Kids' Activities 10-2

Italian Coaches Teach Kids Soccer

	Italian coaches taught kids at a soccer training session. (Sendai City)

At the end of May, three Italian World Cup coaches gave soccer tips to 119 elementary-school students and 84 middle-school students from schools in the city of Sendai, where the Italy team was holding a training camp. The coaches taught the students how to head the ball, pass, and shoot. They showed up at a soccer training session, watched the kids practice, and called out advice like "Keep your eyes on the ball" and "Keep your body moving all the time."

The Azzurri (the Italian team's nickname, meaning "the blues") have a great soccer tradition and have won the World Cup three times. The kids were thrilled to be taught by some of the best coaches in the world, and at the end they all joined together to say a chorus of "grazie" (Italian for "thank you"). (Kahoku Shimpo)