Three boys from Weyburn invited to soccer academy in Madrid

It’s a dream come true for three 13-year-old Saskatchewan soccer players.

Ranson Jordens, Ethan Thiedig and Lexington Roy have all been invited to Spain’s prestigious Real Madrid Academy (Real Madrid Club de Fútbol).

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“I’m really excited, because I travel lots, but I’ve never traveled anywhere to play soccer,” Jordens said. “It’ll be really fun, and it’ll be especially fun going with some of my friends.”

The club has the most championship titles in Europe and has been home to stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Júnior.

The opportunity is a big deal for the players and for the Weyburn Soccer Association where they play.

Listen to Jordens, Thiedig and Roy on Behind the Headlines:

The boys were invited after attending a Real Madrid camp in Edmonton. They all received an invitation based on their work ethic, positive attitude and skill level.

They were all surprised to get an invite from the esteemed club.

“I was shocked,” Thiedig said.

“It was difficult, but all three of us tried really hard, and I was just happy. We were driving home and my mom got an email saying we got to go to Spain, and it was amazing.”

All three boys have been playing together since they were five years old.

Rob Jordens, Ranson’s father and coach, said he’s watched the boys’ skill level develop over the last eight years. He said it’s been an honour to watch them grow as athletes.

“They start, as you know, bumblebees following the ball, and it gradually turns into more organized soccer,” Rob said.

“And then you see real athletes growing, and then they’ve really developed well over the past couple years. And it’s shown in their skill level and their work ethic and success we’ve had as a club. And as a coach, it’s just incredibly rewarding.”

The three boys pose with their coach, Rob Jordens. He’s watched the boys play soccer together for eight years. He said it’s been an honour to watch them grow. (Richy Roy/submitted)

The trip is going to be action packed. One of the highlights is a tour of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which seats 85,000. There will be time to explore the city, but the week-long camp is no joke.

“The days are morning and afternoon training sessions,” Rob said. “They’re there to train. They’re there to increase their interest and their intensity and their commitment to soccer, and I think it’ll do that.”

The kids said they hope to learn important lessons in leadership while improving their soccer skills, and said they also hope to inspire other kids like them to try the sport.

“Kids like us from a small town can inspire them to start playing and working harder,” Roy said.

“For us to go to Spain, it can really improve our development,” Thiedig  said. “It could also show us how to be leaders in our own community, because we’re going to such a far place. And they’ll teach us some leadership roles, so we can lead our community and stuff like that.”

Their dreams don’t stop at Real Madrid. All three boys aspire to play professionally, but all for different reasons.

“I think that all of us want to go play first professionally and make a lot of money and be famous like that,” Ranson said.

“I do want to play professionally, because it will show just a kid from a little town like Weyburn can produce great players,” Thiedig  said.

“I don’t want to go professionally for the fame or the money or anything,” Roy said. “It’s just my love of the sport.”

Before they can pack their bags and head off to Madrid, they have to raise $30,000 to cover the costs. The trip isn’t until May, giving them lots of time to raise the funds.

Rob said they are in the beginning stages of the fundraising process.

“We have set up an email address for this; it’s road.realmadrid@gmail.com,” the coach explained.

“The Give Send Go Campaign again is ‘Road to Real Madrid.’ That’s our slogan for this campaign. Any level of donation is certainly appreciated, big or small. It’ll all go towards getting these boys to Madrid and and letting them advance their game, have tons of fun and just really enjoy the sport and then that experience and hopefully push their game to even higher levels.”

Rob said he’s confident that the community will come together to help make the dream a reality.

“Any time you can get local athletes on a world stage, I think that is incredibly important for the province and the city,” he said. “It just helps to grow the sport, and helps kind of grow that community involvement and support as well, so I think it’s good all around. It’s a win-win, and even for our local club I think it’ll go really far.”

The boys and their love for soccer goes beyond the field.

“It helps me to be a better person, and I can become a better leader,” Thiedig said.

Lexington Roy (left), Ranson Jordens (centre) and Ethan Thiedig are excited to travel the Madrid, Spain for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (Richy Roy/submitted)