Courtesy photo Coach Travis DiLeo works on soccer skills with Caiden Galiato.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

For the past four summers, former Altoona Area High School soccer standout Travis DiLeo has been offering instructional camps for soccer players in this area through his T.D. Soccer Academy organization.

DiLeo is continuing to do so this year, but with a special twist.

One of his camps will be for elite young soccer players with legitimate aspirations of competing at the college level and beyond, and a guest instructor will be a former professional soccer player, Reading native Corey Hertzog.

Hertzog, a former Penn State University soccer player who went on to a professional career in the Major League Soccer (MLS) organization after being drafted by the New York Red Bulls, will be on hand to instruct at DiLeo’s Elite Soccer Camp July 24-27 at the Urban Air Adventure Park Soccer Complex in Hollidaysburg.

The camp will run on four consecutive nights, from approximately 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., under the direction of DiLeo, Hertzog, and Altoona High School assistant boys soccer coach Travis Young.

Thirty top-notch youth boys and girls soccer players ranging in age from 12 to 17 have registered for the camp, in which players must have accomplished an intermediate level of skill or better, and also be part of a competitive team.

“This camp is organized in such a way that it is not for beginners,” said DiLeo, a 2006 Altoona High School graduate. “This camp is for intermediate or advanced players with experience who have the talent to, and aspirations, of, playing soccer at the Division I college level or beyond.

“They’re going to have the opportunity to learn from somebody in Corey Hertzog who has played the game at the highest level,” added DiLeo, who also conducts instructional camps for younger soccer players at the beginner’s level.

Hertzog, who now has his own soccer instructional academy in the state of Florida, has played soccer competitively overseas as well, and his input will take DiLeo’s camp to a top-tier level.

“This guy (Hertzog) was born only three hours away from here, but he has been all over the world playing soccer,” DiLeo said. “This is a story of opportunity for these young soccer players. It’s really just about this professional player coming into town and giving these kids something that they haven’t had before.”

Young has been on the Altoona Area High School boys soccer team’s coaching staff for the past 14 years–including eight as a volunteer coach and the past six as a paid coach. He has been helping DiLeo coach the local summer camps for the past four years.

“Each year, the camps have grown and developed, and this year, Travis has been provided with a unique opportunity to collaborate with a professional player in Corey Hertzog,” said Young, who played soccer at both Altoona Area High School and Bloomsburg University. “It’s not often, especially in this area, that opportunities like this present themselves to young players.

“We’re really anticipating this to be a high-level soccer camp — one of the best, if not the best, soccer camps for players to attend in the area this year,” Young added.

Sponsors for the camp include the Bun Air Corporation, Dino’s Pizza, and Sheetz – which also purchased the camp shirts for the players.

“The main point of this camp is to emphasize that there is an opportunity locally for kids who have dreams to someday become a college or professional soccer player,” DiLeo said. “We’re making connections to close that gap from being a dream to becoming a reality. That’s the whole purpose of this camp and this type of instruction. This gives these kids the confidence that they can do it too.”