Kids on the ball

The trip was made possible through AP Honda’s Red Champion project, now in its second year, which sets out to select the five best teams from the country’s five regions for a five-day training course in England. 

Under a partnership deal with the two clubs, AP Honda gave the teams the choice of where they wanted to train. Two groups from Suphan Buri Sports School and Ban Mak Khaeng of Udon Thani chose the Liverpool FC Academy in Melwood, while the teams from Bangkok’s Patumkongka School, Maechaiwittayakom School in Phayao and Phattalung School, which is named for the province, headed to Manchester United’s The Cliff in Salford.

All five teams, along with their coaches, prepared for the trip at a training camp hosted by Thai Premier League club BEC Tero Sasana.

“We want to inspire our young people,” says Suchart Arunsaengroj, AP Honda’s sales director. “This year, more than 2,000 football teams took part in the project and we selected the five best. About 70 to 80 per cent of the training is in the basics such as penalty kicks, ball control and headers.

“We’re not necessarily hoping that all or any of the winners will become members of the national football team or even professional soccer players. We just want children to learn the basic skills in the right way. Having the basics is key to developing the sport in Thailand. This year, we also invited directors and coaches to join the trip so that they can use the experience to improve training at their schools.

At Liverpool FC Academy , 14 youngsters from Suphan Buri and Udon Thani learned more about passing the ball, controlling it on the pitch and attacking. The five-day training programme ended with a match between the Thai youngsters and a local team from Liverpool. 

“Our students wanted to visit the ‘town of football’. Maintaining discipline was important while they worked on the basics and learned English-style football from veteran coaches,” says Mak Khaeng school director Anon Samruatkarn.

“It’s different from Thai-style football,” confirms 17-year-old Narong Kueanet of Ban Mak Khaeng School. “The coaches taught us to dribble faster and to attack. I’ll use this experience to develop my own skills and will also share knowledge with junior players at school.

Nithisak Chuayhant, 18, from Suphan Buri Sports School, says he benefitted greatly from the training. “I learned how to receive and pass the ball with precision. The coaches showed us how to control the ball and how to move as we aim for goal,” he says. 

Over at The Cliff Training Ground, the three other teams were welcomed by the club’s ambassador, former full-back Denis Irwin, who spent a day sharing his experiences and teaching tricks to the young players. 

“The Cliff created many famous players, among them Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Roy Keane and Eric Cantona, before we moved to Carrington in 2000,” Irwin told the boys. 

Conducted by veteran coaches Andy Cunningham and Kevin O’Connell, the programme was divided into five sections covering teamwork, developing confidence, attacking, scoring and how to receive and pass the ball.

The first day on the indoor field was spent in warm-up training, with the Thai teams learning sliding, turning and passing the ball.

“Next year, we’ll be teaming up with BEC Tero Sasana club to launch a collection of CDs and also hold seminars to share knowledge with local school coaches. Our children will learn how to play football the right way,” says Suchart.