Dream trip for Park's school

A group of 28 youngsters, from Park’s Suwon-based JSFC, took part in a two-weekManchester United Soccer Schools programme, partly organised by the winger himself.
 
The children, all between the ages of 10 and 12, trained at Carrington every morning with the club's Soccer Schools coaches, learning to play 'the United way', before spending the afternoon learning English.
 
After training on Wednesday, the group were thrilled to meet and take part in a Q&A session with Ji, while Nani and Ryan Giggs came to sign autographs and pose for photos.
 

Park visit compressed


 
Park said afterwards: "I’m very proud. I just hope they’ve enjoyed the experience and remember it forever. They love playing football and it’s great for them to come to here, see the players and train with the coaching staff.    "I saw that they were all smiling, which makes me happy. Maybe one of them will play for United in the future! They just have to keep working hard and enjoying the game."
 
The young players watched United’s game against Bolton and played friendlies against youth teams from Stockport County.    But it's not all about the football, with English lessons at Trafford College, a stone's throw away from Old Trafford, also on the agenda.  Park said: "When I arrived here I couldn’t speak English very well, but they’re learning at an early age so they’ll pick up the language more quickly.  "It gives them more opportunities to be able to speak English – whether in football or business. They can communicate around the world and that’ll be a big advantage."

Park’s academy, the coaching arm of his wider JS Foundation, was opened in 2009 and Patrice Evra joined him to launch the centre's training programmes the following summer. It already comprises around 900 'elite' and 'recreational' players, a mixture of whom made the trip to the UK.   Ji’s vision is to improve the standard of football in his homeland and believes there’s no better model for his school than Manchester United.

"When we launched the academy in Seoul, one of the coaching staff came over to see how we do things at United," the winger added.   "It’s good to learn the United way because throughout the club’s history, many youngsters have come through the ranks to become great players.   "Coaching is a bit different in Korea, so we try to mix up the styles and hopefully one day they’ll be superstars in their country!"

For one of the participants, 12-year-old Reo Hyun Woo, visiting United is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"It's brilliant and I’d love to meet the players again!" he said. "Park told us he practised the same skill over and over again when he was younger, and that practice makes perfect.   "I'm learning a lot on the trip, mainly football techniques but also communicating with my friends, and I'm really enjoying the English lessons."
 
courtesy of www.ManUtd.com
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Testimonial

" My favourite things about the camp were the football sessions and being able to meet new people/friends and also to improve my English skills by talking to them in English "

Luka Jaksic

" I especially liked the soccer training because we played a lot of games and also the English classes, because we did many different activities and I learned many new different English terms and phrases! "

Eugene Wong

" I enjoyed all of the English lessons because the teachers were nice and all of them had their lessons planned "

Ryan Yeung

" My favourite thing about the camp is that I can improve my soccer skills and meet new friends. Also I had some amazing excursions to London, Wembley and soon the Theatre of Dreams - Old Trafford! "

Nguyen Thien Bao

" My favourite thing about the camp was the football sessions. I think it brought everyone closer together. People from different parts of the world come to one place and play as a team. I just love it! "

Nguyen Nhat Vu

" We had really good football sessions. The coaches were amazing. All sessions were interesting. Our English teacher helped to me to improve my English skills. "

Gleb Starovoit

" I think this trip has made me more independent. Also, I met lots of new friends in this camp, they come from different countries and I can learn different languages from them. The most important thing is I have learnt English very well here! "

Chung Chun

" This is a very fun course. After the course I learnt a lot about both football & English. In the football part the coaches were fantastic, they helped us develop our personal skills and tactics. In English, the teachers & teaching method were wonderful. "

Vincent Chan

" I would like to thatnk you for these two weeks at Manchester. Alex is vry satisfied and happy - he'd love to stay longer. I appreciate all your efforts to keep the boys busy and happy at the same time. The conditions of stay (premises, food) was very "

Andrey (parent)