FRANKLIN
The Elite 58 soccer camp kicked off its fourth year of taking kids to the next level in their soccer experience. Putting on this high talent level camp for ages 7-17 were Danny Dillon, a former Liberty University soccer player, who teamed up with Jamie Weist, a former VMI soccer player, and Clay Hyatt, who played at North Carolina Wesleyan.

“The camp was excellent,” said Weist, who is also the head soccer coach at Southampton Academy. “The players were focused and worked hard. Their passion for the game was contagious.”

Hyatt, who is the Franklin Parks and Rec Athletic Specialist, added Elite 58 is “a high quality camp with a very competitive edge and with the most knowledgeable coaches in the area. It continues to help build upon the strong soccer culture in this area for the fourth year. The growth in the number of athletes every year shows the quality and value of the camp.”

The Elite 58 soccer camp was different from the Super Kids Soccer Camp that Coach Dillon put on for Rock Church recently, even though they were both held at the new soccer facilities of the church.

The Elite 58 stands for the top players on Route 58, and last week 55 talented players came from Franklin, Southampton County, Suffolk and Portsmouth to participate. They worked on every aspect of the game and really focused on making kids’ weaknesses become their strengths. They had an Elite 58 soccer challenge, which consists of contests for penalty kicking, dribbling and juggling.

“Elite 58 was the highlight of my summer and I loved the awesome competition,” said Michael Fanjul, a Rock Church School soccer star who led Rock Lions team to a 7-1-2 season. He also led them in scoring.

The first-place winners for the each contest for the three different age groups of 7-9 year olds, 10-12 year olds and 13-17 year olds were as follows: Juggling: Benny Dillon (7-9), D.J. Dillon (10-12) and Emery Weist (13-17).

PK Shootout: Adin Brown (7-9), Ben Davis (10-12) and Emery Weist. Dribbling Contest: Tyler Assmussen (7-9), D.J. Dillon (10-12) and Chloe Worrell (13-17). The Elite 58 Soccer camp looks to continue to grow and challenge kids each and every summer.

Stay tuned to the hear the efforts coming from the Franklin Fire Soccer Club starting this fall. Dillon would also like to thank the community for help, and especially Greg Scott and the Cover 3 foundation for the part they played as well.

“I’m so impressed with the talent level of these kids and thankful that the wonderful parents in this community are encouraging their kids to get outside and play sports,” Dillon said. “I absolutely love seeing the next generation find the talents that God has given them and start to use it, whatever the sport may be.”