Episode 4 - Why it’s not `Winning v's Development`

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So why is it not about `winning v’s development`….?


Football (soccer) is a sport.


And sport is by definition: “an activity involving physical
exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes
against another or others for entertainment.”


Compete: “strive to win something by defeating or
establishing superiority over others.”


This means that `wining` (and losing) are intrinsically built
into sport and therefore are built in to football (soccer)…you
can’t remove it or chose whether or not to have it! It’s not and
it can’t be NON-COMPETITIVE! It’s a sport! 


It can be child/player centred competition!


If we can accept that ‘wining` is part of the game, then we can
stop the debate on if `wining` (especially at the foundation and
developmental phase) is a good or bad thing. It’s neither, its
simply part of the sport, just like the ball or the goals!


 


So if it’s not a question of winning v’s development, what is
the real question...


All sports need a way to measure the success of the game, so in
turn will conclude with a `Result`. 


Therefore the real question for us to ask ourselves is `how
important is the `result` over player/team development`. This
is because, often making choices that better enhance our chances
of improving the result of the game will impact on developmental
(and learning) opportunities of the players. This is because the
two can often be mutually exclusive.


 


`Result v Development`


This means there are essentially two approaches we could choose
to adopt when coaching players. One is `Results focused` or
`Short-term’ and the other is `Development focused` or
`Long-term’. 


 


What’s the difference between the two approaches;


 


RESULTS FOCUSED (short term)


·         The result of the match is the
priority


·         Training is focused on how to
achieve the best result


·         Players only/often play in
their `strongest` position and are played to their strengths


·         The team plays rigid
formations with limited decision making


·         The coach gives the players
lots of instructions during the game – Don’t, Do, Must, Never,
Always


·         Players are not encouraged to
try things and mistakes are criticised


·         Coach leads all team talks and
tells the players what they must and must not do


·         The Result is the measure of
success


·         Players are selected first on
their physical strengths


·         Players are told what they
must do and how to do it


 


 


DEVELOPMENT FOCUSED (long term)


·         The players learning is the
priority


·         Matches are there to support
the training


·         Players rotate and play all
positions (when the game allows)


·         The team plays formations that
challenge the players to make more decisions


·         The coach provides guidance
and asks the players questions at appropriate times during the
game


·         Creativity and independent
decision making is encouraged even if mistakes are made


·         Coach encourages the players
to lead team talks and share ideas about how they are playing and
possible changes


·         The players progress
(individually and collectively) is the measure of success


·         Playe