Kristie Mewis leaves for Australia

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Just another ego maniac coach grabbing credit for what the players do out on the field. In a youth setting, this sort of thinking would be like a teacher from Bill Gates middle school claiming responsibility for making him what he is today.

Don't comment on that which you know nothing about. What Ruiz has always said is that the right training environment can bring along players to great heights and many super studs have been ruined by poor training.....most of whom reside in the US....but that last part is my observation, not Ruiz's.

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Don't comment on that which you know nothing about. What Ruiz has always said is that the right training environment can bring along players to great heights and many super studs have been ruined by poor training.....most of whom reside in the US....but that last part is my observation, not Ruiz's.

Would Lionel Messi have made it in the US?

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[QUOTE=Unregistered;1336504]Don't comment on that which you know nothing about. What Ruiz has always said is that the right training environment can bring along players to great heights and many super studs have been ruined by poor training]

Wow. You need to buy his book to realize that statement??

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Yes, you asked the questions...and then you provided the answers as well in a timely fashion. Thanks for quoting those 2 posts back to back as that more than verified your socratic tutorial session.

wrong. I posted one of those, and I have no idea what other ANONYMOUS poster did the other. Spend less time sleuthing - maybe a little more time thinking and contributing. Thanks.

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I agree with the assessment of Sunday's game. The only thing I'd add is that KM hustled the entire game, played both offense and defense, and moved/positioned well throughout. In fact, I called KM's second goal 10 seconds before it happened as she was wide open throughout the game on the far post. Nice first touch, quick move and powerful shot. KM had some nice, accurate crosses and consistently pushed the ball up the left wing.

The other player I thought was impressive for the Flash was Zerboni (left defense).

After this post, I probably will be called a phony for the next 10. It's actually funny.

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LOL. The old "newbie" act -- "I guess I didn't know what questions to ask on my first post" -- is a nice touch. Funny that you would stop by right at this moment. Guess who else is here right now? And why just an observer moving forward? You said you got some world-class info so with a few more questions imagine what you might get. Your kid might even be another KM, I mean Kristie Mewis. When did you start feeling familiar enough to refer to her by initials?

You can pick me apart with this response too: I got tired of typing it.

[Unregistered]

I agree with the assessment of Sunday's game. The only thing I'd add is that KM hustled the entire game, played both offense and defense, and moved/positioned well throughout. In fact, I called KM's second goal 10 seconds before it happened as she was wide open throughout the game on the far post. Nice first touch, quick move and powerful shot. KM had some nice, accurate crosses and consistently pushed the ball up the left wing.

The other player I thought was impressive for the Flash was Zerboni (left defense).

After this post, I probably will be called a phony for the next 10. It's actually funny.

No, beyond funny.

[Unregistered]

"...made me aware I am in this alone.." Gee, where have we heard that lament before??? Is it like a Kierkegaardian aloneness? Or more like a prisoner of war thing?

I'd compare the aloneness to the feeling a "pilot" has flying a plane. Although there is a co-pilot, who has to make the final decision? Do you listen to the co-pilot, air-traffic controller, stewardesses, passengers, or just put it on auto-pilot?

You can listen to everyone else and go down without a plan, or you can go with your gut instincts and do whatever you can to land safely. I'd rather make informed decisions myself than go down on someone else's terms.

Does that answer your question. Sorry I don't hang out every second of the day looking to respond right back to you.

[Unregistered]

You provided a lot of information. It made me aware that I am in this alone, but many others are as well. I have gone against the grade and have chosen a more moderate path, focusing on high quality training time. What you said hit home.

Too many people here seem to think that there is a one size fits all answer to all of this and these clubs operate with the children's best interests in mind. There really isn't and they don't. No matter what some of the coaches on this forum will say, you have to be the one who charts your child's path because no one else is really going to do it for you. The tough part is it is very easy to get in over your head by following the crowd in club soccer because they don't all necessarily want what your child wants or need what they need but they need the team. Sadly some of the parents (and coaches) in this environment can be pretty selfish. They'll talk the team/club talk but as soon as they get (or even don't get) what they want they will peel off and pursue what they believe is the next step for their child regardless of the impact on everyone else. There definitely is no honor amongst thieves so to speak in club soccer so don't buy that there is.

It's not that my daughter is the next KM. It's about managing her path to allow her to maximize her abilities, have fun and make the most of the time spent. It takes hard work and dedication, and quality to me is more important than quantity.

