A great article from Changing the Game Project – https://changingthegameproject.com/winnings-the-great-deodorant-but-that-is-not-always-a-good-thing/
“Winning tends to mask things that stink, to bring positive vibes to a group, less finger pointing, and more acceptance of team roles, playing time, and more. After all, it is hard to argue with results, and certainly at the professional level of sports coaches are paid to win. That is what you will always be judged upon. We always want positive vibes on our teams, and players bought in to the culture and the plan.”
As adults we often reflect our own perceptions and expectations onto kids, and being in an adult world where outcome is important, we subject he kids to this mindset. However, we are in different stages of learning and experiences. Kids are in a process, they are building experiences and learning. With such a race to nowhere going on in youth sport, we don’t allow for the process, but for immediate results, and this effects learning. Our focus shifts from process driven, deep learning experiences, to immediate result rote learning. Sadly, this later approach does not benefit the long term, nor the individual players experience.
Yet I also see a sinister side to this quote, often at the youth levels, where winning tends to mask lack of development, poor coaching, playing, and parent behaviors, lack of playing time for certain players, and more. “But we won the league” or “Well, we won the tournament” is used as an excuse for not giving children meaningful playing time, promoting athleticism over skill development, and coaching through fear based manipulation. So many coaches and clubs are willing to compromise so much to win, as it tends to get most parents, ADs and coaching directors off their back. Sure, a few kids may quit, but they are the weaker players. We get so many calls about this scenario, and we must do better.
We have turned the youth game into an adults playground. Through adult ego, be it coach, parent’s, or directors, we have lost focus on what the youth player needs. The business model that drives youth sports dictates the actions and behaviors of the adults.
The solution to this is great engagement with parents, helping support parents on what is important in youth sports, and how this can be achieved.
The solution is coaches being lifelong learners, continually developing themselves and learning what modern approaches and evidence based research supports the youth player, not relying on traditional methods that we now know do not work.
The solution is giving the game back to the kids, empowering them, and letting them know that we love to watch them play, we are here to support their holistic growth and not just focused on an outcome of the game they have little control over, not meaning in their long term development.
See our earlier article on learning – https://www.fremontyouthsoccer.com/2023/10/player-learning-evidence-based-approach-to-modern-coaching/