‘Now I think faster’
{mb_sdlf_jugador_SDLF-jugador_frase-destacada}Derick Keizer didn’t think twice about grasping the opportunity to train in Spain after winning a sports scholarship at Marcet’s Soccer Camp in Mexico.
Derick Keizer is no doubt a skilful player, with good technique and real confidence in his abilities. Virtues that showed during the Marcet Soccer Camp (MSC) that was held last autumn in the Lebanese Centre of Mexico. “When I heard about this event, it didn’t take me long to sign up. During the week of training, I gave it my all because I wanted to win the sports scholarship for most outstanding player”.
Derick’s passion and willpower earned him the prize he was so determined to prove himself worthy of. “The last day we played a match and at the end of the match, they began to say the names of the winners. Hearing my name called out was definitely a moment of peak happiness,” recalls the Mexican left-back, who then travelled to Europe two months after the Mexican MSC.
“HERE rival pressure is heavier. you really don’t have a lot of time to make a decision”
Derick’s destination was Marcet’s High-Performance Academy in Barcelona. His stay in Spain coincided with a moment in the year customarily dedicated to tournaments and matches against the Academy’s draft’s rivals. Naturally, the defender joined Marcet’s trip to Ávila to play several games, where he was interviewed (see above).
“Getting told I was off to play against Rayo Vallecano was a good moment. RV it is a well-known, demanding team on the pitch,” says Derick, satisfied with the experience. “There’s a lot of difference between Mexican and Spanish football. In my country we work a lot, but in Spain it’s different, because the first thing you are told is to be aware of the ball, rival pressure is heavier, and when you’re passed the ball, you really don’t have a lot of time to make a decision, the game is faster and that forces you to learn and to think faster, which evidently helps you improve a lot as a player.”
Derick‘s experience has gone beyond sports. Interacting with colleagues from all over the world has an added value that the defender himself emphasizes in terms of personal enrichment: “In Spain I have lived in and amongst different cultures and have ended up learning really interesting things from a wide variety of countries. Having to spend time far from home and away from my family has been the push towards independence that I needed. I recommend this experience to everyone.”