Kristine Lilly (@KristineLilly) is a PCA National Advisory Board Member and Former U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team Captain. Kristine was a four-time NCAA Champion at the University of North Carolina and went on to play in five World Cups, helping the U.S. to championships in 1991 and 1999. She is currently an Assistant Coach for the Boston Breakers Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) team.

Lilly spoke with Positive Coaching Alliance at the 2013 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention.

In this video, Lilly explains that if you’re a great player, you’ll end up at the top if you work hard. These days there are more clubs and programs for young soccer players to get involved with that ensure skill development than there ever were before.

Often, these programs and clubs declare that the only way to improve is by joining them, but Lilly disagrees, saying that even with these specialized clubs and academies, hard work is still more important. By working hard, players can succeed no matter what program, club, or school they compete with.