For the past several summers, some of Camp Starlight’s most successful Wayne County athletic teams have been a product of our Soccer Program, headed by Matt Whatley. Part of the reason soccer scores so highly with many of our campers, no doubt, is the fact that “Whatley” as he is affectionately known to campers, has been in charge of Camp Starlight Soccer since 2006 and has become very familiar with campers’ strengths as well as aspects of the game in which their skills could be improved. With such an in depth knowledge of campers, Whatley is able to guide his staff in developing and applying effective coaching methods. With nearly eight summers under his belt, Whatley sets high standards for his staff as well as campers. “My primary goal coming into this summer,” he says, “was to get everyone involved in soccer as much as possible and improve upon our Wayne County record from last year.”
When asked about his proudest moment as a Program Head so far this summer, he mentions the 8th grade boys Wayne County match against Camp Wayne. “They (Wayne) had a very strong team. But our guys played excellent. The game went into penalty kicks, and we lost by one goal during penalty kicks. It was heartbreaking, but the guys really played a great game and held up against the other team really well.” Whatley also says that in his eighth summer, he’s enjoying see his staff develop their coaching skills.
Whatley himself play for a nationally ranked college team and coached three more to national rankings. But he asserts that of all of
his career highs, the most significant to him are the 43 Wayne County Championship titles he’s won during his Camp Starlight career. “The campers here are great!” Whatley says. “They have a lot of pride in Camp Starlight and play with a lot of heart when they represent the camp.”
Here is to Continuing success for the Camp Starlight Soccer Program for the remainder of the 2013 season.
