Papa Teran
BRONZE
This is a great take as to your experience and your thoughts on the subject. I do have a question for you though.. ?All great opinions and just the kind of dialogue I was hoping to get from my post. My DD played EGSL with the '07 Eagles which was a very good team that just recently won Surf Cup. For me, being a former player who loves technical development as well as a club, high school, and college coach for the last 20 years, it came down to the contrast of the two styles of the coaches between the two teams. I think both have their values. One coach believes that playing in unstructured environments with other great players will elicit development organically. The other runs completely structured functional sessions that emphasize technical development within the framework of the team and will bring in great little nuances(that as a coach I love). So at the end of EGSL I choose the latter coach. When we first went back to the '08 she was head and shoulders above everyone. Over the last several months I have noticed that she has lost a bit of the intensity that the '07 team required and that the other teammates have either been brought up to her standard...or that she has dropped? Just not sure since we play against mostly bad teams in coast and have not played many tough games. Like I said..she can stay in 2nd or 3rd gear and still net 5-10 goals a game. I do see this and think this is the most important aspect. She continues to develop the love of the sport and more and more often when we are sitting around the house she is kicking the ball around and talking more and asking questions about her practice etc. So if not making the jump to the higher age group hurts her in the long run, but somehow inadvertently ignited her love of the sport just a little bit more because of all the positive(albeit easy) outcomes....worth it?
Thanks again for the posts...I really appreciate it.
I have 2 kids (son and daughter) in competitive soccer both playing on flight 1 competitive teams. I am a realist and not expecting either of them to become professional athletes, but simply want to provide them the opportunity to learn what it takes to excel and succeed. In my opinion, this is more than just for the sport, but more so by putting in the work ethic, commitment and dedication to progress as a person, player and teammate. For example; We also bring this effort to their school work by using the same premise (homework drills, commitment and focus), which I hope will help them in anything they strive to achieve.
My question is what is your take on your DD overall objective for her soccer future and what are the options? I have only 'leveled' to the U10 realm and know somewhat about the Academy opportunities, but that is only for my son. However, with EGSL and other upcoming leagues, what are the options for girls in the later years? I tend to look ahead to help determine the path I hope for my daughter and I decide on, since as she ages, the choice will be more on her. Here is a great link as to the different zones explained by US Soccer Player Development: http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/assets/1/3/US_Youth_Soccer_Player_Development_Model.pdf.
-Papa