Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seasoned Parents,

At what average age does a female player’s talent & performance plateaus even with private coaching, individual practices and exercises?

I guess my question is when do you typically know that your DD lacks the capability to play in college (D1, D2 or D3)?

That is a difficult question to answer. I have seen good players that do not progress markedly past 14 and get eclipsed by others who continue to develop all the way through college. There are lots of reasons possible but girls mature at different rates, and their motivations can change as their social environments are changing. To generalize though, I would say that by U15 or U16, you should have a good idea of whether or not they are going to be able to compete at the college level.

I would generally agree with this as well in my experience. It really all depends as each kid develops differently. I don't think there is a set time frame. You should look towards growth compared to peers. Is she developing at the same clip as others or slowly falling behind each year?

I would agree that by about U15/U16 you should have a good idea, but it really just depends. Look at Jamie Vardy in the Premier League and others...very late bloomers. We have a son who always had a ton of talent, but was middle of the pack on his teams. It never really clicked until about u15 when he started really performing well. He went on to make a DA team and play in college, but at u13 and below you would have said no way.

I think boys can be different. Same thing with my sons---always middle teams or second team...but always practiced on their own, had passion---a lot had to do with late growth spurts...by age 15/16 they had several offers from DA teams and took off from there. They pushed through all of the politics and not getting noticed and kept at it. The talent was always there--but the landscape is so saturated it's hard for kids that don't start on the top teams to get noticed---EVEN when they are performing. Some Clubs won't even give you a look if you put on the registration form you are on a second team...which is a real shame and they lose a lot of potentially great players down the road with this caste system.

I'm not sure it's exactly a caste system so much as an indication that we stll have a serious problem with coaching. Good coaches can spot the kids who are capable very quickly. I know I can't - sure I can spot a kid who can dribble at speed or pulls off a great one on one move or scores a good goal, but that's only a tiny part of the equation. I remember talking to my DS' current TD once and he was describing a tryout at a previous club where the coaches (who worked for him) were supposed to be identifying the more talented kids and moving them to the top field. He said that they missed at least half the kids they should have moved up and he had to oversee the whole thing himself. In his case it worked out because he was there. But there are plenty of cubs where the coaches cannot reliably identify the kids that will do well at the next level.

You can tell by 7th grade. The gap between strong players and not strong players is pretty wide even then

Anonymous wrote:If you're asking, you probably already know.

I don’t think the OP knows that why he/she asked. If his/her DD was very bad, this question would not have been asked.

Anonymous wrote:15 years old either you have the glimmer or you don’t

So U16? Would you say this is for both boys and girls?

15 years old either you have the glimmer or you don’t

Anonymous wrote:Seasoned Parents,

At what average age does a female player’s talent & performance plateaus even with private coaching, individual practices and exercises?

I guess my question is when do you typically know that your DD lacks the capability to play in college (D1, D2 or D3)?

I don’t think mine chid ever plateaued. Child always did both private soccer and performance training from u14 and up. During the season it would look like she wasn’t improving, but once she would come back from off-season I would see major improvements.

If you're asking, you probably already know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seasoned Parents,

At what average age does a female player’s talent & performance plateaus even with private coaching, individual practices and exercises?

I guess my question is when do you typically know that your DD lacks the capability to play in college (D1, D2 or D3)?

That is a difficult question to answer. I have seen good players that do not progress markedly past 14 and get eclipsed by others who continue to develop all the way through college. There are lots of reasons possible but girls mature at different rates, and their motivations can change as their social environments are changing. To generalize though, I would say that by U15 or U16, you should have a good idea of whether or not they are going to be able to compete at the college level.

I would generally agree with this as well in my experience. It really all depends as each kid develops differently. I don't think there is a set time frame. You should look towards growth compared to peers. Is she developing at the same clip as others or slowly falling behind each year?

I would agree that by about U15/U16 you should have a good idea, but it really just depends. Look at Jamie Vardy in the Premier League and others...very late bloomers. We have a son who always had a ton of talent, but was middle of the pack on his teams. It never really clicked until about u15 when he started really performing well. He went on to make a DA team and play in college, but at u13 and below you would have said no way.

