Has the Train Left the Station

Not every soccer player has the same body type or natural athletic ability however, when it comes to developing your technical soccer skills  and becoming the best player possible there are noticeable levels of progression (age) that apply to every player girl or boy. Each age group progression identifies where a player should be as well as what skill they should of obtained. Prematurely jumping to far or bypassing the early critical years (8 - 12 yrs) of you technical soccer development is complexly irreversible. Staying true and focused on developing ball control, touches, balance, turns and other valuable technical field skills required is the major key to soccer success. Once a younger player masters the basics their fun level increases ten fold, they get constant offers from top tier teams at the other spectrum other players that mainly focused on scoring goals and winning are now starting to struggle with their basic fundamental control and get discouraged.

 Don't get me wrong you can still train and develop technical skill at age 12 and up but, the vital mussel to memory touches on the ball pays big dividends moving forward at a younger age group.

A good example is my daughter -  a good player at the SRSL elite and OYSL (u97) level. She has a good chance in 2013 to be rewarded with a Provincial tryout. However, what if she had just focused on her technical soccer skills at the onset... for the first five years and was assessed over that time to make sure she was on the right path. Has her train left the station? I would say no. Is she on it? I would say no. I've witnessed (at no fault of the player and its quite sad) when a train leaves the station and the player is not on it. okay so, the metaphor her is "train" means "opportunity" and "station" means "event in time".

Missed opportunities don't have to be repeated. Learning from passed experiences can only strengthen future possibilities. Renegades Of Girls Soccer is taking its knowledge on the road to share, educate, assess and empower future competitive soccer players in the range of 8-12yrs. The players in the age group 13-15yrs would be looked at from a different perspective of assessment. Now players 16-18yrs this is what I call the "payoff" are you ready or do you need to fine tune some areas of your soccer arsenal.

Delayed gratification over instant gratification is what a parent and player should embrace as long as possible at least to age (12yrs) twelve. I would even say "always work on improving your technical skill, speed and control way into adulthood". Closing your eyes on your daughters development and hoping all works out for the best is like playing the Loto and hoping your (daughters) is one of the winners.Yes, There are winners but, there are also lots of looser too.

My approach is to empower and create winners "high potential soccer players". Be proactive...doing an independent assessment out side of your club and team and this will give you a real unbiased and fair opinion of where your child is with their soccer level and skill.

I have made my self available for those parents (in competitive soccer or thinking of entering) that are interested in getting an one hour assessment done.  You will receive a filled out emailed assessment form for your daughter, verbal feedback, advice and if requested referrals to specific improvement areas.

I feel in Canada something is missing when it comes to grass roots soccer development - am I wrong? let me know through post feedback and if your interested in booking an assessment contact me at db.donbailey21@gmail.com or call 416.788.1920.