestavia Soccer’ We start to be able to give them that dynamic or that road, whereas before it just didn’t exist.”
Building the camp has helped the program reach a higher level of sustained success and has given talented local players an incentive to play for the school teams instead of only playing for their clubs.
“I think a lot of our program’s success is the number of kids that we have,” Naron said. “The number of middle school kids that want to play and try out versus just staying with their club, they want to come and play for their school, I think, is a direct reflection of these summer camps we do.”
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