History teacher arranges for colleges to watch St. Lucie County soccer prospects

The recruiting process during the pandemic has been difficult for every player in their respective sport.

With COVID-19 limiting in-person recruiting for colleges and student athletes, the ability to go check out a school on their own is something few have the capability to do.

Fortunately, high school soccer players in St. Lucie County will have the opportunity to showcase their abilities for colleges looking to find prospects they can bring to their program around the country.

Centennial High School history teacher Ben Swalwell is a soccer aficionado with an extensive background playing in his home country of England and coaching at various levels in the United States. His network of connections has led to the creation of the first SLW Centennial Soccer ID Camp that is free for any boy that is a sophomore or older and any girl that is a freshman or older and attends a St. Lucie County public high school.

“With COVID and everything that's happened, kids can't play club soccer this year because they can't afford it and they miss out on opportunities," Swalwell said. "I want everyone to get as much exposure to colleges as possible.”

Swalwell’s love for the sport as a player and coach at various levels since coming to the United States in 2016 has built a desire to open doors for kids. With the support from his administration at Centennial, the ID camp will take place March 27 for the boys and March 28 for the girls at South County Stadium.

Thankful for all the support

Multiple sponsors wanting to assist Swalwell helped make this event possible and free of charge for the participants. For some who don't have the ability to attend college camps, which can be expensive, Swalwell is grateful for the support he has received to make this happen.

Unity FC Women, a member of the United Women’s Soccer League 2 based near Orlando, will be coming down for the girls event and they helped sponsor the drinks for the kids.

DragonFly Graphics sponsored jerseys for the kids and CollegeFitFinder will help every player build a recruiting profile they can send to coaches.

"There's been a lot of people willing to help for this cause," Swalwell said. "They know we're trying to do a good thing and they wanted to be a part of it."

Signups continue

Signups for the event go until Friday for any student-athlete wanting to participate. Swalwell will put players through training sessions and have a scrimmage as part of the four-hour camp, with everything to be streamed live for colleges.

Nearly 30 college programs from the Division I level down to NAIA and the junior college ranks, as well as Unity FC, will be among the teams tracking the participants.

Starting this idea centered around the game he loves, Swalwell is keen on this type of model being copied across the country as many soccer coaches have inquired about how he put this event together.

Providing kids a unique forum where they don't have to drive for hours and accumulate the expenses that go into typical college soccer camps, he is just trying to do his part in growing the game any way possible.

“There’s a lot of states that aren’t doing any sports right now and kids are missing out there,” Swalwell said. “I’ve had high school coaches from around the country reach out to me on social media asking how we’re doing this, we want to do this as well. If it could become a trend across the country with events like this, it'd be wonderful. It’s all for the kids and trying to get them into higher education.”

SLW Centennial Soccer ID Camp

When: Mar. 27 (boys), 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Mar. 28 (girls), 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at South County Regional Stadium

If you would like to learn more about the camp or for high school players to sign up, visit https://bsw1102.wixsite.com/slwcen10socceridcamp