SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer What is your daughter doing?

Im not sure that the average soccer parent understands the committment needed by there daughter to play at an elite level or play college soccer. How many games a week does your daughter watch on tv? Is she training 4-5 times a week during club soccer? How much conditioning work is she doing outside club or high school? Is she working with weights on her core strenght? Everyone is to concerned about travel etc, you need to focus more on your daughter becoming a better player and stop worrying about what club she plays for. What is your daughter doing that sets her apart from the crowd on her team?

That might be one of the most sensible "road to success" posts I've read in a while.

Sweet feet,

To me this is but one leg of what a kid needs to do to make themselves a great player.

1. Work hard on your own.
2. Highly competitive training sessions.
3. Highly competitive matches.

a strong work ethic at whatever they pursue

Well said, CHT...it's a mindset that is usually evident in every aspect of a person's life, or it isn't there--the work ethic. No matter where you are or what you're doing, if you step up to something, do it to the best of your ability, and push yourself to not only meet expectations, but exceed them.

I agree, but.........

A big chunk of player development has to do with competition. Working your tail off on your own is outstanding.....but you also need those 3-4x per week training sessions competing against equally talented and motivated players. And then you also need......to compete as a team against other teams equally talented to your own.

I see a ton of kids whose eyes light up when they see a competitive level they aren't used to. It helps stoke that fire that burns within.

Michael Jordan famously said that he loved it when people talked about his weaknesses, becasue that would motivate him to work hard and turn them into strengths. Had he stayed in Wilmington its doubtful those weaknesses would have been exposed.

No argument...competition is a key factor in developing excellence. I think what the folks in this thread are trying to point out, though, is that too often the emphasis is on where you are first, rather than on what you're doing to get ready to take advantage of it. We hear so much on these boards about placement, and so little about personal preparation; development of character, work ethic, drive, determination, commitment, and love of the game can have a greater effect on a player in the long run than having a parent pony up the "right" amount of money to get them into the "right" club and think it runs on automatic from then on. A high level of competition is an important factor, true, but only if the mind and body are conditioned to use it to best advantage. An intensely competitive PLAYER in a somewhat less competitive ENVIRONMENT can sometimes progress more than a somewhat less competitive player in a more competitive environment.

Michael Jordan had the outstanding drive and competitive spirit attack his weaknesses and turn them into strengths rather than simply accepting or succumbing to them...otherwise the exposure would have done him little good.

"An intensely competitive PLAYER in a somewhat less competitive ENVIRONMENT can sometimes progress more than a somewhat less competitive player in a more competitive environment."

I absolutely agree.

But the ultimate.....if your kid fits this bill, is to also place them in an ultra-competitive environment. They go hand in hand. This was my point.

See below, especially with the ladies.

If it ain't fun, then it ain't any good.

Amen, Hurst...

BD, I agree with your assessment as long as Hurst's addendum is part of the equation...if it's not, then sometimes the most competitive environment may not be the one that brings out the best possible in the players.