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Jack

@jacktheballer

6.2K

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11076

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2017 ⚽️ Atlanta, GA
Concorde Fire Central - New
Give Futbol Performance - 3rd in Nation (3v3)
JV10 - 1st in Nation (Futsal)
Parent Managed Account

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“Lucky bicycle kick.” 🤷‍♂️

Didn’t feel like luck to me.

Playing a year up at U11. The first shot gets saved, I go to put away the rebound, and right as I’m about to hit it, I get booted in the back of the leg.

The ball pops straight up.

I could’ve gone down.
I could’ve looked for the call.
I could’ve complained.

Instead, I saw the ball, got underneath it and found another way.

Bicycle. Upper 90. 🎯

You can’t control every bounce. You can’t control every challenge. You can’t control whether you get the call.

You can control what you do next.

READ. ADAPT. CREATE.

BALLERS FIND A WAY. 🥶⚽️

#RaisingBallers #BallersFindAWay #BicycleKick #YouthSoccer #Soccer Football SoccerSkills ConcordeFire by @jacktheballer

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23 days ago

Instagram vs Reality

The camera from the sideline sees a goal.

But the camera from my height sees something different.

Three defenders.
Every touch under pressure.
A moment that feels bigger than the field.

When you’re a kid playing the game you love…
every play feels like the World Cup.

Thank you Coach @cgrassmyer_3 for believing in me and trusting me in different roles on the pitch as I keep working to become the player I want to be.
#youthsoccer
#footballdevelopment
#soccerkid
#nextgenfootball
#mlsnext by @jacktheballer

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7 months ago

I got cut. But I didn’t quit. This is my story. 💪⚽️

I’m Jack — and I love this game. ⚽️

When I got cut, I made a choice.
Not to quit… but to outwork everyone.

Every day I train — in the basement, the backyard, anywhere I can.

I’m part of the Raising Ballers family — we’re on a mission to show what real development looks like.

This page is about hard work, faith, and becoming the best version of me — on and off the field.

Follow my journey with my brothers @raisingballersofficial — we’re building something special.

Let’s grow together. 💪⚽️

#jacktheballer #raisingballers #soccerjourney #youthsoccer #playertowatch #soccermindset #nevergiveup #soccerdevelopment #buildingballers by @jacktheballer

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a year ago

Learning to play striker this year has been a lot less about how to finish and a lot more about how quickly you can find the solution.

A striker doesn’t get perfect service every time.

Read the flight.
Adjust your movement.
Recognize the problem.
Improvise.

This ball came in too high for his feet and too low for his chest. Jack had a split second to figure it out.

So he used his hip. 😂⚽️

Not something you exactly draw up on the training board… but that’s the point.

The game moves too fast to always have a perfect answer. We’re working on giving Jack the tools to process what’s happening, make a decision, and trust it.

No angle. No time. Find a solution.

That’s a striker.#YouthSoccer #YouthSoccerDevelopment #SoccerGoals #SoccerTraining #SoccerSkills by @jacktheballer

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12 days ago

One day, we’ll wonder where all the time went. ❤️

It’s easy to get caught up in the practices, games, tournaments, goals and everything we think we need to do to help our kids become better athletes.

But they’re growing up while we’re doing it.

And someday, we’d give anything to have one of these ordinary days back.

The days of helping Dad in the yard. Getting dirty. Trying something new. Doing something hard. Laughing together. Learning without even realizing we’re learning.

Because becoming a great player isn’t only about touches on a ball.

It’s learning to be brave.
To work.
To struggle.
To problem solve.
To get uncomfortable.
To keep going.

Those lessons follow you onto the field—and far beyond it.

So while they’re little, give them experiences. Give them challenges. Give them memories.

But most of all…

give them your time.

Because sometimes, life is the training.

We’re not just building soccer players.

We’re raising extraordinary humans.

#RaisingBallers #YouthSoccer #SoccerFamily #SoccerDad #YouthSports RaisingAthletes PlayerDevelopment AthleteDevelopment MoreThanSoccer LetKidsBeKids ChildhoodMemories GrowthMindset SoccerLife FootballDevelopment BuildingBetterHumans FamilyTime MakingMemories by @jacktheballer

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13 days ago

EVERYONE RECORDS THE GAME. ALMOST NOBODY DOES THIS WITH THE FOOTAGE. 🎥⚽️

Highlights are cool. Goals are cool. Saves are cool.

But if all we do with game footage is find the best clips to post on Instagram, we’re missing the most valuable part.

The real value isn’t what you can POST.
It’s what you can LEARN.

Sitting down as a team. Rewinding plays. Asking questions. Understanding our shape. Seeing the movement that created an opportunity before the ball ever arrived. Recognizing mistakes. Recognizing what we did right. Learning set pieces, transitions, positioning and what Coach is actually asking us to see on the field.

And it takes more than technology.

It takes players willing to learn.
Families willing to commit the time.
And a coach willing to put in the work to actually TEACH the game.

The camera captures what happened.

Coaching helps us understand WHY it happened—and what to do next.

As Johan Cruyff said:

“Football is a game you play with your brain.”

The highlights might show the result.

This is where the player is developed. 🧠⚽️

#SoccerDevelopment #FootballIQ #GameFilm #PlayerDevelopment #SoccerTraining FootballDevelopment SoccerIQ YouthSoccer DevelopmentOverResults TheBeautifulGame by @jacktheballer

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22 days ago

THE GAME ISN’T JUST PLAYED WITH YOUR FEET. 🧠⚽️

Friday night.

