5'4" Keeper

It's not about how big you are, but how big you play. There are always going to be those players in sports that play outside the curve, and are outliers. They are not prototypical from a stature/size perspective but get the job done and then some. Don't let somebody tell you no and keep grinding and chasing what you want to do. Sports, life, work, etc. If you are good enough your size, whatever, does not matter. Size will get you through the first cut/eye-test, and maybe give you a longer leash on sub-par performance, but in the end it is the results that set the kids apart. If a coach wants to discount a player due to size and that they don't fit the "ideal" model that is fine, there are many others that will look at the result and how the kids play. Plus you don't want to play for the "size" coach anyway. In the end most kids are done playing at 22-24 and have 60+ years after to live their lives. Hopefully the lessons they learned playing team sports help them prosper later in life. I guess what I am I saying is don't let somebody else define what you can and can't do.

I'm sure that kid at FGCU worked her tail-off her whole youth career to prove she was a player despite being less than the "ideal" height for a D1 Keeper. I'm pretty sure that kid is going to be successful no matter what she attempts to do later in life. You can't teach grit.
 
Woobie06 said:
It's not about how big you are, but how big you play. There are always going to be those players in sports that play outside the curve, and are outliers. They are not prototypical from a stature/size perspective but get the job done and then some. Don't let somebody tell you no and keep grinding and chasing what you want to do. Sports, life, work, etc. If you are good enough your size, whatever, does not matter. Size will get you through the first cut/eye-test, and maybe give you a longer leash on sub-par performance, but in the end it is the results that set the kids apart. If a coach wants to discount a player due to size and that they don't fit the "ideal" model that is fine, there are many others that will look at the result and how the kids play. Plus you don't want to play for the "size" coach anyway. In the end most kids are done playing at 22-24 and have 60+ years after to live their lives. Hopefully the lessons they learned playing team sports help them prosper later in life. I guess what I am I saying is don't let somebody else define what you can and can't do.

I'm sure that kid at FGCU worked her tail-off her whole youth career to prove she was a player despite being less than the "ideal" height for a D1 Keeper. I'm pretty sure that kid is going to be successful no matter what she attempts to do later in life. You can't teach grit.
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Yeah...we know this gal because my daughter trained with her 3 years ago. She can jump and throw herself in the air in a split second. I love watching her!
 
Woobie06 said:
It's not about how big you are, but how big you play. There are always going to be those players in sports that play outside the curve, and are outliers. They are not prototypical from a stature/size perspective but get the job done and then some. Don't let somebody tell you no and keep grinding and chasing what you want to do. Sports, life, work, etc. If you are good enough your size, whatever, does not matter. Size will get you through the first cut/eye-test, and maybe give you a longer leash on sub-par performance, but in the end it is the results that set the kids apart. If a coach wants to discount a player due to size and that they don't fit the "ideal" model that is fine, there are many others that will look at the result and how the kids play. Plus you don't want to play for the "size" coach anyway. In the end most kids are done playing at 22-24 and have 60+ years after to live their lives. Hopefully the lessons they learned playing team sports help them prosper later in life. I guess what I am I saying is don't let somebody else define what you can and can't do.

I'm sure that kid at FGCU worked her tail-off her whole youth career to prove she was a player despite being less than the "ideal" height for a D1 Keeper. I'm pretty sure that kid is going to be successful no matter what she attempts to do later in life. You can't teach grit.
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Kudos to this kid! I guess there’s some hope lol.

Completely agree but sadly it seems the majority consensus of coaches always go for the taller keepers. Unfortunately, my dd is a shorty and I doubt she will grow to be tall thanks to genetics. Luckily we connected with two wonderful coaches who appreciate her skill, knowledge, and technique. However, prior to that she attended tryouts where the other keeps in all honesty were sub-par. They made some blocks but weren’t as refined and skilled but we’re tall and chosen. I’ve also heard some coaches say they don’t need a strong keeper because they’re more focused on having a strong team in the field and building on that. Different coaches, different perspectives, different tactics. I tell my kid that’s life, you just have to keep on hustling and things will work out for the best and here we are now with an awesome coach who is really about development.

