BAA will wrap up their intensive Bermuda Summer Football School on Wednesday after almost a month of coaching.

A visit from Xavi Simons, one of the most recognisable youth players in the world, was a highlight of the 3½ week camp that will also offer a chance for two lucky young players to head to Barcelona for a week and take part in a training camp with Cornellá.

However, beyond these highlights was a unique summer camp dedicated to improving some of Bermuda’s top youth players.

“For this camp we wanted something where we could work with the players for a longer period of time, so we have the players here for a couple of weeks,” Kenny Thompson, the camp director, said.

“We wanted something where we could build from day to day and week to week. We have a really great team working with the camp at the moment, a great team of coaches, and everyone is really working at a very high level.”

A hundred boys and girls aged 8 to 14 were put through their paces on the pitch at Goose Gosling field, as well as taken inside the classroom to learn about developing as football players off the field.

“I’ve learned that you should be constantly moving,” eight-year-old Jay Johnston said. “After you release the ball you should find the next space.”

The Somersfield student dreams of playing for Barcelona and got to see what it takes first-hand, going up against 12-year-old Xavi, a star at Barcelona’s Academy, in his time on the Island. Regillio Simons, Xavi’s father and a former professional footballer, was also on hand to provide the young footballers with coaching tips.

“I learned to talk and move and always stay on your toes from coach Regilio,” 12-year-old Kilae Crockwell, of Warwick Academy, said.

“It was good because we got to learn more to play like a professional and to play at high speeds.”

Thompson, who became friends with Xavi and his family through his daughter, who spent time at Barcelona’s youth academy, said the young star’s visit was exactly what the players needed.

“It’s all well and good to bring a megastar here, in terms of the finished product, such as a top professional player with a big name. You bring them here, and that player would have a lot of admirers because he plays on TV all the time,” Thompson said.

“But, from a youth development standpoint, there’s a difficulty for a young player to make that connection with a superstar player. For Xavi, a boy of 12-years-old, it’s easier for our boys and girls in Bermuda to make that connection with a young player who plays at the very top, who plays at a very high level, and behaves like any 12-year-old boy.”

Thompson and BAA plan to run the camp again next year, as well as extend more camps and training sessions to Bermuda’s youth during school breaks, and at other times throughout the year.