Celtic FC Florida held its second International Development Academy soccer camp in early July and three players were chosen to travel to Scotland to train at the Celtic Academy for a week. One of the three, Owen Huffman, travelled to Scotland on November 2, 2013 for a week of training with Celtic and experience Scotland firsthand.
The visit started with Owen and his father, Erin, attending the Celtic vs. Dundee United game which ended in a 1-1 draw. Following the game, taxis were a bit difficult to find due to the sheer volume of people so the boys ended up walking back to their hotel in the city of Glasgow in the cold light rain. 
The following day Celtic picked them up at their hotel and took them to the beautiful fields in Lennoxtown where the Celtic first team trains and the youth play their home games. Owen got to watch the U-13’s and U-14’s play. He observed the speed, intensity and drive that these players play with at such a young age. Owen noted that the U-13’s played with a size 4 ball (change to size 5 at u-14), and that no linesmen were being utilized.
During the week, Owen trained daily with the U-13’s at their afternoon sessions. The majority of the players in the Celtic program attend the same school. Their typical day starts at 7am with a 90 minute training session before a shower and change before the school day begins. After school, they stay to do homework and eat (they eat breakfast, lunch and dinner all at the school). Owen arrived at the school an hour prior to the afternoon training to eat with the team and get to know them. Around 5pm, they start their second training session of the day for another 90 minutes. This schedule is the same Monday through Thursday with Friday been an exception when they are given the morning off. 
During the days Owen wasn’t training, he and his father spent time sightseeing, shopping and getting to know the City. Owen said he had an incredible time playing with the Celtic team and thought coaches Greig and Willie were awesome and great to train with. If asked if he would go back, Owen said, “Say when”!!
