Showing posts with label girls soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label girls soccer. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

How to Be a Professional Female Soccer Player

Over the past few years, the number of competitive female soccer players has increased exponentially. These exceptional female athletes are finally getting their share of the spotlight. One of these women may have inspired you to start playing. However, if you want to play soccer beyond the high school level, you may be unsure of how to do so. Here are a few steps that any aspiring professional soccer player should be taking.

Instructions --- Difficulty: Challenging

Step 1:
Practice, practice, practice The first step is the most obvious, and the hardest to do. It’s not enough to only attend training session twice a week with your teammates. Future professional players spend individual time with the ball every day to sharpen their skills and supplement their team practices. If you want to succeed in soccer, then you'll be practicing every day.

Step 2:
Attend soccer training camps By attending soccer camps taught by professional coaches, you'll have seasoned experts there to correct your bad habits as a player and teach you various new skills and techniques. Plus, you'll be playing with your soccer peers, who are just as dedicated to their soccer careers as you are. Never underestimate the power of friendly competition. In addition to attending soccer camps in your area, consider also an international soccer camp. These can range in length from a few weeks to half a semester, to even an entire academic year. Not only will you get the benefits of professional training, but you'll also have the opportunity to spend some time in another country with a different culture and learn a second language. To reach your dream of becoming a university or professional soccer player, you'll likely spend a lot of time traveling around the world to play. An international soccer camp will be a great introduction to that.

Step 3:
Update your soccer resume You might not think your soccer career is noteworthy now, but start keeping track anyway. Keep a record of every team you've ever played for. Track your statistics, the team's statistics, and every award you've received. Soccer resumes should also include an imbedded digital photo, your date of birth, height, weight, position, dominant foot, coaches' references and GPA for university consideration. Be sure to continue to update your soccer resume with current information year to year so that it’s ready to be forwarded to an interested coach, scout, agent, school or club at any moment. Don't think of it as bragging. Think of it as an honest assessment of the kind of player you are. When it comes to trying to play professional soccer, nobody's going to toot your horn for you. That's something you've got to do yourself. It's also a good idea to put together a soccer video resume or a highlight reel to send to university coaches or professional scouts who haven't had the chance to see you play. A personalized soccer video resume will effectively show what words and pictures cannot, and that may be the difference in getting a foot in the door.

Step 4:
Don't leave discovery to chance We all hear the stories about somebody who was just playing soccer in a park with friends when a professional scout happened by and signed them to a multi-million dollar contract. It makes for nice fantasy, but the chances of that actually happening are roughly one in 1.4 billion. You've got to get yourself out there. One way to do that is to attend elite soccer camps or high-level showcase camps, where professional scouts or football clubs will most likely be looking for fresh blood. Try to play in as many high-visibility games as you can, whether it's in college, at camps or in local competitive club matches.

Tips & Warnings:
Becoming a professional soccer player requires hard work and some good fortune, no doubt about it. But don't let that stop you. If you are truly determined to follow your dream of playing soccer professionally, follow these steps and play your heart out every step of the way. With passion, talent, and practiced skills, you'll become a force to be reckoned with on the pitch.

Resources:
Joey Bilotta is the vice president of EduKick, a soccer boarding school exchange program. Check them out online at: http://www.edukick.com.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

EduKick Announces Elite Soccer Camp – Girls Only!

Competitive female soccer players, listen up.

At EduKick, we're always excited to help young athletes expand their knowledge of soccer and the world. Over the past few years, one of requests we've most often heard has been for a higher level international soccer camp for female players.

Well, you asked, and we answered.

We're proud to announce that we've partnered with the Spanish Football Federation's Women's National Team to offer our very first Girls Only Elite Soccer Camp, happening this July in beautiful Madrid, Spain. Female players between the ages of 14 and 24 are welcome to attend.

The camp will include participation in the Donosti Cup, Northern Spain's famous youth tournament.