Development, you hear that thrown around a lot with these elite clubs but I’ve witnessed it for myself that some of these coaches are great recruiters whose teams win because all of their players are impact players, developed elsewhere, train elsewhere, and just show up to games. And that’s great if as a parent that’s what you’re looking for but I guess I respect a coach more when they actually develop and improve a team. Sadly, most parents, like coaches, just want to win and every year players shuffle, politics happens, coaches get moved or dismissed......eh it is what it is
 
Keeper07 said:
Kudos to this kid! I guess there’s some hope lol.

Completely agree but sadly it seems the majority consensus of coaches always go for the taller keepers. Unfortunately, my dd is a shorty and I doubt she will grow to be tall thanks to genetics. Luckily we connected with two wonderful coaches who appreciate her skill, knowledge, and technique. However, prior to that she attended tryouts where the other keeps in all honesty were sub-par. They made some blocks but weren’t as refined and skilled but we’re tall and chosen. I’ve also heard some coaches say they don’t need a strong keeper because they’re more focused on having a strong team in the field and building on that. Different coaches, different perspectives, different tactics. I tell my kid that’s life, you just have to keep on hustling and things will work out for the best and here we are now with an awesome coach who is really about development.

Development, you hear that thrown around a lot with these elite clubs but I’ve witnessed it for myself that some of these coaches are great recruiters whose teams win because all of their players are impact players, developed elsewhere, train elsewhere, and just show up to games. And that’s great if as a parent that’s what you’re looking for but I guess I respect a coach more when they actually develop and improve a team. Sadly, most parents, like coaches, just want to win and every year players shuffle, politics happens, coaches get moved or dismissed......eh it is what it is
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Agree, agree, agree! My older daughter was a short Keeper so I have a special place for short Keepers which is why I shared the story. This is a pretty amazing accolade for any player but given she was probably overlooked by many college coaches because of her height it is pretty awesome.

My younger daughter is pretty tall in that she just turned 12 and is already 5'6" with arms about 3 inches longer than mine and I am 5'6". Having said that, I had a coach once tell me that the chosen Keeper over my daughter could touch the top bar of the smaller goal right before moving to the bigger goal. I am looking for long term and he was looking for short term. That statement said everything I needed to know. Best to your Keeper. I am rooting for your daughter.
 
Keepermom2 said:
Agree, agree, agree! My older daughter was a short Keeper so I have a special place for short Keepers which is why I shared the story. This is a pretty amazing accolade for any player but given she was probably overlooked by many college coaches because of her height it is pretty awesome.

My younger daughter is pretty tall in that she just turned 12 and is already 5'6" with arms about 3 inches longer than mine and I am 5'6". Having said that, I had a coach once tell me that the chosen Keeper over my daughter could touch the top bar of the smaller goal right before moving to the bigger goal. I am looking for long term and he was looking for short term. That statement said everything I needed to know. Best to your Keeper. I am rooting for your daughter.
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in re short keepers - my older son was a couple of inches shorter than most of his teammates at the U11 year (the year of bigger goals), and he had been about average 5 years earlier when he decided he wanted to play keeper. Anyway, at our first U11 tournament, the final came down to post-game kicks. It was obvious to the other team that he was too short to get to the crossbar, so they all tried to shoot high - and their first three shots were above the bar. Game over.
 
Keeper07 said:
Development, you hear that thrown around a lot with these elite clubs but I’ve witnessed it for myself that some of these coaches are great recruiters whose teams win because all of their players are impact players, developed elsewhere, train elsewhere, and just show up to games. And that’s great if as a parent that’s what you’re looking for but I guess I respect a coach more when they actually develop and improve a team. Sadly, most parents, like coaches, just want to win and every year players shuffle, politics happens, coaches get moved or dismissed......eh it is what it is
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^This^ multiplied by a million.
 
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