DUNCAN — While the next edition of the World Cup might be two years away, Stephens County got a little taste of soccer’s biggest tournament on Friday.

Well, sort of.

For the third consecutive year, kids from around the area had the chance to participate in British Soccer Camps, which are sponsored by Challenger Sports.

More than 50 campers, divided into two different sessions, made up the group of players who came out to learn about skills, sportsmanship and the culture of European countries.

On the final day of the week-long camp, each individual was encouraged to sport the colors of their respective country, which was given to them at the beginning of the week.

While some decided to play it safe, others went all out with wild hair styles and decorative shirt designs, all in the name of good fun.

Chisholm Trail Soccer Association president Kathy Mead’s son, Tanner, was among those who decided to look festive, sporting the colors of his assigned country: Italy.

“It probably took about 40 minutes total, with the face paint, hair and his shirt,” Mead said. “Tanner has been here the last three years and he looks forward to it every year. The coaches are extremely great as well and really interact with the kids.”  

Among the coaches leading the kids through training for the week were Gareth Paul from Bolton, England and Graeme Percy from Glasgow, Scotland.

Each coach was assigned a host family in Stephens County to stay with during the week of the camp.

“I’m not quite used to the weather here yet,” Paul said about his experience in Stephens County. “Although it is better than in England where it rains all the time.”

According to Challenger’s website, British Soccer Camps generate around 110,000 total participants during the summer. While there might not have been that many at Abe Raizen Park, Mead said she was still pleased with the overall turnout.

“The numbers have stayed consistent through all the years we have been doing these camps,” she said. “You can definitely see improvement in the players who do decide to come out and participate. These coaches make things very fun for the kids, where its more about a team concept instead of an individual concept.”

Paul added seeing the kids turn out makes the experience better and that it shows USA has the potential to grow the sport of soccer.

“It’s brilliant to see the kids out here enjoying themselves,” he said. “When you see the numbers growing each year, then it sets a standard which is great. A big key for the USA is to keep building and grow camps along with more pitches. Soccer can only get bigger, but people need to be involved in order for that to happen.”

As for his native homeland of England, Paul said he is still smarting from the national team’s heartbreaking quarterfinal defeat against Italy in the European Championships just over a week ago.

“I have to admit it’s still a sore point for me,” he said. “We just need to change our philosophy and start playing football again. Right now we can’t compete with teams like Spain or Italy, and we just need to play with pride. I have confidence we’ll make a run in 2014 at the World Cup.”