Karen Elchert Dublin, Ohio Would you say that in order to become a very good athlete, and soccer player, you would have to be fit and work out in addition to the practice time that you have per day? I would think that the soccer players, especially the women’s team, would have a workout routine that the players follow in addition to just practicing. Mike Woitalla: Karen, your question reminded me of a story about Ronaldo from early 1998. Then widely considered the world’s best player, and probably the world’s highest paid player, Ronaldo realized that his heading of the ball needed improvement. So he stayed on the field after his regular practice and worked on his heading. Not knowing your age or the level you play at, it would be hard to give you specific advice. However, it’s always wise to play as much soccer as possible if your goal is to be a high-level player. Ask almost any great professional, and they’ll tell you they played soccer whenever they could, whether it was pickup games in the park, kicking against the garage door or juggling in the backyard. The key here is improving ball skills. They more you play with the ball, the better your skills will become. If you wish to dedicate more time to soccer, I recommend concentrating on your passing, shooting, dribbling and trapping. Physical fitness can always be attained, but if you don’t work on your skills early, they will be hard to improve later in life. As far as the U.S. women’s team is concerned: They were full-time players in the months leading up to the World Cup. So they got plenty of organized practice and exhibition games without working out on their own. But I’m sure that when the team isn’t together, they do what they can to stay in shape so that it’s not as hard to regain top fitness when they get called back in for training camp.