The Relentless Rise of Kaci: Why the Best Athletes Keep Getting Better

At Jungle Athletics in Calgary, we work with youth soccer players who want more speed, more explosiveness, and more confidence on the field.

This is the story of Kaci — a driven athlete whose journey shows exactly what proper youth soccer performance training, speed development, strength work, and movement coaching can unlock.

Why Kaci Trains Differently

Every once in a while, you meet an athlete who makes you stop and think:

“Why is she here — in a youth speed and performance gym — when she’s already ahead?”

Kaci was that athlete.

She was already the strongest girl on her team.
Already one of the fastest in her league.
Already the kid parents pointed at and said:

“That one is special.”

So why did she walk into Jungle Athletics?

Because being the best wasn’t good enough for her.

That single mindset — wanting to improve even when you’re already ahead — is the reason some athletes keep climbing while others peak early and fade.

The Moment Everything Became Clear

Early in training, we filmed her acceleration.

Kaci watched the video, looked at me, and said:

“That’s not good enough.”

She wasn’t discouraged.
She wasn’t defensive.
She didn’t make excuses.

She simply wanted to get better.

That moment told me everything.

What Most Parents Never See

Kids can be talented and still have major performance gaps.

Kaci had several:

-Flat foot collapse

-Restricted stride from years of dribbling

-Right-sided mobility issues

-Lateral agility that broke down under fatigue

-Speed she couldn’t decelerate safely

These are common patterns we see in high-performing youth soccer players who rely on talent early but haven’t yet refined how they move at speed.

None of these problems show up clearly on game day — not until the competition gets faster and more demanding.

This is why coachability becomes the dividing line between athletes who grow…

…and athletes who plateau.

Kaci didn’t resist the work.
She didn’t protect her ego.
She leaned into the process.

She did the boring foot drills.
She fixed her stride.
She cleaned up her movement patterns.
She rebuilt her lateral agility from scratch.
She trained deceleration — the most neglected skill in youth soccer — until it became a weapon.

That’s what separates the good from the great.

The “Sharpened Pencil” Mindset

If her athleticism were a pencil, she’d be the pencil that gets sharpened before it ever gets dull.

Most kids wait until something breaks down before they address it.

Kaci sharpened in advance.

And this — above all — is why she continues to rise....

Here's what happened when she leaned in...

Kaci's speed, power, and mechanics kept climbing. Her decision-making sharpened. And yes—she became a Nike-sponsored athlete.

But the real win? She’s still sharpening the pencil every day.

Want to see the full transformation story, including the exact fixes we made to her stride, mobility, deceleration, and footwork—plus how this translates to real-game confidence for Calgary soccer players?

Read the complete article on Substack here (Its free):The Relentless Rise of Kaci. The full article dives deeper into the training protocols and why this approach works for young soccer players in Calgary →](https://gregalmon.substack.com/p/the-relentless-rise-of-kaci-why-the). Or click the button below for the in-depth breakdown and more insights from Coach Greg Almon.