Soccer sensation Chayse Van Velkinburgh, color coordinating his hair, shoes, and cast. (Photos courtesy Dustin Van Velkinburgh)
Injury? What injury?
Coupeville Middle School 7th grader Chayse Van Velkinburgh is scampering across soccer fields in California heat this week, taking part in a camp put on by Real Madrid.
He’s doing so while dealing with a fractured thumb suffered at a tournament last weekend, but didn’t want to miss a chance to shine in front of numerous scouts.
“Chayse said, ‘I’m not missing this,’ so he flew down and is working his tail off in 93-degree heat,” said dad Dustin.
“He is driven. I think he is beginning to see the results of all the hard work beginning to pay off.”
The younger Van Velkinburgh, who also made a strong debut for CMS basketball during the school year, generally plays up against older soccer players and has done so for some time.
Learning from the elite.
The Real Madrid camp focuses on “advanced individual training in technique, tactics, problem-solving, and decision-making on the pitch.”
Youth coaches also instill the soccer club’s values — “leadership, teamwork, respect for others, solidarity and effort.”
Show out at the US camp, and you can nab an invite to travel to Spain to train at Real Madrid’s state-of-the-art campus.
Such a journey would be a return trip for Van Velkinburgh, who is also scheduled to attend the Paris Saint-Germain Soccer Academy in France next summer.
Droppin’ the hammer.
