The Soccer Academy

Our residential camp was founded in 1973 at the Ojai Valley School by Alan Meeder and Steve Gay. Alan became the successful Head Coach of the men's team at UC Santa Barbara. In four years he was twice Southern California College Coach of the Year. Steve was a College All-American, U S Olympic Team player, Head Coach of UCLA, and a USSF National Staff Coach. After two years, a move was made to Santa Barbara for the cool weather and the beautiful campus at Westmont College. From the beginning, The Academy has offered a unique program of instruction that develops each camper's skills and tactical awareness. Players are grouped by age and ability into teams that are under the supervision of our professional staff of college coaches and professional players. Besides the twice a day technical training, campers also participate in scrimmages each evening to integrate their newly learned skills into real game situations. There are also penalty kick competitions, Soccer Olympics, Super Soccer, and the Styro Cup Challenge. At the end of the week, each camper sits down with their coach and receives a full written evaluation to help prepare for the new season. No other camp has developed such a complete program or can match over 30years of excellence.

Facilities

Westmont College in the foothills above Santa Barbara provides the perfect setting for the camp. In a word, it is spectacular! The campus sits on a 111-acre estate in beautiful Montecito. Its location provides both beauty and security. Campers are housed two per room in the newly renovated Armington dormitory complex that it our exclusive home at Westmont. Armington is set among giant oak trees and has its own recreation facilities and laundry. Best of all the campus is only two miles from the coast so it stays cool on the warmest days.

Nutrition is a vital part of each camper's ability to train and compete and the Westmont dining hall was recently named as the best in California. The dining hall provides outstanding food for the campers and coaches. There are a wide variety of choices at each meal, including vegetarian selections. Boarding campers get three meals and evening snack each day.

Training is held at the fields on campus. The camp's exclusive use of the fields insures that they are in magnificent condition. We have four full fields for training and evening scrimmages. Even our professional players on the staff, who expect perfect playing surfaces, appreciate the chance to work on such well-kept fields. Games are also held in the Westmont College gym. Playing with tennis shoes and with a smaller indoor ball, campers get the challenge of playing a quicker game with restricted space. The indoor game also encourages tactical creativity where you can really make a "wall pass."

The Armington recreation room is a great place to hang out between training sessions. There is TV, ping-pong, and foosball. We also have two game cubes that are set up for soccer tournaments and other games. The rec room also hosts a variety of other fun activities depending on the age of the campers each week. During the afternoon break many campers go to the Olympic size swimming pool on campus for a swim.

The above chart is for boarding campers. All sessions are open to day campers who attend all six days. Day campers arrive at 9 AM and leave around 8 PM each day. Lunch and dinner are included. Tuition for all day campers is $295.00.

Have you enrolled and can't find your confirmation letter?

Click on the link to get a PDF version of the confirmation letter that included a map, check-in time and clothing list. [Confirmation Letter]