By Joaquín Sagués, General Director of Campus Experience Real Madrid Foundation
When beginning this adventure nobody was able to imagine the importance and size that this project would reach. Teaching football techniques and, at the same time, educating in values all those children who attended our Campus, was simply a dream only 10 years ago. Today we can assure you that it is a reality that makes many girls and boys happy every summer, not just in Spain, but that it get it around the world.
Seeing each of their matches, experiencing the thrill of their hundreds of goals and through their players, every year it becomes clear that, when you talk about football, one of the first teams that comes to your mind is Real Madrid. And, therefore, when the idea of creating this campus emerged, we knew that it was necessary to provide some value that would make this project unique: unite football with the principles and values that Real Madrid has had since it was created.
Self-discipline, respect, initiative, effort and teamwork, are the values that are part of the day to day of the more than 3,500 children who spend part of their holidays at Campus Experience. A camp where they conduct football training and dedicate another part of the day to recreational and formative activities based on each of our values.
Working in blocks, through weekly programs, is one of the keys to our success. The boy or girl when Monday arrives arrives as an individual, doesn’t belong to the collective and we work with them values of “I” as the initiative, transferred to the field of play means translating time to the blow and control of the ball, dribbling, the shot … All the games and activities of the day are dedicated to that value, because in a game you have to make decisions constantly, just like in real life, hence the importance of the initiative. As the week progresses we work the “we”, group values: teamwork, fellowship … attack together, go all to defend the goal, etc. And as the week ends, the values concerning “them” are promoted: respect for others and solidarity.
But not everything is going to be training, of course, there are leisure moments in the swimming pool, games between friends and outdoor moments to share them with many of their partners, who will also be part of this experience. In addition, due to the great diversity of nationalities we have, we put into practice the joint values of tolerance and solidarity, two of the basic principles of Campus Experience.
Along with this form of work, another aspect that distinguishes us is that all coaches are from the Real Madrid Foundation and are highly qualified. As well, the monitors of our campus are specific to the educational ambit (teaching, pedagogy, etc.), they are people with a teaching vocation, since training is a priority for us. All of them will show the boys and girls the path to excellence, they will guide them to be the best or the best in everything that was proposed, teaching them, at the same time, to manage the feelings of the individual, of the ” we “and the” They “.
Nowadays Campus Experience has had a presence in more than 45 countries around the world, on four continents, and we need to reach Oceania. Some of the countries are: Shanghai, Canada, Argentina, Greece, England, South Africa, among many others. In this sense, the projection is to grow more to bring our entire project, our work in values and football, to all the children in the world.
