Well we came to a realization. Training isn’t everything. I have always said been of the opinion that a high level of quality training is the most important thing for a child athlete. And I still feel that way. But where does that end? There has to be a time when the team becomes the focus. I think Johnny is at that point. He has the skills now. He’s very technical but based on the feedback we are getting he needs more game experience.

When we got Johnny’s year end evaluation from his academy team it became apparently to me he needed a team. A team where all the players around him were at the same skill level. With players around him like this aren’t making bad passes, they start reading the game. Everything really shifts from focusing on the ball to focusing on the game. When you master both the skills and the game you can truly maximize your potential.

With epiphany in hand we set out to find another team and I think we found just the right team. This team has several academy players as well as ODP players so Johnny knows quite a few of them to start with. He attended several training sessions and Johnny fit right in. The pace of the training was very fast which was great to see.

Johnny was asked to guest with the team at a tournament. I was amazed how well the team played. The quickness of their play was amazing – this is just what Johnny needs. Johnny did great by the way. He was a sub for the first game and got off to a bit of a slow start. He subbed the next game but got substantially more time. He started the third and forth game and got 4 goals in the process.

The trainer said, “There is a place for Johnny on this team!” It was a great day.

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