To the kids? Yes, only the goals matter. Everything else is for parents that like to suck the fun out of the game by rewinding a 5-yard square pass 15 times.
I'd say 90% of the "top teams" in my son's age group want the kids who run around like idiots, not keeping their position, still ball hogging at age 15. He went to an open practice last week, and it was a huge difference. Passing, positions, working together, smart play. I do feel that my son is very unmotivated when he sees teammates who know nothing about the game - despite many being first-generation Americans with parents from "soccer countries". We find him the best trainers, but it's almost impossible to find the best team because so many pick flash and energy over skill and teamwork.
That was the best. With Toby Charles, soccer made in germany. I still have most of their weekly program guide.
Aggression is one of the biggest challenges for young players especially in girls Soccer. Most girls have been brought up to be shy and timid so breaking out of their shell on the Soccer field can be a problem. If she says she likes playing Soccer, that is the most important thing. If she just wants to play and have fun, then it doesn't really matter if she is aggressive or not but if she wants to improve and be the best player she can be, she is going to have to realize the advantages of being aggressive on the Soccer field. If she wants to be successful on the field she has to learn to be more aggressive. That is the bottom line. Somehow you have to get across to her, that if she wants to play at top level she can't be afraid to get her socks dirty and make that ball her own. For more advice check out this Youtube channel: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R2Fux-ajMc"]Become A Better Soccer Player[/ame] Best of Luck. Keep me posted on her progress.
I think someone mentioned this already in this thread, but I thought I'd add my own, recent experience. We had a girl whose effort dramtically dropped off. She was fiery at the beginning of the season and she suffered a knock in one game midseason and just lost all her fight. But about 2-3 months later she'd yet to rediscover her fight. I ran into her mom in the grocery store and apparently my assistant had spoken to her about the drop off. Anyway, mom told me that there's stuff going on at home (either financial or divorce or both) that the daughter was now old enough to understand. Anyway, there's other stuff that could be influencing lack of effort. To me, it's another reason that the soccer environment be a fun environment (as opposed to always competitively driven). Sometimes, it's the kid's only refuge from stuff going on at home. Additionally, it may not be in-home issues. Could be abuse from an unknown source, bullying at school.
