I know that I did not answer the "how does consistently losing help the development of youth soccer players?" question, but certainly I think that club/classic/academy level soccer is much better than what is offered at the recreational level in general and provides youth with an enhanced version of athletic participation.
I do believe that Academy aged teams (U9-U12) should not place much of an emphasis on winning/losing and should rather concentrate on the "whole soccer" experience for kids. No U10 player should be "pegged" as the goalkeeper due to being the biggest, or least-mobile child. Instead, this player should be exposed to as many positions as possible without worrying about the end result of the match.