I think boys can be different. Same thing with my sons---always middle teams or second team...but always practiced on their own, had passion---a lot had to do with late growth spurts...by age 15/16 they had several offers from DA teams and took off from there. They pushed through all of the politics and not getting noticed and kept at it. The talent was always there--but the landscape is so saturated it's hard for kids that don't start on the top teams to get noticed---EVEN when they are performing. Some Clubs won't even give you a look if you put on the registration form you are on a second team...which is a real shame and they lose a lot of potentially great players down the road with this caste system.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seasoned Parents,

At what average age does a female player’s talent & performance plateaus even with private coaching, individual practices and exercises?

I guess my question is when do you typically know that your DD lacks the capability to play in college (D1, D2 or D3)?

That is a difficult question to answer. I have seen good players that do not progress markedly past 14 and get eclipsed by others who continue to develop all the way through college. There are lots of reasons possible but girls mature at different rates, and their motivations can change as their social environments are changing. To generalize though, I would say that by U15 or U16, you should have a good idea of whether or not they are going to be able to compete at the college level.

I think some of that has to do with desire. I started to lose my desire to play in high school. I had been playing since age 5 and was very elite/super competitive teams from age 11-16. My heart wasn't in it and, of course, that started to show on the field. I dropped it before college and did other things.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is 16 and a good player, not great. What i've noticed is at 15-16 there is a clear drop off in passion across the spectrum of girls on her team and all others for that matter. The passion or drive is what in my opinion will elevate a good player to the next level at college or such.

I had no expectations of Div 1 play, if it happens great but it must be because she is driven to make it happen

I see this drive is the key differentiator as talent will only get you so far if you dont really love it and want it

I agree with this although my dd plays lax. She still loves to play but she no longer practices much on her own and has hit a plateau. Which is fine because if she is not willing to put a half hour extra in the backyard now, she definitely wouldn’t enjoy the college practice schedule.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is 16 and a good player, not great. What i've noticed is at 15-16 there is a clear drop off in passion across the spectrum of girls on her team and all others for that matter. The passion or drive is what in my opinion will elevate a good player to the next level at college or such.

I had no expectations of Div 1 play, if it happens great but it must be because she is driven to make it happen

I see this drive is the key differentiator as talent will only get you so far if you dont really love it and want it

by 15/16 the kids should already know if they have a shot at playing D1- are they playing on a high enough team? Are the starting and getting a lot of playing time? If those aren't already true, they probably have no shot. If both are, they have a good chance of at least D3

My daughter is 16 and a good player, not great. What i've noticed is at 15-16 there is a clear drop off in passion across the spectrum of girls on her team and all others for that matter. The passion or drive is what in my opinion will elevate a good player to the next level at college or such.

I had no expectations of Div 1 play, if it happens great but it must be because she is driven to make it happen

I see this drive is the key differentiator as talent will only get you so far if you dont really love it and want it

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seasoned Parents,

At what average age does a female player’s talent & performance plateaus even with private coaching, individual practices and exercises?

I guess my question is when do you typically know that your DD lacks the capability to play in college (D1, D2 or D3)?

That is a difficult question to answer. I have seen good players that do not progress markedly past 14 and get eclipsed by others who continue to develop all the way through college. There are lots of reasons possible but girls mature at different rates, and their motivations can change as their social environments are changing. To generalize though, I would say that by U15 or U16, you should have a good idea of whether or not they are going to be able to compete at the college level.

I would generally agree with this as well in my experience. It really all depends as each kid develops differently. I don't think there is a set time frame. You should look towards growth compared to peers. Is she developing at the same clip as others or slowly falling behind each year?

I would agree that by about U15/U16 you should have a good idea, but it really just depends. Look at Jamie Vardy in the Premier League and others...very late bloomers. We have a son who always had a ton of talent, but was middle of the pack on his teams. It never really clicked until about u15 when he started really performing well. He went on to make a DA team and play in college, but at u13 and below you would have said no way.

Anonymous wrote:Seasoned Parents,

At what average age does a female player’s talent & performance plateaus even with private coaching, individual practices and exercises?

I guess my question is when do you typically know that your DD lacks the capability to play in college (D1, D2 or D3)?

That is a difficult question to answer. I have seen good players that do not progress markedly past 14 and get eclipsed by others who continue to develop all the way through college. There are lots of reasons possible but girls mature at different rates, and their motivations can change as their social environments are changing. To generalize though, I would say that by U15 or U16, you should have a good idea of whether or not they are going to be able to compete at the college level.

Seasoned Parents,

At what average age does a female player’s talent & performance plateaus even with private coaching, individual practices and exercises?

I guess my question is when do you typically know that your DD lacks the capability to play in college (D1, D2 or D3)?