This is the dilemma I face as my team starts Spring season. Let me know your opinion. Here are my thoughts:
http://acoachinglife.wordpress.com/2...velop-players/
http://acoachinglife.wordpress.com/2...velop-players/
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You have to do some of both
Winning can't be your only goal, but without winning, many competitive and talented athletes may lose interest and play other sports. If you're competitive in every match, then you'll do well even if you lose. If you're sacrificing development too much for the scoreboard, I think you're doing a disservice to your players. It's a fine line.
Putting kids in position to fail is one way that coaches lose kids. Knowing your players mental and physical capabilities is necessary so that kids are not put into positions where they cannot succeed. We had a kid a few years ago who was chubby and a bit slow. Since other kids whined, and nobody else wanted to play defense, she was constantly played as an outside back. Usually, at some point in the match, the kid would wind up 1v1 against a fast kid and they would run right by and score. The coach would then pile on the kid and the other players followed. It almost ruined her love of the game, and she almost quit. He was working to develop her as a defender, but there were other kids on the team better suited to play the spot for the most part.
One problem many coaches have is that they want every kid to play every position - even up through U-14. Kids drift tot he positions they are strongest at by 13, and although you want them to know HOW to play every position, they dont necessarily have to play them all.
If you don't play to win some of the time, and sacrifice winning in the name of development all the time, you'll lose your best players to more competitive teams. Moderation in everything.
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