I would recommend that you narrow down your expectations a little more and set some real concrete goals before you get too far into all of this. Your daughter being all that she can be is a very noble goal but it is also pretty open ended. Very few families start off in club soccer thinking they will end up spending $50-60K and make the huge commitment of family emotional capital that club soccer ultimately consumes when they start out. The group think in this environment can obligate you to some pretty expensive (and often unnecessary) things if you let it. I would suggest treating your participation in club soccer more like going into a casino where you set a budget and play as long as your money is still there. You can always reassess and make changes as needed if you have to but the process of thinking through your limits will help prevent waking up broke with a huge hangover.

I'd consistently read and occasionally comment on a thread about high-end player development.

Any thoughts on resting players or keeping training low-impact during the summer months?

What type of off-field training can be done to limit injuries? I'm not sure if the Mewis sisters had to face any such challenges with the amount of soccer they played.

Every athlete has their personal challenges. If your daughter is in this to go as far as she possibly can then the challenge isn't against other people it is against herself. Ultimately she needs to be quality driven and almost manically focused on self improvement. It is all on her which is why her love for the game has to be there. It doesn't matter whether the focus is on her game or her body, she needs to be constantly focused on improving the whole player. Things like quicker turns, better balance, better stamina, better strength, better quickness, better touch, better vision, quicker reads, it is a continual and iterative process. Research shows that skills start to erode within a week when unused so you have to be careful with how much time off you build into things. Sleep might be more important than time off

Being in shape is being in shape. My experience has been to take what you think is a reasonable level of fitness and throw it out the window because they need to be twice as fit as you probably think. With girls the hard part is their weight and proportions. Big boobs and big butts don't typically mix well with high end soccer. Some of that neither of you have much control over because of genetics but you can be certain that if there is a muffin top on your daughter that some coach is going to eye it and see that as a lack of commitment. While we are on this topic, I will say that you need to be very mindful of how you deal with the subject of your daughter's weight/body image and do some research into something called the Triad. What ever you do, do not let training become an obsession with your daughter, no sport is worth the problems that begets.

What do you think are the traits, skills, abilities that separate high end players at the various levels from ages 10-18? What is it that makes a young player special? I would imagine KM had certain traits all the way back to her youth development.

I think you will find that most budding superstars get identified quite early and that has a pretty big emotional impact on them. Girls are just wired differently than boys and the attention that brings can actually be pretty destructive if you don't manage it well. I have watched more than a few young potential female prospects literally sidetrack themselves simply because they wanted to fit in and be liked by the other girls in the group (as we all know some of those other girls can be brutal) They literally will "dumb" themselves down to fit in but unfortunately once they start doing that it often takes them right off the fast track. Young female athletes have to be emotionally secure enough to walk around with a social target on their backs and not let it side track them. The problem's most dad's make is they want to solve this by turning their daughters into alpha dogs and that is just not how young girls are really wired. I would say that this is probably the toughest part and unfortunately I don't think there is any one answer that can cover all of the situations other than to be as supportive and loving as you can.

[Unregistered]

I'd compare the aloneness to the feeling a "pilot" has flying a plane. Although there is a co-pilot, who has to make the final decision? Do you listen to the co-pilot, air-traffic controller, stewardesses, passengers, or just put it on auto-pilot?

You can listen to everyone else and go down without a plan, or you can go with your gut instincts and do whatever you can to land safely. I'd rather make informed decisions myself than go down on someone else's terms.

Does that answer your question. Sorry I don't hang out every second of the day looking to respond right back to you.

I knew you would come through with a stellar analogy. You always do. And you do hang out every second of the day but I appreciate not always in a hurry to respond to me.

You might want to re-read this post a few times for tone and see how it compares with what you described as being so unsure of yourself and how to go about asking some questions.

Well, until next time....in 2 minutes.

[Unregistered]

Too many people here seem to think that there is a one size fits all answer to all of this and these clubs operate with the children's best interests in mind. There really isn't and they don't. No matter what some of the coaches on this forum will say, you have to be the one who charts your child's path because no one else is really going to do it for you. The tough part is it is very easy to get in over your head by following the crowd in club soccer because they don't all necessarily want what your child wants or need what they need but they need the team. Sadly some of the parents (and coaches) in this environment can be pretty selfish. They'll talk the team/club talk but as soon as they get (or even don't get) what they want they will peel off and pursue what they believe is the next step for their child regardless of the impact on everyone else. There definitely is no honor amongst thieves so to speak in club soccer so don't buy that there is.



