2007 DD.........I hope it stays that way (unless of course she develops a passion for something else)....
Most likely boys. Puberty will change things, and life happens. I remember a big change with my daughter when she was 11 and when she was 13. Gratefully she's 25 now and I would not want to go through that again.... Boys are sooooo much easier.
......Wanted to thrown this out to see if anyone has any sage advice about avoiding burnout.
We’ve been doing our best to “keep it fun.” Go see and do non-soccer things when traveling to tournaments,.....And of course, never criticize her play or coach on the car ride home. Just try to be supportive, great job, all that.
Frankly, whatever you do won't matter. If the child is into soccer, he/she will pursue without your encouragement or not. As. for a burnout, one should not confuse occasional desire to want to take a break or go do something else to "Soccer Burnout". Its just doing other things.
I know many parents believe they actually control their kids but in reality, the only thing control leads to is a epic failure between a parent and a child. That said, guide, set boundaries, provide options and occasional course correction are all well within good parenting and applies to soccer experience.
The most sage advice I can give anyone about this subject is to be prepared (and willing to accept) for whatever happens. Have alternatives to keep your kid engaged constructively, in an event that she gives up soccer. At the end of the day, unless you are willing to force the child to continue on what she doesn't want to do any longer, its best to have alternative/options. Who knows, when she consider the options, may elect to go on with soccer but then its her choice, not yours. Just put yourself in her shoes and imagine if you were told to continue something that you don't want to do any longer.
The notion of child not knowing better than you, because you think the kid just needs a break or that somehow it will prevent burnout is a fallacy. If its going to happen, it will. Meanwhile, if you throttle the kid back, when she wants to go full force, you might be doing more harm than good.