While most people see highlights, goals, saves and touches… we’re studying everything that happens before them.

Positioning.
Movement off the ball.
Scanning.
Decision-making.
Recognizing space.
Understanding why the play happened — not just what happened.

Development isn’t always another thousand touches on the ball.

Sometimes it’s sitting down, rewinding the film, seeing the mistake, understanding the solution and training your brain to recognize it faster the next time.

And we’re grateful to have a coach willing to spend his Friday night doing the same — bringing the team together, breaking down the film and preparing everyone for the weekend ahead.

That’s high-level soccer.

Not just creating better athletes.

Creating smarter footballers.

Friday night film.
Saturday morning execution. 🎥 → ⚽️

#SoccerDevelopment #FootballIQ #GameIQ #FilmStudy #PlayerDevelopment YouthSoccer SoccerTraining FootballDevelopment SoccerIQ MovementOffTheBall Scanning DecisionMaking TrainYourBrain TheWorkShowsUp by @jacktheballer

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a month ago

The plan is simple.

See the destination.
Set the goal.
Go get it.

But the plan rarely prepares you for the journey.

The setbacks. The plateaus. The sacrifices. The days when confidence disappears. The moments when the path changes and you have to find another way forward.

Especially in sports, development is about so much more than the sport itself.

It’s the mindset.
The habits.
The discipline.
The values.
The ability to struggle without quitting.
The ability to learn without making excuses.
The ability to keep climbing when progress doesn’t look the way you imagined.

Marcus Aurelius wrote:

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

That’s the part you have to prepare for.

Everyone wants the destination.

Prepare for the journey.

Because if you aren’t prepared for what it takes to get there, the destination doesn’t matter.

The obstacle is the way. Keep climbing. 🧗‍♂️⚽️

#Development #Mindset #TheObstacleIsTheWay #KeepClimbing #SoccerDevelopment by @jacktheballer

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a month ago

The most dangerous moment in football? The moment you win the ball back. ⚡️

Goal line to goal. Three passes. Everyone moving. Everyone attacking.

Axel starts it. John moves it forward. Mateo keeps it moving. Jack makes the run, commits the keeper and finishes with the left.

That’s heavy metal football.

Jürgen Klopp famously described his football as “heavy metal” — fast, aggressive, emotional and played with purpose.

Defense becomes offense in seconds. No hesitation. No unnecessary touches. Move the ball. Move yourself. Attack together.

It’s one of the reasons we’ve always loved watching Liverpool under Klopp.

The transition IS the attack. 🔥⚽️#HeavyMetalFootball #LiverpoolFC #YouthSoccer #FootballDevelopment #SoccerTraining by @jacktheballer

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a month ago

Being a striker isn’t about doing it alone.

Your team wins the ball.
They move it.
They create the space.
They deliver the ball.

And then it comes to you.

One moment.

They did their job.

Now finish yours.

Be the closer.

RELENTLESS. #Striker #Finishing #YouthSoccer #SoccerDevelopment #Relentless by @jacktheballer

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2 months ago

This is what development looks like when nobody is watching.

Learn the language. Learn the technique. Understand the why. Then remove the answers.

Now you have to scan. Communicate. Decide. Defend. Attack. Transition. Solve problems. And do it all at game speed.

Repetition has its place. But the game doesn’t tell you what’s coming next.

That’s what I love about the way Liam trains Tyler. He teaches the tools, creates the environment, adds pressure and then makes Tyler figure out which tool the moment requires.

And having his brothers in the backyard makes the environment even more real. Jack and Caden aren’t cones. They move. They react. They make different decisions. They create problems.

That’s the work.

Not chasing perfection in a drill.

Building a goalkeeper who can think when the game becomes imperfect.

This is the backyard. This is the process. by @jacktheballer

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2 months ago

What if they don’t make it?

What if none of my boys ever become professional soccer players?

Would I regret the time? The money? The miles? The thousands of hours spent on fields?

Not for a second.

Because if we do this right, soccer is simply the vehicle.

They’re learning how to work when something is hard.
How to fail and come back.
How to be coached.
How to communicate.
How to compete.
How to stay disciplined when nobody is watching.
How to believe in themselves while still remaining hungry enough to grow.

They’re building strong bodies and stronger minds.

And along the way, they’re building relationships with people like Liam who believe in them, push them, encourage them, laugh with them, and demand more from them because they know what they’re capable of.

But maybe my favorite part is that we’re doing it together.

Brothers training beside brothers.
A family traveling, learning, winning, losing, laughing and growing together.

Someday the games will stop.

The cleats will eventually come off.

And whether soccer takes them to the highest level or simply prepares them for whatever comes next, none of this will have been wasted.

Because the goal was never just to build better soccer players.

It was to use this game we love to help build strong young men.

And if we accomplish that…

they made it. #RaisingBallers #MoreThanSoccer #MoreThanTheGame #BuiltThroughTheGame #PlayerDevelopment YouthSoccerDevelopment DevelopThePlayer DevelopThePerson SoccerFamily SoccerBrothers TrainWithPurpose BuiltNotBorn TheProcess TrustTheProcess GrowthMindset StrongMindsStrongBodies RaisingYoungMen CharacterThroughSport Relentless LoveTheGame by @jacktheballer

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2 months ago