Talent on display
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Jason Simcoe / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: July 30, 2007
Culpeper soccer fans don't have to look far to see world-class competition. Shiloh Baptist Association is bringing some of the best players in the world to town today.
The group is hosting a Brazilian soccer team this week. The players will share their skills with kids ages 4-18 in a free soccer clinic today at Yowell Meadow Park. Instruction starts at 9:30 a.m.
Later, the Brazilian team will play Culpeper United in an exhibition match at the park. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. According to Shiloh Baptist Association director of missions Richard Horton, Culpeper United faces a stiff test.
"Not many American teams beat these guys," he said.
Horton and other members of the Virginia Baptist Association have been working in partnership with a similar Baptist group in the Parana state of Brazil for several years. Parana is located in the southern part of Brazil, on the border with Argentina.
The relationship has been fruitful.
The Brazilian group has made several trips to the U.S. while Horton and several other members of the Virginia Baptist Association have had the opportunity to visit Brazil. It's a give-and-take relationship, Horton says, where each group shares with the other their unique talents.
"There should be mutuality," Horton said. "Not only do we go help them, they come help us."
The Brazilian team, made up of players ranging from their teens to mid-fifties, arrived yesterday and will be in the Culpeper area through Saturday. The group will host clinics and play exhibition games at the Rappahannock County Soccer Field Wednesday and Madison Primary School Thursday.
The Brazilian team is talented - several have played professionally or semi-professionally. One member serves as the chaplain for the Brazilian national team. They are passionate about the sport and Horton says Culpeper soccer enthusiasts are in for a treat.
"What I say is that Brazil and soccer are synonymous," he said.
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