Summer also educates: football, responsibility and healthy habits

When the school year ends, a highly anticipated period begins for children and teenagers: summer. Far from being just an academic pause, summer can become a powerful stage for personal, emotional, and physical growth. Sport — and especially football — offers a privileged environment for young people to develop values that go far beyond the playing field.

At SIA Academy we understand summer as a unique opportunity to shape people as well as footballers. Our 2026 Summer Camp, which will take place from June 22 to August 15, is designed to combine high-level training with values education, international coexistence, and healthy lifestyle habits.

Football as a school of life

Football is much more than technique, tactics, or physical condition. It is a pedagogical tool capable of teaching discipline, resilience, cooperation, and emotional management. During summer, when young people have more time and energy, these learnings become more deeply consolidated.

Training daily implies assuming responsibilities: taking care of rest, maintaining proper nutrition, respecting schedules, and working as a team. All of this shapes positive routines that can be maintained when summer ends and the new school year begins.

Furthermore, sport helps combat one of the major risks of long holidays: sedentary behavior. Spending too much time in front of screens can affect both physical and mental health. Regular training provides structure, goals, and a sense of progress, key elements for psychological well-being.

Responsibility and autonomy away from home

For many participants, attending a camp represents their first prolonged experience away from the family environment. This controlled distance encourages personal maturity.

They learn to organize their time, take care of their belongings, live with peers from different cultures, and resolve everyday conflicts. These social and autonomy skills are just as important as the sporting ones.

From our experience at SIA Academy, we see every summer how young people return home more confident. Daily coexistence creates lasting friendships and fosters respect for diversity.

The academy’s sporting director, Frederico Pereira, summarizes it this way: “Football in summer is a wonderful excuse to educate in values that will accompany the player throughout life.”

Healthy habits in summer that last

One of the main goals of any summer sports program is to establish routines that promote overall health. During summer, schedules often change and it is easy to neglect aspects such as sleep or nutrition.

At our camp we pay special attention to these factors. Balanced nutrition, constant hydration, and adequate rest are part of training just as much as ball exercises. Young players understand that sports performance depends directly on how they take care of their bodies.

We also work on injury prevention, proper warm-up, and post-effort recovery. This knowledge is especially valuable in summer, when high temperatures require additional precautions.

Another key aspect is mental health. Physical activity outdoors, social interaction, and the sense of belonging to a group reduce stress and improve mood. Summer thus becomes a period of emotional renewal.

Education in values through sport

Beyond performance, the camp aims to shape responsible citizens. Respect for teammates, coaches, and rules is a non-negotiable foundation of our methodology. Every training session and every match is an opportunity to practice sportsmanship and empathy.

Summer allows time for educational dynamics that are harder to implement during the competitive season: formative talks, team-building activities, or sessions on lifestyle habits. All of this is naturally integrated into the daily routine.

As Frederico Pereira points out: “We want every player to leave summer not only as a better footballer, but as a better person.”

An international environment that broadens horizons

One of the most enriching elements of our camp is cultural diversity. Young people from different countries participate, turning into a global experience.

Living with people from other nationalities fosters tolerance, communication, and open-mindedness. Players practice languages spontaneously and discover new customs, something especially valuable at formative ages.

This multicultural environment prepares young people for an increasingly interconnected world and helps them develop essential social skills for their academic and professional future.

Preparation for the new season… and for life

Summer is also an ideal time to improve technical and physical aspects that cannot be worked on as deeply during the regular competition period. Intensive training allows significant progress in coordination, decision-making, and game understanding.

However, the true value of the camp is not measured only in goals or dribbles. It is measured in confidence, acquired habits, and memories that positively influence personal development.

When summer ends and participants return to their routines, they take with them tools that will help them face new challenges. The perseverance learned on the field transfers to their studies; coexistence to their personal relationships; and body care to their overall well-being.

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