Playing to win?

FEBRUARY 2020 ISSUE

LET THEM PLAY How should parents act on the sidelines?

PLAYING TO WIN? EXCLUSIVE

The age old question: do we play to win in youth football, or focus on development first?

CONTENTS

Page 4 - Welcome Page 5 - Subscribe to YouTube Page 6 - Playing to Win or Development First?

Page 11 -Technical Warm Up video Page 12 - Top 10 Ball Mastery Techniques - Page 13 -15 Close Control Techniques Page 14 - On the Sidelines Page 16 - Follow us on

WELCOME Welcome back to this month's player development magazine. In this month's edition we're looking at something that we feel is very important to youth development. Do we put playing to win first, or should we focus on development?

Player development is a long-term process and we discuss why we should treat it as such. Our aim is to help coaches and players by providing content that will allow them to reach their potential in the right environments to succeed.

Added to the above, we take a look more into the environment needed for youth players to succeed. How should parents and spectators act on the sidelines? What should they say , or even should they say anything at all?

Providing the right environment is crucial to helping the youngster enjoy the game, reaching whatever goals they may have.

We've also got some extra ball mastery practices for you to use. We hope they're of use and you begin to see more skilful and technical players on the ball!

Elliott Everson, Owner, OpportunityElite Player Development

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PLAYING TO WIN OR DEVELOPMENT FIRST? Martin Scorsese

It's something that we hear being questioned regularly: in youth football should we focus on winning, or developing, the player first?

We often hear of situations where it may seem that a coach is placing all of their emphasis on winning the game, rather than helping their young players develop. In grassroots football, the most important aspect is that the children are able to participate and enjoy the game, free from pressure, intimidation and scrutiny.

The more players that we as coaches can help to enjoy the game, free of pressure, then the more players that we will eventually have reaching higher levels in the footballing pyramid.

Player development is a long-term game, not dependent on short-term results.

Winning shouldn't be the primary focus; technical development should be.

The by-product of focusing on technical development, in the long-term, will actually be winning. But, play the long-term game, don't focus on instant results at the young youth ages. Let them play and develop without putting the player under pressure to win.

Technical development should be placed first before anything else, with the competitive element and focus on results coming to the game at U15/16 upwards. In the younger ages of youth football the technical development and enjoyment of the game should come to the fore. However, there are many players, even at younger ages, who are interested in the score, and who do want to win and beat their opponent. We shouldn't discourage that, top players all have the competitive edge. If a player is competitive we should always allow them to keep that passion.

What we shouldn't do is try to put pressure on young players so that they focus on trying to win the next fixture rather than enjoy themselves and develop.

In some tournaments, events, or matches, there are trophies for winning, second, third places and so on and so on. In some cases there may even be no trophies. My own opinion is that we should have first place trophies at tournaments, allowing the children to realise what they have achieved.

Children love lifting a trophy, and we shouldn't take that away from them.

Instead, we as coaches need to take a step back and remember why we are coaching. We aren't coaching at grassroots levels to win trophies or to dominate a league. We are coaching to help players play the game they love, enjoy themselves and give them the best opportunity to develop and improve their game.

The waters get muddied when, as coaches, we can feel like we are being judged. If the team aren't winning often then outside factors can come into play. Do parents think you are doing a good job? Do other coaches not rate you? We must stick to the main reasons for coaching at the grassroots level that we mentioned above.

It's all about developing the player. As they get older these players will win more if they have learned to develop technically, more so than focusing purely on winning. Â

Why shouldn't we focus on winning first?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to win, and that is something that we feel shouldn't be scorned. The issue is when winning becomes more important than developing the player technically, putting the result before anything else.

When the result is put first, player development becomes an after-thought, significantly affecting the player's chance to improve.

Players can feel pressured into hitting the ball long, instead of playing out from the back. They may feel worried about making a mistake, instead of taking an extra touch and getting their head up to look forward for better opportunities.

Players need to learn through playing, not making decisions based on external pressure from coaches and the sidelines alike.

Focusing on winning will affect technical ability.

At the youth levels it is far more likely that a team with big and strong players will win over a team of smaller, more technical, players. If those physically stronger players are pressured into winning, they will focus purely on their physical advantages, when really they need to be developing their technical skills as much as anyone else.

Teams will begin to win in the future if they have been coached correctly with development put at the fore.

Technical DevelopmenT Videos

Ball Mastery: Warm up and Arrival Activity

Top 10 Ball Mastery Techniques

15 Close Control Techniques

On the Sidelines How should parents encourage their children?

Creating the correct environment for youth players is vital to their development. We don't want players to feel pressured or worried by coaches' or parents' opinions of their performances. If they are, they will play within themselves, significantly hindering their improvements on the pitch.

One aspect that we see quite regularly is parent involvement in the player's game. By that, I mean during matches. Quite regularly we will see a young player who is getting told something by the coach, only for the parent to give them some other information or advice. Even though parents are doing this with the best of intentions it can be very confusing for the player.

In many cases you can actually see the player getting more and more confused with each comment.

The coach may be saying 'keep the ball, dribble with it' while the parent is encouraging their young player to 'kick it forward' in the hope that the team score a quick goal.

In this situation what does the young player do? Do they listen to their coach, or their parent? This becomes a dilemma for them which can be quite visible, leaving the player unsure of what decision to make. Eventually, this leads to a panicked or rushed attempt on the ball and great confusion.

Ideally, the best thing for the parents to do would be to encourage and praise players for attempting something, for playing a successful pass. We all like praise, even as adults, children even more so. But, if we are trying to direct a player, telling them to shoot because we want them to score, instead of passing to someone in a better position, then we are going to cause confusion and affect their development.

Let Them Play. Take it as a long-term process. the Player won't have success in the long run if you are desperate for them to score right away. Let them figure out what is best through just playing.

Players will make mistakes and do plenty of things incorrectly, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. With sound coaching and encouraging parents they will begin to feel comfortable on the pitch and learn where to position themselves through just playing the game.

When the children are playing, less is more. Too much information and they can be confused very quickly, then they may not listen to a relevant comment because they are trying to remember the last one. Less comments and more playing will result in a much more content and happy footballer, who is developing their game in exactly the right environment.

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