Shillong: 23rd July 2012 marked the first of the 2-day Panasonic Dream Camp in Shillong. After the initial
introductions, the first day primarily focused on a couple of training sessions on the FIFA Artificial
Turf, one each in the morning and evening along with a classroom session at the hotel. Each
participant was appropriately dressed in his blue and white training kit on the field and a polo t-shirt
off it. Following is a brief synopsis of what each session aimed at and delivered.

1st training session

Focus – Passing

The morning session began at 8am with some light rain around, with the boys making full use of
their rain-proof track-suit. The session was focused on ‘Passing’. After going through some dynamic
stretching initially, the boys participated in some passive training that included free movement and
more touches on the ball. Later, the training became more active to encourage decision making with
opponents and involving various match related scenarios and focussing on receiving the ball. The 1.5
hour training session ended with a fifteen minute 11 v 11 match and cooling down exercises.

Classroom session

Between the two training sessions on field, there was a classroom session conducted for the
participants to discuss various nuances of the game of football by showing them videos from the
recently held EURO 2012. The boys enjoyed some of the best goals from the tournament and
learnt about the best going around in the world of international football. The classroom session
also included videos on best training practices involving some special drills used by coaches for
youngsters around the world.

2nd training session

Focus – dribbling

The evening session focused on ‘Dribbling’ and involved pretty much the same passive and active
training drills, but with a new theme. More drills were 1 v 1 oriented to place emphasis on dribbling.
The session ended with a 3-team league where 9 v 9 matches were conducted.

After-dinner entertainment

After dinner at 9pm, the boys were shown the football game from a Hollywood movie, ‘Escape
to Victory’. It was a perfect way to relax for them after a long hard day of training by entertaining
themselves by watching some of their favourite actors and players in a football movie. Lights were
off at 10pm.