2024-11-04, 11:01 AM - Word count:
The future rolls around the corner, yet somehow, time seems to stop and stand for a while as Zoe Clarke finds herself in a bit of a predicament. While she would much prefer to be a part of the big leagues as soon as she could, since she wanted to prove herself against her dad, she didn't want to force a team to make room for her just because of her own self-made grudge against her father.
She had a fire that had been lit under her by that same father of hers who pushed her to be better despite going a little too hard against her when she was younger sometimes. She was a young, not-as-competitive girl when her dad first introduced her to soccer and she was definitely not going to follow in his footsteps. That’s what she told herself, anyway. She wasn’t some sort of proactive scorer who knew the sport inside and out, she was more suited for defense anyways since she had to guard him a lot when he was in his prime as a young child. She had much better footwork against all of the other players in her youth soccer club in Catalunya, but she was just a girl who found herself with a competitive dad. While she resented the relentless attacks of her father, now that she’s older, realizes he was trying to light that fire under her so she could be her own great player. It didn’t backfire, at least it didn’t to her. She wanted to be better than him and she wanted to be the best version of herself she could be. While she dwelled on the past enough, she now has to look to the future; the SSL Academy season is coming to an end and she could very well be on an SSL team in the future, winning titles was also a possibility.
Catalunya and Austria reached out to her, so she was going to be staying in the European area most likely, and thinking about it, she preferred it. Europe was her home, being in her “home” would definitely make her a lot more comfortable when playing despite how she might look on the court. Where would she be in 5 years? Judging by the draft class, probably not a valuable enough player to be called the MVP, but probably not as bad as some of the other prospects who seem full of themselves. She definitely would be a defensive superstar, but would her offense shine in the later parts of her career, or would she never develop offensive skills? For all she knew, she could be at the very bottom of a team’s roster in 5 years, going nowhere with her career, or stuck in the minor leagues as a minor champion but a major bust. Wait, would she even be a bust? What counted as a “bust” when comparing one player’s performances to the rest of the draft class? Would it be around the 2nd round that’s the cutoff? Her guess was that, from all the rounds, rounds 2 or 3 would be around where someone could be labeled a “bust” if they didn’t perform up to standard. If she was taken so low that she didn’t have any hope for her, she’d be reasonably pissed. Only time will tell if she gets drafted higher or lower than her mid 2nd round expectations. Maybe mid 3rd round. She didn’t know which to place herself in. The future waits for no one though
She had a fire that had been lit under her by that same father of hers who pushed her to be better despite going a little too hard against her when she was younger sometimes. She was a young, not-as-competitive girl when her dad first introduced her to soccer and she was definitely not going to follow in his footsteps. That’s what she told herself, anyway. She wasn’t some sort of proactive scorer who knew the sport inside and out, she was more suited for defense anyways since she had to guard him a lot when he was in his prime as a young child. She had much better footwork against all of the other players in her youth soccer club in Catalunya, but she was just a girl who found herself with a competitive dad. While she resented the relentless attacks of her father, now that she’s older, realizes he was trying to light that fire under her so she could be her own great player. It didn’t backfire, at least it didn’t to her. She wanted to be better than him and she wanted to be the best version of herself she could be. While she dwelled on the past enough, she now has to look to the future; the SSL Academy season is coming to an end and she could very well be on an SSL team in the future, winning titles was also a possibility.
Catalunya and Austria reached out to her, so she was going to be staying in the European area most likely, and thinking about it, she preferred it. Europe was her home, being in her “home” would definitely make her a lot more comfortable when playing despite how she might look on the court. Where would she be in 5 years? Judging by the draft class, probably not a valuable enough player to be called the MVP, but probably not as bad as some of the other prospects who seem full of themselves. She definitely would be a defensive superstar, but would her offense shine in the later parts of her career, or would she never develop offensive skills? For all she knew, she could be at the very bottom of a team’s roster in 5 years, going nowhere with her career, or stuck in the minor leagues as a minor champion but a major bust. Wait, would she even be a bust? What counted as a “bust” when comparing one player’s performances to the rest of the draft class? Would it be around the 2nd round that’s the cutoff? Her guess was that, from all the rounds, rounds 2 or 3 would be around where someone could be labeled a “bust” if they didn’t perform up to standard. If she was taken so low that she didn’t have any hope for her, she’d be reasonably pissed. Only time will tell if she gets drafted higher or lower than her mid 2nd round expectations. Maybe mid 3rd round. She didn’t know which to place herself in. The future waits for no one though
