Pacen VanderMeer is realizing his beautiful dream of the beautiful game.
The 13-year-old Grade 8 student from Innisfail Middle School is in Spain this week practising and playing soccer at the national team training centre in Madrid.
ìI love soccer a lot as anyone can play it and it is played all over the world,î said Pacen, a defensive midfielder who plays with the Red Deer Renegades U-14 soccer team. Pacen, who has been playing soccer since he was just four years old, said the trip to Spain is a dream that has finally come true.
He flew to Spain with 10 other teammates last Friday, along with parents and team officials, for a 10-day tour of the country. The young soccer players will split their 10 days between Madrid and Barcelona.
While Pacen's teammates are from Red Deer and Lacombe, he will be Innisfail's sole soccer-loving ambassador in Spain. He will be visiting world famous stadiums, historical landmarks and attending professional soccer matches. The trip will expose him to a wealth of cultural, international and athletics experiences.
Pacen's mother Kim, the manager of the Renegades, has been busy the past two years organizing the trip, which is certain to help the young players fine-tune their beautiful game skills.
ìI think it is a wonderful opportunity for him and his teammates to go over there,î said Kim. ìI just found that one of the training sessions will be at the national Spanish training facility in Madrid. That will be pretty cool for the boys to train there.î
Kim said Pacen, his teammates and their families have worked hard over the past two years raising money for the trip, collectively bringing in close to $40,000.
ìWe did lots of things. One of the things was us going up in front of the Kinsmen to ask them for money and we've been doing lots of bottle drives and selling raffle tickets,î said Pacen, who has also been saving money from his earnings as a Province newspaper carrier and from refereeing soccer games.
ìI am really exited about all of this,î said Pacen. I am really hoping to come back with more soccer skills.î
