SOCCER
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BATHURST youngster Mohamad El Kheir got to enjoy the trip of a lifetime for any young soccer player earlier this month when he headed to Brazil along with other members of the Central Coast Mariners’ junior academy.
A handful of Western Mariners FC under 13s and 14s players were part of the trip, including fellow Bathurst player Hamish Lamberton.
During their sojourn, the talented youngsters got to train with a handful of high-profile academies in one of the world’s great soccer nations and take part in games against and with various youth teams and squads.
“We went to Sao Paulo and Rio De Janiero to take part in training camps and games,” El Kheir explained.
“The first stop was in Sao Paulo where we spent four days, we met a lot of players from a Brazilian league team and played in a couple of games.
“The first one we won 12-0, I scored a couple of goals and learned a lot.”
Mohamad’s dad Zak is a martial arts champion who has represented Australia internationally and accompanied his son on the trip, and he couldn’t have been more impressed with the level of dedication shown both by the players and the people teaching them.
“They trained very hard, twice a day most days and played as well, they got the chance to play against local sides and they also mixed the teams up as well in other matches so they could play alongside the Brazilian boys,” he explained.
“It wasn’t just a holiday for Mohamad, he used literally every second he got to try and take things in from the people teaching him.”
After the stint in Sao Paulo, the group went on to one of the most iconic cities on the planet and stayed literally across the road from Copacabana Beach.
They spent their time in Rio training with the Botafogo Academy and during their stay they were also taken on a tour of one of the local national league teams’ training centres.
“I learned so much over there, I got some good encouragement from some of the coaches and one of the Botafogo coaches told me I had a big future in the sport, which was pretty nice to hear,” the youngster said.
If anything, Zak El Kheir was even more awestruck by the enormity of the experience.
“It was such a huge privilege to get a look at the facilities the players use over there and even where they stay, these are things that the team’s youth academy players aren’t even allowed to do, it’s restricted to the senior players themselves,“ Zak El Kheir said.
His son, who is only 13 and still most certainly on the way up in his chosen sport, has already set his sights high and says that he wants to emulate his father’s achievement in representing his nation.
“I want to play for Australia, I’d love to get that far if I can,” he said.