Youth Soccer Camp Teaches Lessons On and Off the Field
By Leslie Rott

Above photo: This year’s soccer camp is only just the beginning of a long tradition to come, promised Saginaw Valley State University Coach Drago Dumbovic. Pictured are this year’s participants, including (Front row, from left) Zola Murray, Laurel Young, Ethan Urzagaste, Colton Fisher, Travis Merchant, Tony Merchant, Kyle Bailey, and Will Barnwell; (Middle) Saginaw Valley State University Coach Drago Dumbovic, Jaimie Sweezea, Jesse Straight, Kate Dupre, Codie Steensma, Paul Fisher, Graham Young, Sarah Deeter, Stacy LaLond, Robert Chaffee, Crystal Meacham, and Mackinac Island Lakers Soccer Coach Ken Straight; (Back) Caleb Straight, Robert Chambers, and Nick Cohen. Not pictured is Shannon Haan. Right photo: Mackinac Island Lakers Soccer Coach Ken Straight and Coach Dumbovic after a successful practice on the first day of camp. Bottom photo: Coach Dumbovic displays his kicking skills as a group of camp participants watch, eager to learn his tricks of the sport.

Drago Dumbovic and members of the Saginaw Valley State University soccer team were on hand at Great Turtle Park last week to share their soccer knowledge, and participants learned that being a good soccer player is more than being a good athlete.

A smile and enthusiasm are key to enjoying soccer, Mr. Dumbovic told the students, and to being a good person.

“You are here to learn - that is the key to success,” he told participants at the start of the three-day camp, held in the mornings from June 28 through 30. He emphasized to them the importance of teamwork and communication, necessary skills for soccer and life.

Stay focused and think ahead, he told them. Think three plays ahead, not just on the play at the moment.

“The game is just a small part of everything,” Mr. Dumbovic said after the camp. “My responsibility is to make them believe in themselves.”

Whether playing on an athletic team or working for a major company, he said, people will work harder and show more respect if their coach or boss believes that they have the ability and drive to succeed.

The best advice he could give? It was yet another lesson that can be learned both on and off the soccer field.

“Environment,” he said, “is everything. In a positive environment, ordinary people can do extraordinary things.”

He added that everyone should focus, concentrate, and work hard in everything that they do. And most importantly, they should enjoy what they are doing and appreciate the opportunities that they have in the United States.

“The future is in their hands,” he said of the children at the camp. “Everything is possible.”

Mr. Dumbovic, originally from Croatia, has more than 23 years of professional soccer experience, but said coaching youth has been the most pleasurable experience. He was the head coach of the Detroit Rockers during the 1999-2000 season and assistant coach during the 1998-1999 season.

He played professional soccer between 1983 and 1999 for various indoor teams, including the Detroit Rockers, the Sacramento Knights, the Detroit Neon, the Hershey Impact, the Atlanta Attack, the Baltimore Blast, the Chicago Sting, the Minnesota Strikers, and the Pittsburgh Spirit, and outdoor teams like the Washington Diplomats and the Maryland Bays.

He was named all-star player six times and set several league records.

Mr. Dumbovic became coach of the Saginaw Valley State University Women’s Soccer Team in 2003. Several of his players assisted at the camp on Mackinac.

The youth soccer camp at Mackinac Island will become an annual event, he predicted. “We want to expand the game of soccer.”

Sponsors for the camp included the Doris St. Onge Memorial Scholarship Fund, the City of Mackinac Island Recreation Department, Mackinac Island Public School Boosters, and Chippewa Hotel. The camp was organized by Leanne Brodeur, Barb Fisher, and Mackinac Island Lakers Soccer Coach Ken Straight.