Reply to Is it possible to go straight into travel soccer without any prior experience as U13?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Daughter's friend is interested in playing together in travel soccer, and would like to attend travel tryouts next year.  She's never played soccer before, but have played other sports such as basketball and volleyball.   She's above average height, and does not enjoy a lot of running.  Is it possible for her to become a full-time goalie at that level by next year's tryouts?  What is a recommended path next year, and is this realistic?[/quote]

The pp who said you can definitely get on a team, but not necessarily any specific team, is spot on.

That said, a tall, athletic girl who starts at U13 could absolutely be an immediate starter in goalkeeper for most teams. Before this year, most kids have been playing 9v9 or 7v7 on small fields. The expectations of a goalkeeper on a full 11v11 are much different and so the kids with the previous goalkeeping experience do not have much of an advantage, if any, over a total noob.

Also, this is the age when girls start to grow into their adult height. I'm sorry to tell all the parents of 9 year old goalies who will be 5' 2" women at full height, but clubs and coaches would much rather have an inexperienced tall girl with potential than a short one who played GK in the past. The reality is that teams have goalkeepers at the u12 and below level not because they are developing them to be club assets at the u13 and up level... but just because they need someone to play in goal that one specific year.

Actually wanting to be a goalkeeper and having the confidence to do it is important. The hardest thing about GK is decision-making. You have to make decisions in high-pressure situations and once you decide you have to fully embrace your choice even if it was wrong. But kids who play basketball and volleyball are already good at that. It's not hard to teach them the specific choices a soccer goalie needs to make. A decent coach could
do it in a few training sessions and with active input in a few games. [/quote]

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