Dutch Soccer Academy scores in County

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LIMESTONE – As the activities wound down at a soccer camp here last week, Molly Bell found herself setting up a soccer ball along an invisible line to take part in a penalty-kicking contest.

But instead of a teammate or another high school goalie, the Caribou High senior was up against a guy who plays for a top-level amateur soccer team in Holland.

Peter van der Geest waited in net opposite Bell. The tall, strapping 22-year-old, dressed in his all-black goalie outfit with gloves, was hunched forward, ready to pounce as soon as Bell kicked the ball.

Pretty intimidating.

“It was a little bit at first, but Peter’s a big clown,” Bell joked after putting three balls past van der Geest to win the contest. “The crowd was more intimidating than the goalie.”

That’s the way the directors of the Dutch Soccer Academy want the kids to feel about their coaches, many of whom are professional players and coaches who come from Holland to coach around 100 kids in two sessions of weeklong camps and several day sessions throughout the summer.

The atmosphere is relaxed and fun. But the Dutch coaches take their soccer seriously, and spend a lot of time imparting their wisdom.

That’s a big reason why young soccer players came from North Carolina, New York, New Hampshire, Canada, and all over Maine to the expansive fields of the former Loring Air Base.

About 100 young soccer players participated in the camp, which ended Friday. Another 100 attended a camp for younger kids earlier in the month.

The Dutch Soccer Academy was dreamed up by the husband-and-wife team of Robbie and Tammy Krul.

Robbie Krul, a native of Delft, Holland, got to know many of the Dutch players and coaches he imports to Limestone because he played in an elite league in Holland and is licensed to coach by the Dutch National Soccer Association.

Krul moved to the U.S. in the 1990s to attend Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, N.H., on an athletic scholarship.

While at Franklin Pierce Krul met Tammy Thibodeau, a Caribou native who was a three-sport star at Caribou High and helped the Franklin Pierce women’s team win two Division II national championships.

Robbie Krul played for the New Hampshire Phantoms of the United Soccer League, but a knee ligament injury ended his playing career. The two moved to the Caribou area, where Robbie coached the girls at Caribou High for a season and is now an insurance agent. The couple has three children.

But their connection to soccer never wavered, and the DSA is the result of wanting to keep involved.

The Kruls started the academy in 1997 and it seems to be catching on. The two weeklong camps were filled to capacity this summer.

The Kruls also offer day camps all over the state.

“Having fun here is the most important thing for the kids,” Robbie Krul said.

This year the Kruls had six to seven Dutch coaches per camp, most certified or going through the process of being certified to coach by the Royal Dutch Soccer Association (KNVB).

Stefan Hoogvliet spent six years in the youth program of Ajax, an internationally known Dutch pro soccer team. Jeroen van den Berg is a well-known Dutch coach. Joan Luites is the assistant coach of the ages 16-and-under women’s Dutch national team.

The goalie program is headed up by van der Geest, whose club team is D.E.M of Beverwyk. Last week he coached six goalies. They were all talented, which he said makes it easier because of the language difference.

“My language is OK but sometimes it’s hard to explain something the way I want to,” van der Geest said. “So I give them an example and they exactly know what I mean. I’m glad to work with these kids. They’re eager to learn.”

Most of the coaches, van der Geest and Krul included, speak excellent English but often slip into Dutch when speaking to each other.

They also try to impart the Dutch way of playing soccer.

“Our style is getting a lot done in not too much work,” said van der Geest. “Keeping things simple.”

It certainly suits the campers.

Ian Wright, a 12-year-old from Kitty Hawk, N.C., attended the camp for the second time this summer. Wright’s family summers in Georgetown and this year he brought his friend Matt Northrup, 12, who is from Nags Head, N.C. Both boys are defenders.

“It’s sort of challenging but it’s really fun,” Wright said after the closing ceremonies.

“The coaches are really nice,” Northrup added. “They don’t push you too hard. They don’t make fun of us.”

The kids are on the field by 8:45 a.m. for a warm-up and circuit training. After a “fun break” and a scrimmage the group eats lunch, has an hour-long rest, and then has a tactical session and 4-on-4 games. After dinner the kids play league games and then have a closing ceremony.

Everyone seems to pick up some soccer skills, too, and hope to put them to use during the high school season. Among the high schools represented at the camp were Caribou, Fort Kent, Hermon, South Portland and Mountain Valley of Rumford.

“I picked up a lot of shooting, passing, being able to control the ball and settle it,” said Angel Cota-Rosa, who will be a junior at South Portland this fall and plays sweeper. “All the basics that you have to know. … I’ll be back next year.”

Bell, who is a striker on the Caribou High team, was able to focus on her offensive skills. This was her third summer at the academy.

“They helped me with my crossing and getting good strikes,” she said.

Bell lives nearby, but chooses to stay at Loring’s Haven Inn with the rest of the campers. Several of her Caribou teammates were at the camp, which makes it a good preseason.

“It’s a better experience,” she said. “You get to know people a lot better and work with them.”

The Kruls also recruit local soccer coaches to work at the camp. This year UM-Presque Isle men’s coach Alan Gordon was there, as was Dan Cyr, who had coached varsity girls soccer at Caribou and Fort Kent for a combined 15 years.

Cyr’s daughter Gabrielle attended the camp this year, and Cyr said he could tell that she has improved.

“She’s developed a lot of confidence in her game,” he said. “She hit a full volley the other day in a game against Caribou. It was a boy that was [in goal]. He didn’t have a chance. … I know I’ve seen her energy level is higher and after just a week I see she’s picked up a little bit of speed from the agility training. I’ve seen a difference.”

For more information on the Dutch Soccer Academy, check out www.go.to/dsa-camps.