I’ll preface this by saying that I expect to get usual answers that one would expect to see on the TS forum but I also hope to get some honest input and thoughts.
My daughter is 12 and on a U13 team. The team is a top level team and she is a very skilled player – when she wants to be. She has been good enough to make a top-level team since she began playing soccer at 9. Prior to that age, she primarily played 3v3 and 4v4. My daughter is a late bloomer and I am starting to see her surpassed by players that are ahead of her in terms of puberty. I don’t expect my daughter to reach this age until she is about 14 or 15. Her technical skill on the ball and her 1v1 skills are as good as anybody that is her age and better than some that are older than her as well. Her striking and passing could use a bit of work and this is an area that I am beginning to see her get passed up by her peers. She has a lot of passion for the game and really loves it but I honestly think that she is a much better distance runner and has a brighter future in that area than she does on the pitch. Without any training, aside for the running that she does at soccer training, she can run a mile in about 5:40 and can routinely win the women’s division of 5K road races. I think that with distance-running specific training that she would be really good. And only being in 7th grade, she has a few more years before entering HS. I also think that she could be a really good LAX or softball player. She has never been on an organized team in those sports but with what little time she has dabbled in them, you can tell that she would be very good in both of those sports.
I guess that deep down I would like to see my daughter involved in something that I think she will be very successful in when she is in HS. Looking at my older daughter and when she hit puberty, I do not think that my 12 year olds body will change so much that she will not be a good runner. She will probably max out at about 5’4” in height and probably 120 pounds with a muscular yet lean build. She needs to do what will make her the happiest and right now that is soccer. I don’t know how much persuasion I should try and use in an attempt to get her to change her mind. I think that in the long run she will find much more athletic success in XC and track. Sometimes I think she is spinning her wheels on the pitch. She is good but not outstanding and that is becoming evident as some girls are surpassing her as they are hitting puberty. Should I really expect her game to change for the better once she does hit puberty? Thanks in advance for any (serious) opinions on this.
My daughter is 12 and on a U13 team. The team is a top level team and she is a very skilled player – when she wants to be. She has been good enough to make a top-level team since she began playing soccer at 9. Prior to that age, she primarily played 3v3 and 4v4. My daughter is a late bloomer and I am starting to see her surpassed by players that are ahead of her in terms of puberty. I don’t expect my daughter to reach this age until she is about 14 or 15. Her technical skill on the ball and her 1v1 skills are as good as anybody that is her age and better than some that are older than her as well. Her striking and passing could use a bit of work and this is an area that I am beginning to see her get passed up by her peers. She has a lot of passion for the game and really loves it but I honestly think that she is a much better distance runner and has a brighter future in that area than she does on the pitch. Without any training, aside for the running that she does at soccer training, she can run a mile in about 5:40 and can routinely win the women’s division of 5K road races. I think that with distance-running specific training that she would be really good. And only being in 7th grade, she has a few more years before entering HS. I also think that she could be a really good LAX or softball player. She has never been on an organized team in those sports but with what little time she has dabbled in them, you can tell that she would be very good in both of those sports.
I guess that deep down I would like to see my daughter involved in something that I think she will be very successful in when she is in HS. Looking at my older daughter and when she hit puberty, I do not think that my 12 year olds body will change so much that she will not be a good runner. She will probably max out at about 5’4” in height and probably 120 pounds with a muscular yet lean build. She needs to do what will make her the happiest and right now that is soccer. I don’t know how much persuasion I should try and use in an attempt to get her to change her mind. I think that in the long run she will find much more athletic success in XC and track. Sometimes I think she is spinning her wheels on the pitch. She is good but not outstanding and that is becoming evident as some girls are surpassing her as they are hitting puberty. Should I really expect her game to change for the better once she does hit puberty? Thanks in advance for any (serious) opinions on this.
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