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[quote=Anonymous]Interesting question.  I have three players, ranging from college age to elementary school.  We all love soccer and watch a lot of games.

Eldest is a decent athlete overall, strong and coordinated, great endurance, but average speed.  She started travel soccer later, but lucked into an excellent outside trainer when she was 11 or 12.  She played for three different mid-level club teams in her youth career and played in HS.  She was always a starter on her club teams, but not a huge impact player most of the time, more of a key role-player in the midfield.  Her strengths were excellent foot skills and excellent game vision and passing--she was usually among the top 2 or 3 players on her teams in these areas.  She didn't get that much playing time in HS.  Most of the girls the coaches favored were either very fast or very physical, and she didn't really fit his style of play well.   She looked into a few D3 soccer options, but ended up choosing a school based on academic fit.  She plays for a very good college club team now, and they absolutely appreciate her skills, passing, and hustle.  We used to wonder a bit if we'd failed her by not starting travel soccer earlier or looking for higher level club teams, but those regrets have faded over time now that she's a very happy college student.  We are thrilled she still loves the game and we expect it will be a life-time sport for her.

Second kid is an excellent athlete and very fast.  He was always a top player on his youth teams, and with the lessons we learned from the first kid, we knew better how to look for good training and teams.  He never really went through any awkward phases, though he did run into a coach here and there who didn't fully appreciate him at first.  Despite a few setbacks like that and minor injuries along the way, he's continued to be a very strong player, was always a starter, and is committed to a good D1 program now.  When we think about why he's done so well, in addition to good training, luck, and good genetics, he is extremely driven and disciplined, I think much more so than average. He also loves the game and would rather play soccer than do anything else.

Too early to tell much with the third. [/quote]

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