Paul Wright’s Advice for Being a Great Youth Soccer Player and an Impact Striker
Paul Wright’s # was retired – World Class Pro’s legacy honored by the San Diego Sockers.
Soccer News: Longtime professional soccer player, Paul Wright, was honored by his former team, the San Diego Sockers on April 7, 2019. The Sockers retired the jersey number #3 that Wright wore and raise a banner in the rafters at Pechanga Arena in tribute.
Paul Wright is a legendary forward. Wright has scored an amazing 435 goals and recorded 421 assists in his 603-game professional soccer career.
That is an amazing record in the soccer world. To put this in perspective, as of December 2018, Messi had scored a reported 664 goals for his club and country. In fact, the average number of goals scored in an MLS game during the 2018 season was 3.22.
Wright scoring 435 career goals is an astonishing record.
While many of the goals were scored for the San Diego Sockers, this tally also includes the 11 goals he scored when playing in the MLS for Sporting Kansas City which was then called Kansas City Wizards.
Wright is deserving on his jersey being retired, not only from his impact on the game as a high scoring forward but because of his passion for training the next generation of soccer stars.
“It is the wildest dream that I ever had. This is bigger than I ever imagined, and I am overwhelmed,” said Paul Wright.
As there are so few professionals who ever scored as many goals as Wright, or had their jersey retired, we wanted to ask Wright for advice for our readers. And Wright is the perfect former pro to ask.
Wright is the founder of Speed To Burn and has trained a number of high-profile professionals and college athletes, including Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, former LA Dodgers outfielder Trent Oeltjen, LA Clippers forward Grant Hill and U.S. Men’s National Team forward Herculez Gomez.
Read: SALUTING A SAN DIEGO LEGEND, SOCKERS RETIRE PAUL WRIGHT’S JERSEY #
Most weekends you can see Wright on the fields in San Diego, training youth soccer players and helping them develop their skills. Several of the youth soccer players Wright has trained have advanced to become professionals.
SoccerToday Interview with Paul Wright:
Diane Scavuzzo: What is his advice for young players who dream of becoming a pro?
Paul Wright: My first thought is that players who want to become professionals really have to have confidence.
You have to believe in yourself. You have to feel you belong.
If you have confidence and work towards your goals, everything can fall into place.
Today’s game is very athletic.
When I was coming up, it was a game of skilled grace but now a player’s athleticism is very important as well. Today’s player needs speed as well as skill.
Diane Scavuzzo: Is it harder to become a pro player today than when he was young?
Paul Wright: Oh yes, it is harder to get to the pro level now than it was when I was young. The game has grown. It is much more competitive.
Diane Scavuzzo: What advice do you have for a youth soccer player?
Paul Wright: Players have to start training when they are young and they must realize what their deficiencies are and work to strengthen them. If your left foot is not as strong as your right, for example, you need to improve your weaker side.
The game of soccer will separate the players who dedicate themselves to being their best.
Youth soccer players who want to advance and play professionally or in college need to discover their strengths and then work with a trainer to reach their peak performance.
Diane Scavuzzo: One of my favorite questions for you is what is a striker’s job?
Paul Wright: A strikers job is score goals. Really, it is to create opportunities for his or her teammates as well as to score goals.
It is not easy but it is a lot of fun when you do it right.
Diane Scavuzzo: Speed To Burn is well known for training for elite youth soccer players, how do help the players?
Paul Wright: Players who dream of being successful need training sessions like the ones at Speed to Burn — we have training sessions for elite youth soccer players who want to focus on improving their skills. And, we always work on finishing in the final third, which to me, is the most important part of the game.
Diane Scavuzzo: Are players afraid of making mistakes on the soccer field?
Paul Wright: All too often this is true. Players who want to make an impact can’t be conservative. Players who want to advance must take chances, and can’t be afraid to fail. Success doesn’t just come to you. You have to attack and not wait for the game to come to you.
Take chances, and don’t be afraid to fail.
And, enjoy.
Want to know more about Paul Wright? SALUTING A SAN DIEGO LEGEND, SOCKERS RETIRE PAUL WRIGHT’S JERSEY #
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