Eli Gastillo takes a pass and dribbles through the defenders to the right corner of the soccer field. She cuts back to her left, goes through several defenders and fires a left-footed shot past the goalie into the top right corner of the net.
Her shot set off a celebration with her team Tuesday morning.
That’s the action you see at the Derek Smith Soccer Camp being held this week at the Planters Bank-Jennie Stuart Health Sportsplex.
Gastillo, of Fort Campbell, said scoring goals is her favorite part of the camp.
For Smith, a Hopkinsville High School graduate, it is the sound of the campers playing soccer that makes him smile.
Smith, who played professionally for several years, has been returning to his hometown nearly every year since 2006 to run the camp.
The 1998 HHS graduate said he enjoys coming back and seeing the joy on the campers’ faces.
Returning to Hopkinsville reminds Smith, who is the son of Diane and Rodney Davis, of his early development for the love of the game.
Davis now lives in the Cincinnati/northern Kentucky area, but says he sees the talent that lives in the Hopkinsville/Christian County area and he likes coming back to help local players develop their game.
Among the camp instructors this year is former Hopkinsville High School star Ryan Roussel, who himself made it to the professional level with the Little Rock Rangers.
Roussel, who has ended his professional soccer career and is preparing for a career in the Air Force, was part of Smith’s first camp when he was about 5 years old.
He said he enjoys helping because the camp meant so much to him as a youngster.
Smith said this year’s camp won’t be the last. He plans on returning again next summer.
Photos by Joe Wilson