BLOG & NEWS

Soccer versus School: Navigating the Challenges and Excelling at Both

Playing soccer should not require a youth athlete to abandon their education. At their young age, they are continuously developing and finding new interests, so it is essential to not overburden a child with an overly demanding schedule.

With a well-thought-out plan, children can strike a good balance between participating in soccer and still doing exceptional in school. Sports and academics may co-exist when they are well integrated. Therefore, a well-planned schedule will need to have a realistic understanding of what it will take for the child to excel. With this foundation, parents will have a practical plan of action to help their child navigate through the process of becoming a student-athlete.

There is no golden outline that will guarantee success for a top student-athlete, but the following are guidelines for a better understanding of how to achieve a certain level of stability:

Time Management

time-management-student-soccer-athlete

Any achievement believed worthwhile, whether for soccer or academics, will require making personal sacrifices. Since there is only so much time in a day, pursuing success in both soccer and school will call for the child to make adjustments to their current schedule in order to make free time. Being that schedules will vary between classes, paper submissions, practices and games, hours that were usually spent hanging out with friends or playing with electronics will now have to be allocated as resting times for the mind and body.

Taking Responsibility

Owning the process is the first step in a youth player’s journey to thrive as a student-athlete. This starts with having a clear understanding of their goals, as realizing what they want out of being a student-athlete will make it much easier to take responsibility.

Avoid making excuses at all costs. We are more than happy to take credit for the wins, but taking responsibility also means taking credit for the losses. By creating excuses and blaming others for unwanted results, they are essentially removing power from themselves and in the hands of others. To become the most successful version of themselves, student-athletes need to take ownership and understand that they are in charge of their own lives.

Commitment

student-athlete-commitment-soccer

The life of a student-athlete requires dedication to a flexible schedule. There will be times where the continual repetition of tasks will grow monotonous, stirring temptations to abandon them for something more desirable, like spending extra time with friends, watching another TV show, or even just going to bed later than usual. While these may not necessarily prove to be detrimental when done occasionally, it is not a good idea to break good habits, especially ones that are an effective route to success.


Click to to to Article
ARTICLE | The Sacrifices to Become a Professional Soccer Player

Managing Stress

managing-stress-student-athlete-soccer

 In general, many people go through a moment of overwhelming stress where they drop everything and find themselves doing nothing on the couch. This can become exactly that for a student-athlete. Learning to manage stress is one of the most essential skills mastered by the most successful athletes. This is how they manage to avoid the burnout on the couch of no productivity and conquer the student-athlete lifestyle.

Instead of procrastinating study sessions, papers and tests, they should stay consistent and follow their planned schedule, ensuring they stay on top of their work. Rather than saving their work until the last minute, the student should begin to work on assignments as early as possible to avoid the stress that comes with working under a deadline. Procrastination is always the friendly-looking enemy and it is best to steer clear.

Not Achieving Good Grades?

Periodic conversations with the student athlete regarding their performance in school can help guide parents into making beneficial changes that may need to be made to ensure their success. If a child’s grades are dropping, individual conversations specifically with their teachers or coach could help identify a possible solution for the setback. Accompanied by supportive people and a reassuring discussion, the child will feel confident in their ability to get their work done at a high level. All the while, the goal in participating in soccer must always be to have fun, whilst improving their knowledge of the game.

Tags

1v1, 2v2, ability to devlop, Adaptive, agility drills, Appropriate Technique, attacking header, balancing education, balls for specific skills, believing in the coach, Benefits of a Good Coach, biggest problem, building team players, buying soccer ball, camp soccer ball, caring for concussion, check for cleats, child burnout, child engagement in packing, Choosing Coach, choosing soccer ball, coaching play style, coaching systems, commitment, common soccer injuries, competence, compression after injury, concussed athlete, concussion from soccer, concussion memory assessment, concussion symptoms, concussion timeline, Conducting Necessary Research, Consistency, cool down routine, Cost, cost to play, Decision Making, defensive header, dependable, different soccer positions, Discipline, disciplined schedule, diving header, eating after soccer, eating before soccer, Effective Communication, elevation after injury, europe vs mls, Experience, exploring other sports, eyes on ball, facing burnout, financial investment in soccer, Fitness, fitness routine, flick on header, food for athletes, game soccer ball, glancing header, Good Foundation, having a routine, heading soccer ball, Healthy Eating, Higher Demands, how to prevent injuries, how to treat injury, ice after injury, identifying possible injuries, importance of assists, importance of defending, importance of eating for soccer, improving players chance, incorporating breaks, Individualism vs Teamwork, knowing your role, lack of understanding, late entry, lead by example, Leadership, learning new positions, Loss of Control, lowering soccer expectations, macronutrients, maintaining high grades, Making Sacrifices, managing stress, meal timing, medical information for soccer, megan rapinoe, mental strength, mistakes are okay, Motivation, need for perfect conditions, Nutrition, offseason routine, one versus one, packing at right time, packing enough water, packing extra clothes, packing extra shoes, packing right ball, packing right cleats, packing snacks, packing soccer bag, parent commitment, parent involvement in packing, Perform their Role, Personal discipline, personal sacrifics, Picking Coach, player reaction, playing different position, playing in a team, poor coaching system, positioning for header, post game cool down, post game recovery, pre game warm up, preparing for tyrout, preventing injuries, Private Coach, problems with U.S. soccer, professional soccer player, proper planning, Pros vs Cons, providing assists, Providing Guidance, Providing Structure, recovery routine, recreational soccer ball, Recreational vs Club, reliable, repeating a routine, researching soccer team, Respect, respecting the coach, rest after injury, right sport for child, Roles of Coach, roles of parent in sports, Roles of Player, Sacrifice, scan the field, scheduled routine, school and sports, scoring goals, seeing an injury specialist, Soccer, soccer ball prices, soccer ball sizes, soccer fitness, soccer fitness routine, Soccer Food, soccer life, Soccer Nutrition, soccer offseason, soccer player vs athlete, soccer playing conditions, soccer routine, soccer tactical training, soccer technical training, soccer tryout, soccer tryout drills, spotting strengths, spotting weaknesses, steven gerrard, stretching routine, structure of youth divisions, student athlete, sup, support after failure, supporting child in sports, supporting the coach, Tactical Organization, Taking Accountability, taking care of concussion, taking responsibility, team captain, Team Communication, team effort, team play style, Team Values, Technical Development, time management, timing your jump, too expensive to play, training by age, Travel, treating injury with RICE, treating soccer injury, treatment processes, trustworthiness, try playing other sports, two versus two, University of Life, us soccer, value of defending, warm up routine, warming up, where to buy soccer ball, Work Ethic, youth soccer, youth soccer development, youth soccer positions, youth soccer tryout

SPONSORS & PARTNERS