Christian
I [wanted to send this to you] because it is an excellent example of some of the concepts you and I were talking about during our conversation last week.
"M" played for [another coach] last weekend. As I watched her move to the player group to play with her third Bangu team this year, I saw her move and interact with the team with confidence, not apprehension over meeting yet another new group of players.
In the first half, as PSA took a shot, "Meg" reacted (in the goalie box) by lifting a hand to block the shot. She immediately covered her face and began crying. "M" ran over, put her arm around her and (I later found out) told her it was OK, not to worry.
On the way home she told me this part. She said she watched the shooter look and then put her head down, at which point "M" committed and went to her left and blocked the shot with her left hand, deflecting it out into the goalie box and falling down in the process. She rolled to her feet, jumped forward and took out the second PSA player moving in to shoot (using the technique she learned from Anne), again deflecting the ball, now toward the outside. She rolled over and lept out to push the ball out of the reach of the third PSA player coming in to try a shot, at which point a Bangu player cleared it. When halftime came I watched as "Meg" ran over, put her arms around "M" and lifted her up and spun her around.
This one play represents most of the concepts of development that I had mentioned were important to see in my kid, because, while many want to play pro sports, few ever do.
In this play she showed huge heart, focus, determination, compassion, fearlessness, confidence, action, skill, knowledge (I know she learned the shooters head down thing from you and she also said she could tell by the hip alignment) and execution.
I couldn't be happier or more proud. This one play and Maia's discussion of it in the car on the way home, including her ability to discuss it in terms that expressed a knowledge of what she needed to do and observe during the play, confirmed what I told you earlier this year. That this club and your technical training had the potential to be one of the great learning experiences of "M"'s life. This is more important to me than any win ever could be.
So, I thought you should know, because you should be proud too.
"I would hope that, as parents, we all take the time to recognize and appreciate the truly remarkable developmental changes that are happening to our children in a program of this caliber."
" Soccer Dad"
