Taran Bir has experienced soccer at the highest level and he wants more.
The 17-year-old Howe Sound student was one of four players recruited by the Genova International School of Soccer who recently returned from a two and a half week stint with the school team in Italy.
Bir said the experience was invaluable in many ways, and one lesson tops the rest.
"If you want to be the best, you really have to train and work your hardest," he said. "Of everything Italy taught me, that's the most important thing."
Bir joined fellow Canadians as well as youth from Australia, Mexico and Brazil plus out of contract pros on the team.
Bir said he benefited immensely from playing in some of the most elite Italian leagues and training in a professional program, despite his team's failure to win any of its five games.
"Everything is all about soccer there," he said. "The games are so high tempo and fast paced and I was pretty nervous early on. You have to think so fast because you just don't get a lot of time on the ball.
"Everything they do in Italy is different than what we do here. It was all brand new to me, the drills, the preparation, everything. It's different but it really made me a better player."
Bir said he'll also benefit from the strict schedule he followed during his time on the Italian team.
"You get up at 8:30 a.m. for breakfast everyday - if you're late for breakfast you're in trouble -after breakfast we train for a little over two hours, then have lunch and shower and then go back out on the pitch for another two and a half hours.
"After that we have dinner and can relax for the rest of the night."
Playing in front of big crowds was first for Bir and he said it was a huge motivator. As many as 500 fans came to watch them take to the pitch.
"It was a little intimidating for our first game," he said. "But we got used to it and we used the fans to help pump us up."
Bir said he adjusted to the Italian style of play and became much more comfortable, and had the pleasure of playing the best his life in the final.
"All my passes felt so good and it seemed like everything came together for me in the last game," he said.
Bir's father, Nurinder Bir made it out to Italy to see the final few games his son played and said he was impressed by what he saw.
"The country was very nice and the soccer was a lot faster than what we're used to," he said. "He was playing against full grown men but it was good for him. It was a great experience."
His mother, Jesse Bir, remained back home in Squamish, but kept in contact with her son.
"He phoned me pretty regularly and we BBMed [BlackBerry messaged] almost every night" she said.
And the opportunities continue for Bir as the school invited him to return and join the team October. But it's a decision he will mull over for the next few weeks.
"I'd like to graduate with my friends," he said. "But playing more in Italy would be a great opportunity."
He said he might join the West Vancouver U18 Gold team for the fall, adding their coaching staff consists of a former captain of Barcelona.