Be warned, though. We're not just throwing "elite" in the title for show. This is a high-level international soccer camp directed at helping female players better their skills for competition on the collegiate and professional levels. The coaches you'll train with are professional coaches, and you'll be playing with girls who are just as talented as you are, or if not more so.

On top of that, the Spanish Football Federation is actively seeking to recruit North American players with Spanish origins through this new girls-only elite camp. Players with Spanish parents or grandparents will be able to get a Spanish passport, which is necessary for them to potentially play for Spain.

Of course, that doesn't mean players of non-Spanish origin shouldn't attend the camp. The competitive soccer skills you gain from going to an intense, high-level international soccer camp like this one are unmatched by any other camp you could attend on your home turf. Plus, you get to experience another culture and play on a team with other female players from around the world.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you can't afford to miss! Click here to visit our website and sign up!

http://www.edukick.com/soccercamps.asp?cat=149)

Friday, January 25, 2008

EduKick Announces Girls Only Elite International Soccer Camp

EduKick Announces Girls Only Elite International Soccer Camp


Competitive female soccer players can now take their game overseas. EduKick, Inc., an international soccer exchange program, has partnered with the Spanish Football Federation to host a Girls Only Elite Soccer Camp in Madrid, Spain.

Oakville, Ontario (PRWEB) January 25, 2008 -- Competitive female soccer players can now take their game overseas. EduKick, Inc. (http://www.edukick.com), an international soccer exchange program, has partnered with the Spanish Football Federation to host a Girls Only Elite Soccer Camp in Madrid, Spain. Competitive female players between the ages of 14 and 24 are welcome to attend the camp, which will be held in July.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for any girl who wants to attend a high level competitive soccer training camp," said Joey Bilotta, vice president of EduKick. "There aren't many camps that are geared toward competitive female players, and we're excited to be partnering with the Spanish Football Federation's Women's National Team to help female players get the training and experience they need to excel in the collegiate and professional soccer world."

Though EduKick has long offered coed international soccer camps, this is the first year that they have offered a girls-only "elite" camp. The camp not only includes the high-level soccer training and instruction that EduKick is known for, but also participation in Northern Spain's famous youth tournament, the Donosti Cup.

"Girls have been participating in EduKick camps since our inception in 2001, and their numbers have steadily increased," Bilotta said. "We've had a high demand for higher level international soccer camps geared toward girls, and we're only too happy to create this camp in Madrid to fulfill that need."
The extensive training and tournament play are only two reasons for competitive female soccer players to consider this camp. The Spanish Football Federation is also hoping to discover talented North American players of Spanish origin through the Girls Only Elite Soccer Camp.

Players with Spanish parents or grandparents are eligible to apply for and receive a Spanish passport, which would allow them to legally play for Spain. Bilotta encourages North American female players with parents or grandparents from Spain to contact EduKick immediately.
However, he adds, this doesn't mean female players without Spanish origins shouldn't attend this unique international soccer camp.

"Attending an EduKick soccer camp or boarding school is not the same experience as attending a soccer camp at the local park in your hometown," Bilotta said. "EduKick is a travel abroad high level soccer training camp with players attending from all over the world. It's very intense, with professional coaches and in a soccer culture and atmosphere. The benefits of such an exciting experience are invaluable for a young female soccer player."

For more information about EduKick's new Girls Only Elite Soccer Camp, visit them on the Web at http://www.edukick.com/soccercamps.asp?cat=149

About EduKick, Inc.:
EduKick's mission is to provide intensive soccer development training programs and academic soccer boarding schools that also teach youngsters about cultural diversity and foreign languages. As professionals, soccer fanatics and fathers, Joseph Bilotta and Corey Zimmerman wanted to create programs that maximized the EduKick youth's time abroad; instilling a sense of independence and pride through experiencing international travel, structured language study, cultural excursions, and daily professional soccer training.
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