For each there own. Every child, player, parent, coach, they are all different. I do not think any different of my childs friends that do not want to play the game, or any game for that matter, as much as my child does. And the same can be said about her friends not liking her any less either. They understand her goals and they are ok with it.
To Crane: Yes, she loves soccer. We tried other sports:basketball, swimming, softball, she always comes back to soccer. It's a tough sell, I have a feeling she'll never be "fast" but I won't stop her from playing the game she loves. She has high standards, however, many kids stick with it and eventually catch up to their peers and sometimes surpass them. If nothing else it's a great lesson in perserverence and discipline, which are some of the reasons we parents have kids in sports to begin with. Love the struggle.
My U11 daughter has not begun puberty yet and do not believe anyone else on her team has either. If I'm reading correctly, speed may be affected? any other skills affected?
i'm surprised that none of the U11 girls haven't hit puberty yet. i started to notice it last year on my daughter's U10 team. basically, you have some kids and some adults playing soccer together for a few years. our earliest to hit puberty kid, grew an incredible amount in only 6 or 7 months, then started adding muscle (speed and strength!) and is considerably more emotional (fiery and intense) and competitive than the rest. the general consensus with the parents of girls i know is that there was a substantial growth in the girl's feet prior and during the early stages. I seem to remember that myself. although i grew fairly steady through childhood, all of a sudden i went from a size 5 shoe to a 9, and then noticed I needed a shave.
Some of the girls surely have some non-noticible signs of puberty? Definatley think my daughter is in eary stages, had to move her to adult shoes this fall, women's 7-1/2 and having a little acne breakouts. She has always been fast, will she get faster? Am looking forward to strength and aggressiveness. And hopefully she can use all her emotion on the soccer field instead of on her parents. Um, my U9 daughter is wearing women's 7-1/2 too.
non-noticeable? what's that? things that you don't notice? do you need ESP to catch it? i have heard a couple of mom's joking about their daughters shaving their underarms and such. as a coach, i notice the growth spurts more. 3rd pair of cleats in 2 months, chunking behind the ball, because their legs got longer so quickly (my U11 daughter grew about 2 inches in 2 months, and could only connect on a pass without dragging her foot into the turf maybe half the time for AWHILE). unfortunately, it doesn't mean that she will be faster or stronger. my daughter is so weak right now it's comical.
i really wouldnt worry about that... like you said, things will level out sooner than later. just focus on ball skills its amazing what young girls can do.. http://www.ifutbal.com/view_video.php?viewkey=cf82ab059bfccbd02be6
Speed is affected as girls mature, but usually they get slower not faster. However, you probably needn't worry about that until late high school or college.
Hey guys, thanks for all the input. Here's an update. The osgood-schlatters she had has not resurfaced. She runs and plays without pain. The one poster's comment about girls getting slower as they mature might actually be correct. My daughter will probably never be fast. Recently we tried out for the Oregon ODP team. A two day try-out where the kids play 25 minute games. They play 6 games per day. What I noticed is that with this group the size and speed disparity was not as evident as it was during her Fall league season. It was nice to see her compete with kids born in her year, She still was'nt fast, but she has good vision and is very calm with the ball in tight spaces, good technically with the ball at her feet. Unfortunately, I realize ODP is usually not about technical skill and crafty passing, it's usually about the biggest, fastest kid taking everyone on 1v1 or 1v2. Nonetheless, while I doubt she made the pool, it was a good experience. Perhaps when everything evens out at age 14 or 15, the technical skill will take precedence. Anyway, thanks again for the advice and the conversation.
I need to qualify my statement a bit further. I was speaking of linear speed. If you speak to a track coach, most will tell you that girls tend to reach their best times as high school sophomores. However, soccer is more than just linear speed. It is speed of thought and decision making, speed of execution, speed off the mark and change of direction and more, all of which can be improved through good training.