No one can accuse the Yukon Soccer Association of not being able to see the value of quality coaching.

In the past decade, the organization has continued to improve its program by bringing up special guest instructors for both weekend and week-long sessions.

Yukon Soccer currently has an annual contract with Sean Fleming, Canada's under-17 boys national team head coach, that includes holding camps in the months of January, May, June, August and November.

The June session, held this past weekend, featured two national development team instructors and St. Albert Soccer Association's head coach in attendance.

"Our players are getting exposed to coaches that players in larger jurisdictions for the most part wouldn't get the opportunity to train under unless they were at a very elite level in a lot of cases," said Jake Hanson, Yukon Soccer's head coach and technical director. "I think we're certainly disadvantaged in some ways because we are isolated and don't see the regular competition we need, but there are some things that we do have that other places don't have."

Besides having the opportunity to train under some of Canada's top soccer coaches, Hanson said members on Yukon rep teams benefit from being able to play together from a very young age right up to the selects program, opened to the territory's top players.

The different development teams at the weekend camp included U-12 to U-18 and the Canada Summer Games girls' team. Each groups had two practice sessions.

Historically, the August session is the only week-long camp. However, this year, because of the Canada Summer Games, scheduled for the last two weeks in August, it will be split up with the first being held Aug. 6 through 9 and the second Aug. 23-29.

The first August session will specifically be for the Yukon's Canada Summer Games boys' and girls' teams and the U-12 boys' and girls' programs. The second, meanwhile will include the U-14 and U-16 teams.

The different coaches this past weekend included national training instructors Leo McAndry and Jeff Paulus and St. Albert Soccer Association head coach Graham Wood.

For McAndry, traveling to Whitehorse is nothing new. In the past few years, he estimates he has been to the Yukon's capital at least 15 times.

McAndry said one thing he has noticed is the desire and passion of the soccer players.

"They want to play soccer," he said. "It's a pleasure to coach them because of that and as far as athletes, they are as good as anyone.

"In fact, some of the players I have seen this weekend could compete in probably any sport as a top athlete.

"They are a fun group to work with. It's always very enjoyable to come out."

He said the camps cater to the needs of the players and if they don't have specific needs, the instruction is based off what was covered at the last session.

McAndry, who worked with the U-18 boys', U-16 division one boys', U-16 division two boys' and the Canada Summer Games girls, said the the focus was on attack and play, in regard to crosses and finishing.

Typically the idea of how to run a session includes beginning with a warm up, establishing a theme, doing some work on technique related to that theme. It then moves on to involve skill work that practices the technique under pressure and then finishing with a game-type scenario, he said.

"It gives them something to work with," McAndry said. "It gives the coaches a good idea of where the strengths are and where the weaknesses are."

McAndry said he has seen improvement over the years from the Yukon players.

"I have seen a lot of changes with these players, some very skillful players,” he said.

"The only thing they lack and we've talked about this, is they lack the environment that we have in other centres because they don't have the competitive league to play in, so they have to find things like tournaments and that to get that competition."