I would recommend that you narrow down your expectations a little more and set some real concrete goals before you get too far into all of this. Your daughter being all that she can be is a very noble goal but it is also pretty open ended. Very few families start off in club soccer thinking they will end up spending $50-60K and make the huge commitment of family emotional capital that club soccer ultimately consumes when they start out. The group think in this environment can obligate you to some pretty expensive (and often unnecessary) things if you let it. I would suggest treating your participation in club soccer more like going into a casino where you set a budget and play as long as your money is still there. You can always reassess and make changes as needed if you have to but the process of thinking through your limits will help prevent waking up broke with a huge hangover.



Every athlete has their personal challenges. If your daughter is in this to go as far as she possibly can then the challenge isn't against other people it is against herself. Ultimately she needs to be quality driven and almost manically focused on self improvement. It is all on her which is why her love for the game has to be there. It doesn't matter whether the focus is on her game or her body, she needs to be constantly focused on improving the whole player. Things like quicker turns, better balance, better stamina, better strength, better quickness, better touch, better vision, quicker reads, it is a continual and iterative process. Research shows that skills start to erode within a week when unused so you have to be careful with how much time off you build into things. Sleep might be more important than time off

Being in shape is being in shape. My experience has been to take what you think is a reasonable level of fitness and throw it out the window because they need to be twice as fit as you probably think. With girls the hard part is their weight and proportions. Big boobs and big butts don't typically mix well with high end soccer. Some of that neither of you have much control over because of genetics but you can be certain that if there is a muffin top on your daughter that some coach is going to eye it and see that as a lack of commitment. While we are on this topic, I will say that you need to be very mindful of how you deal with the subject of your daughter's weight/body image and do some research into something called the Triad. What ever you do, do not let training become an obsession with your daughter, no sport is worth the problems that begets.



I think you will find that most budding superstars get identified quite early and that has a pretty big emotional impact on them. Girls are just wired differently than boys and the attention that brings can actually be pretty destructive if you don't manage it well. I have watched more than a few young potential female prospects literally sidetrack themselves simply because they wanted to fit in and be liked by the other girls in the group (as we all know some of those other girls can be brutal) They literally will "dumb" themselves down to fit in but unfortunately once they start doing that it often takes them right off the fast track. Young female athletes have to be emotionally secure enough to walk around with a social target on their backs and not let it side track them. The problem's most dad's make is they want to solve this by turning their daughters into alpha dogs and that is just not how young girls are really wired. I would say that this is probably the toughest part and unfortunately I don't think there is any one answer that can cover all of the situations other than to be as supportive and loving as you can.

Hey, look at this. Bonus consultation, immediately on the heels of #233. This response is really going to make the poster of 233 happy.

[Unregistered]

Hey, look at this. Bonus consultation, immediately on the heels of #233. This response is really going to make the poster of 233 happy.

You couldn't be more wrong but if you would rather play your little Where's Waldo game instead of actually taking part in and adding something intelligent to the conversation then knock yourself out. You end up looking like a close minded fool when you do that.

[Unregistered]

BTW, nice touch with the casino analogy.

And a hint...in your last segment you didn't address what you had quoted above it. You went off on your own agenda there apparently.

[Unregistered]

I knew you would come through with a stellar analogy. You always do. And you do hang out every second of the day but I appreciate not always in a hurry to respond to me.

You might want to re-read this post a few times for tone and see how it compares with what you described as being so unsure of yourself and how to go about asking some questions.

Well, until next time....in 2 minutes.

As the one that restarted this thread, glad you liked my analogy. And as the next poster indicated, yes I appreciate the response.

Remember, just because you ask questions doesn't mean you're not sure of yourself. If anything, it only helps you become more sure of yourself.

[Unregistered]

You couldn't be more wrong but if you would rather play your little Where's Waldo game instead of actually taking part in and adding something intelligent to the conversation then knock yourself out. You end up looking like a close minded fool when you do that.

Couldn't be more wrong...about what? Like that this is you posting what I'm responding to rigth now?

Let me give you another clue so that you can do better next time when you try to play this little routine out. Most real posters who posteed anything similar to what you set up you would be focusing on how their kids really aren't special and how parents overrate and all that. Sets up a little too nicely for you to talk about what to do with the super-elites that you believe barely exist. What, you just decided that THIS poster DOES have a special kid?