The Next Level
We didn’t post about it this past spring when she signed her letter of intent but The Girl is playing soccer in college. We always knew that she had enough athletic ability to play at the next level if she worked hard and it was great to see her learn what she could accomplish with persistence and hard work. Being a good athlete is her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. Sometimes, particularly when she was younger, she would rely more on her will to win and athletic ability and not focus as much on improving her skills; ignoring the fact that there’s always a bigger, faster girl.
The Girl has really come a long way since her younger days. She has worked really hard the past few years especially this summer. She takes being a college athlete on scholarship very seriously. The college is a great fit for her. It’s a small school; but offers the academic program she wants, plus she gets to play soccer. And, and, and someone besides California Girl and I are paying for it.
As parents, it’s great to hear/see her introduced. We’re not involved with things like we were with her high school or club teams so it’s not like old times; but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. (No more fundraisers, for example.) She’s still playing a game that she loves. And playing as a freshman (as opposed to watching from the sidelines) is HUGE. I’m not sure she realizes how big of an accomplishment that is. She’s always played when she was a kid; but now the other players are grown women. I know that technically she’s “grown” too; but, to us, she’s still a kid. And there are some really big women running around out there. We were there from the beginning. It’s amazing to look at her now!
Your pride shines through. She is obviously a credit to you both.
Alfie: It’s all due to her drive and determination. We just watch.
That is so very awesome.
Chickie: It’s WAY cool. Definitely not something that we planned.
That is quite impressive! Good for her!
Viemoira: We’d like to think it’s because she’s got good genes; but it’s really because of her hard work.
Wow, that’s awesome
You must be SO proud of her. My son just started soccer this year (he’s 8). I’m hoping he loves it and wants to continue!
Michelle
Michelle: We’re not sure whether she’s good at soccer because she likes it or likes soccer because she’s good at it. Take lots of photographs. We’ve got some from the days when she was barely taller than the ball. It’s fun to look back and see the change from year to year.
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! That is great news.
Mr. Manic Depressive: The season is still young; but she’s playing a LOT of minutes which is great for a freshman, especially since they have upperclassmen at her position aren’t playing. We just hope she realizes how big of a deal it is and keeps working hard.
That’s great news. The daughter of some dear friends got a full ride to play her chosen sport in college. She’s the only freshman on the team–yep, that’s huge. When she was scouting schools, she had a hard time deciding if she wanted to play seriously, or devote herself to academics and just play at the club level. She’s been playing a long time and thought
she might want to take it easier. Then this offer dropped in her lap–full ride in a sport she loves, plus the academic program she wants. We’re all rooting for her!
Mountain Girl: It’s tough to give up a sport that you love, especially after playing it for so long. Our daughter had the same decision; but decided that she could always choose not to play if it became un fun or was too much work; but, if couldn’t be sure that she could play (on scholarship) at a competitive program sometime in the future if she passed up the opportunities that were available to her as a graduating senior. We know girls that made a different choice. Some are regretting it and some are not.