It took nearly 26 hours in the air and a shellacking from their Spanish counterparts.
But a pair of young footballers from Olds have found a better understanding of the beautiful game thanks to a recent, “once-in-a-lifetime” trip to Madrid and Barcelona.
Talon Grenier and Jacob Lentz, both aged 14 and in Grade 9 at Olds High School, play soccer for the school and in Airdrie.
For 10 days in March, Talon and Jacob, who have played soccer for about eight years, along with 58 players from their Airdrie team, were taken to Spain to participate in the Adidas International Training Program, which offers teams from across the planet an opportunity to train at some of the best soccer academies in the world and play competitive matches against local teams.
Talon, who can play goaltender or midfielder, said it was his and Jacob's coach in Airdrie who gave the team a chance to go to Spain since he had played in professional leagues in England and had attended coaching courses in Spain.
Part of the program included training with professional coaches from Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, a pair of teams recognized as among the best soccer clubs in the world.
Jacob, who plays defence in Aidrie and midfielder or as a forward in Olds, said the Airdrie group also had the chance to meet “old legends that used to be in the pros around Spain.”
The training regimen was intense and Talon said he and his teammates returned to Canada with new skills and ideas about how to play the game.
“We probably started playing a little more possession-wise,” he said. “Between people on our team we started being more vocal now that we know how to play and where to play. I think we found where our strengths are out on the field.
“Scouts and coaches from over there, they really know what they're doing and they really helped out with possession work.”
For Jacob, it was learning from the Spaniards' “different playing style” that helped him and his teammates adjust their game.
“I noticed our team is passing the ball a lot better and we're able to keep the ball from the other team.”
On top of the training program, the Airdrie contingent also had the chance to face off against Spanish teams in three matches where Jacob and Talon learned just how different the mindsets towards soccer are in Canada and Spain.
“They've been with the game more than we have,” Talon said of the Spanish players. “There's a love for the game more over there than there is here. So they actually have clubs where they get together like we do for hockey and they get the best kids from local areas and they all come together and some of them go professional.”
Although he wouldn't divulge the scores from the matches, Talon added the results were not very good.
“Those guys were top-notch.”
With the soccer season here in Central Alberta in full swing, Jacob said he is applying the skills he picked up in Spain on the field in and around Olds and Airdrie.
“I'm just hoping we can use what we learned in our game to get better results since we usually end up in the bottom half of the standings,” he said.
The boys also had the opportunity to see some of Spain's culture and architecture in their free time, but the one aspect of the country they appreciated most was the devotion to soccer.
“It was amazing, just seeing the pros and how they live their life every day and being able to train with some of their coaches, it was just sensational,” Jacob said.
And Talon said he hopes to return to play on a Spanish pitch again.
“If I could go back, I definitely would. The fields are much better quality.”
