THE AMY RODRIGUEZ & HUW WILLIAMS GOAL SCORERS CAMP HAS BEEN A TOTAL SUCCESS

World Cup Champion and FC Kansas City forward, Amy Rodriguez and Director of Soccer Operations, Huw Williams are hosting the Goal Scorers Camp at the Overland Park Soccer Complex’s Soccer Fit Academy this week.

A total of 150 young female soccer players ages 12–18 who currently play on a top division, Midwest Regional League (MRL) or Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) team came out to learn from one of the best goal scorers in the game, Amy Rodriguez.

“This week has been a ton of fun. The camp is all about goal scoring, which is obviously something I have a tremendous passion for and I enjoy teaching young players about,” Rodriguez said. “At the end of the week, my goal is to make these young ladies better players, better teammates, and better goal scorers.

Rodriguez was joined by fellow US Women’s National Team, FC Kansas City and Missouri Comets players as well as local college coaches in efforts to provide small group intense training for these young players.

The camp is designed to provide every soccer player the tools necessary to become a better goal scorer. Each day started with agility based physical warm-ups, led by Soccer Fit Coach, Scott Moody.

“We start with an agility, athletic, physical focus session that is designed to set up the tactical drill in the afternoon. Mornings consist of skills such as creating space for oneself or creating space for teammates both with focus on self-awareness in space,” Moody shared. “These sessions warm them up physically and mentally before they shift into tactical focus with their coaches.”

Coaches from all over the Kansas City area coach the small-group sessions. In addition, FC Kansas City goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart is coaching the young goalkeepers all week.

“This is a great camp for a young goalkeeper. It provides a lot of reps in game-like situations. That’s tough to train,” Barnhart said. “Here we base training sessions on specific topics each day and then they can work on that topic in a team environment as well as in goalkeeper training.”

Williams is working with Rodriguez to design the most challenging environment to develop all of the campers in the best possible way.

“This camp is all about finishing and I believe we have the best finisher in the women’s game running it,” Williams said. “Amy proved her expertise scoring a huge goal in the 2024 NWSL semi final and two in the championship match, to bring the title to Kansas City.”

Joining Rodriguez are her USWNT and FC Kansas City teammates Lauren Holiday and Heather O’Reilly who came out to share their knowledge with the campers.

“Lauren [Holiday] scored a goal in the World Cup final, so to have her at the Goal Scorers camp is pretty cool,” Williams added. “She talked about her game-winning goal against Japan and how the ball seemed bigger when she stood in the box in front of the goal knowing she wouldn’t miss and compared it to how a baseball gets bigger as it approaches the batter.”

On Tuesday, two-time Olympic gold medalist, World Cup Champion and U.S. Women’s National team veteran Heather O’Reilly made an appearance as well.

“Heather came on Tuesday, which was a perfect day because we were working on creativity and beating players on a one-on-one instance and she is one of the best in the world at that, especially with her inside outside moves.” Williams said.

The Goal Scorers camp has been all about learning and developing through expert coaching with a very “hands-on” feel.

“What makes her [Rodriguez] special is her speed and tactical knowledge as well as the timing on her runs. These players are receiving instruction from someone who has played at the highest level, and who, at their age, was playing in the National Team,” Williams said. “One of the most inspirational aspects of this camp is that she has made sure that all these kids know that at any time they can come up to her and ask her questions.”

Rodriguez is inspiring young players through her contribution to the US Women’s National Team, the FC Kansas City Blues and making herself accessible to players who want to take their game to the next level.

“I hope to do more camps in the future and reach more young players. This is my passion. Goal scoring is my passion. I hope I can inspire these girls out here today to be passionate about it, too. “Rodriguez finished.

For more information or to register for the next Amy Rodriguez and Huw Williams Goal Scorers Camp, visit www.athletefit.com.