The CPMNT are continuing to prepare for the 2024 IFCPF World Cup, which will be held in Spain in November, as they held another camp in Kennesaw, Georgia on May 22-26.
Head Coach Stuart Sharp announced the 18-player roster and that they would be holding the camp at Kennesaw State University back on May 16th. This 18-player roster included many homegrown players from Georgia.
Sharp touched on how important it is to have a camp this close to a lot of the players because of the experience it will give his team.
“It’s great because people come to watch. We’ve got some press here today and hopefully some are coming later in the week,” said Sharp after training on May 22. “Some friends and parents are coming to watch, and that’s something they haven’t been exposed to a lot in their playing career. Having that extra pressure gives me the ability to reenact some elements that they could feel again at the World Cup.”
Jacob Crumbly, who is from Fortson, Georgia, is one of those players. He is a part of the Centralized Training Program at Atlanta United. Being from Harris County, it is not the most common sport over there, but with the new training facility, Crumbly hopes it will get more people talking about the sport.
“There not as developed down there as we are around the city of Atlanta, so hopefully we can get it started and have a little more grassroots level down there and get some better coaches,” said Crumbly when asked about the conversations around soccer in Harris County. I just happened to make it out.”
Team Captain Josh Brunais, the squad's longest tenured player and also part of the Centralized Training Program at Atlanta United, talked about what lessons this squad learned from the 2023 Para Pan American Games where the USA earned bronze.
We still got a bronze, which is good. It;s good for the program. It's good for the boys, it's good for the mentality, but I also like that we weren’t satisfied with the bronze,” said Brunais on May 23 after training. “I also know that it pushes us on the field more because they are beatable, and we want to be that team that is constantly beating them, not just 50/50 or 60/40.”
You can listen to Madison Crews and Jon Nelson recap the training camp, and hear our full interviews with Stuart Sharp, Jacob Crumbly, and Josh Brunais down below!
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