Children who signed up for the Rindge Recreation Department’s soccer camp recently got a taste of Brazil.

For the first time, the department hosted Brazilian United, a soccer program that brings soccer players from Brazil to the United States to teach children soccer. Recreation Director Daniel Bemis said that after the Wellington Summer Camp ended on Aug. 9, the camp from Aug. 19 to 23 gave children an opportunity to stay active until school starts Aug. 28.

“I wanted something to bridge the gap until school starts,” Bemis said.

Brazilian United coach David Chaves said this was his first time getting to travel to the United States. Prior to New Hampshire, he spent time in Maryland and Maine, running the same camp. Chaves said the children he coaches at the camp have taught him a lot about the culture in the United States and helped him improve his English.

“A lot of the kids are very respectful, very funny,” he said.

At the camp, Chaves said he tries to make sure the young soccer players have fun while learning the sport, as many of them have never played before.

“We try to do fun games, but those games have a purpose,” Chaves said.

One of the games Chaves said they play is reverse tag. This game, while similar to tag, incorporates soccer. By playing the game, the camp-goers learn to better their passing and receiving skills to eventually be given the chance to score a goal. Chaves said the objective of the game is to be open and to look for other openings to set up the goal.

Additionally, Chaves said he tries to incorporate a little bit of his culture from Brazil as well by having the players come back the next day with a fact they learned about the country.

Jeremey Kinnunen of Jaffrey said his son, Kairo, has been playing soccer for quite some time. He said this camp differs from a lot of the others his son has attended.

“I come back [home] and he’s showing us his moves from this camp,” Kinnunen said.

Kinnunen added most camps just scrimmage, and not every camp has taught his son to be a better player.

Slow start

Bemis said the program did not have as many registrations as they hoped, but he understood the cost of the program and the program being new. It saw nine registrations across the three tiers. Tier one cost $269 for the full-day camp, Tier two cost $229 for the half-day camp, and tier three was geared for children ages 4 to 6 for $125. The first two tiers were geared for children between the ages of 9 to 14 and 7 to 14.

Bemis said Rindge previously held a similar camp, but with people from Great Britain. He said that program ran for many years until the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to stop. The program with the British soccer players was successful, so despite the slow start to this program, he said he thinks if all goes well it could turn out similarly.

“First time you hold these programs, sometimes it takes a few years to build up,” Bemis said.

Bemis said despite having a small number of children participating in the camp, he thought Chaves did a great job keeping the program interactive.

“The kiddos who participated in it had a really fun time,” Bemis said.

As for next year, Bemis said he is open to working with Brazilian United to bring the camp back.