06/24/2026
Three weeks ago, this 2018 girl got a reality check.
She plays for my husband’s team. I just get the opportunity to train her. And I already knew I would be pulling her up to play with my U10s.
The first time she trained against my top U10 players, she got absolutely rocked.
She was crying.
She was frustrated.
She felt defeated.
For the first time, she wasn’t the best player on the field.
She wasn’t the tallest.
She wasn’t the strongest.
She didn’t have all day on the ball.
Every touch was pressured. Every mistake was exposed.
As she sat there crying, I asked her:
“Do you still want this? Because I can pull the trigger right now and make it all stop. You can go back to being comfortable. You can go back to being the best.”
She got up, wiped her tears, looked at me and said:
“No. I want to keep going.”
So I told her the truth.
“Okay. But understand this. That player you’re battling? She’s one of my top U10s. And if you want to play for me this fall, every girl on that team is going to be like her. I’m not pairing you with easier players. You’re going to battle. You’re going to get knocked down. A lot. And you’re going to get back up. Every. Single. Time.”
Fast forward three weeks…
Look at her now.
Stronger.
Faster.
Tougher.
More confident.
Not because it got easier.
Because she refused to quit when it got hard.
The biggest mistake coaches and parents make is keeping kids where they’re comfortable. Growth doesn’t happen when you’re the best player on the field. Growth happens when you’re struggling, adapting, fighting, and learning how to compete against players BETTER than you.
That’s where players are built.
🔥 If you want a player to grow, stop protecting them from challenges and start exposing them to them.
Pressure creates diamonds.
Comfort creates excuses.
Train hard. Battle harder. Dominate everything. 💪⚽️🔥
Here’s some video of tonight’s session….guess who never got knocked down?😉😉💪
