>>[Cola Fan] Big Daddy, maybe people really don't care about wins and losses in club soccer and focus more on the develoopment of players at this time of year.<<
This is an excellent discussion point on something that I'm confused about; thanks for raising it!
For years and years now I've heard and read about the "conundrum" of development versus winning and losing. Basically, the theory is that some coaches/clubs sacrifice the development of players in exchange for too great a focus on winning. Now, admittedly, when I've spent some time trying to understand this position there's a tendency to be talking U12 or younger -- but I keep perceiving undertones of this message in terms of older players as well.
If I'm being deeply cynical, it appears to me that the term "development" is being used as yet another excuse for running away from any form of accountability in terms of measurable results. If I'm being hopelessly naive, it appears to me that there are a cadre of professionals who are willing to ignore society's fixation on winning in order to do the right thing for kids.
I'll admit to a bias toward the "cynical" position based on what I've seen in the last decade or so of my kids playing soccer. The best development seems to me to come from (a) kids training with the most ambitious and most talented kids, (b) kids training a lot, (c) kids training with good coaches/trainers, and (d) kids having success on the field and being proud of their personal and team results.
So here's the question: how does consistently losing help the development of youth soccer players?
