Youth Soccer News: Youth Soccer Player Development vs. Winning at All Costs – Part 3

We hear it all the time: there is too much emphasis on “winning at all costs.” Yet how many times have you gone to a game and heard parents yelling at the kids to do what it takes to score goals and win? Coaches are told from one side that development is the priority in youth soccer, but then see their decisions questioned when the team loses.

At the top, Directors of Coaching have the unenviable task of balancing these often competing elements – winning versus player development. What do coaches really think about winning games compared to developing successful players? SoccerNation spoke with top Southern California coaches and a former U.S. Men’s National Team member for their views.

For the third part of the series on player development, SoccerNation spoke with Todd Saldaña of South Bay Force, Bert Leonard of Georgia’s Roswell Soccer Club and Paul Holohan of Carlsbad Lightning SC and Carlsbad Elite.

Todd Saldaña of South Bay Force

Todd Saldaña, Technical Director of South Bay Force

How do you balance player development and winning?

You don't. Even when player development is the Number 1 goal, it is extremely important that each individual player learn characteristics involved in being a successful team member. At some stage you also identify what outstanding qualities each player on a team brings to the table and help them master that area of the game for themselves and their team. If you are succeeding, you will have a team that can win enough games.

How important is winning, and why do you feel this way?

I have played with and coached many accomplished players and I have yet to meet one who isn't compelled to try to win at almost all things they do, not just soccer.

In terms of coaching an elite player, it is not really up to you how important winning is. With the top players, for me it has been more about dealing with and managing any lack of success because they do not take it lightly.

You also need the players to NOT be fearful of making errors and being too hard on themselves. It’s important players gain an impenetrable belief in themselves.

Do you believe a club's reputation is impacted by their teams' winning records?

Where we sit geographically, we have LA Galaxy and Chivas USA in our neighborhood, so sometimes the parents want to compare our team records with theirs.

Winning records absolutely affect a club’s, a team’s and a coach's reputation.

The player and coach collectively should take responsibility for the success of the individual and the team.

Parents don't realize often they are insulting their own child when they move clubs because the team was not successful enough in their eyes.

Parents are taking zero credit for any failures that may happen. Parents only want to gloat in the success of a team.

An honest evaluation of what impact their child is having on the team and what areas of their game need improvement might be of more service.

I feel I have a formula for creating a positive environment, as I think many coaches do. When the players and the parents adopt this philosophy, I am certain we will win. There are no road blocks; it’s just a matter of when it will all fall into place.

When do you coach to win?

I feel the players I coach and coaches I mentor would wonder what was wrong with me if I ever didn't coach to win.

It's how you go about it that matters and whether you pass on so much pressure to the players or a coach that they might tighten or freeze up because of a misguided or unrealistic desire to win at all times.

If the principles are secure, you are still trying to "play out of the back" and encourage players to "take people on" and to try creative, risky passes to win the match.

I also feel we forget that defending 1v1 or being proactive to win back possession takes a lot of courage.

If your players did not pay to play, would you coach differently?

No, but it would help in the philosophy of personal responsibility.

It would change the balance of power in youth soccer.

In the pay to play format, the parent is looking at what the club can provide. In a NO pay model, we the coach and club could be looking only at what the player and family bring to the table and how we see our chance of bringing the best out of that player.

Many of us from the old school ask ourselves when did the tables turned to where the player can ask the coach "what can you do for me?" versus the opposite when we were growing up in the game.

It may very well be the moment players and parents started paying for the soccer services and they put the responsibility of their success on the coach and club.

Please don't take me wrong; we should expect a huge responsibility when we accept the money to direct or coach, but I am certain the players that succeed feel responsible for their part in it and we both hold each other accountable to be fully committed to the task.

Do you have any other thoughts about winning and development?

In my opinion we live in the most challenging soccer environment in the country.

It takes a lot of strength to remain unaffected by the negatives that can take you off the focus of player development and start a coach preaching principles that give wins now.

With our recent success of South Bay Force's players winning a Development Academy National Championship and Jose Villarreal and a number of our players in the past two years reaching a high level of success, it proves winning is a byproduct of good individual and team development.

When we get it right there is no better feeling for me, but I compare it to challenges in the game of golf: if you have a great shot off the tee but duff your approach shot or miss the putt, you don't score well. I have great respect for those that consistently score well in their club’s player and team development. Our goal is to try and be more consistent in all of the development stages and year after year enjoy watching more of our alumni graduate from the club and play at the next level

Bert Leonard of Roswell (GA) Soccer Club and Oglethorpe University

Bert Leonard, Roswell Soccer Club in Georgia Academy Head Coach

How do you balance player development and winning?

I think that winning is a consequence of working hard during the training. I always tell my players that in each game there are two games to win: the game of smart ball possession and the score.

How important is winning, and why do you feel this way?

Winning always makes everyone feel good – coaches, players, and parents – but it is a limited measure of performance.

The best measure of performance for me is video analysis and video review. I use video analysis consistently with teams at Roswell Soccer Club, Oglethorpe University and with the Atlanta Silverbacks.

It is always interesting to me how scoring and conceding goals, especially with youth players, generally has little to do with the rhythm or “storyboard” of the game. Video analysis review is the best way to clearly measure a team’s development and if they are grasping concepts and following a philosophy of play.

Do you believe a club's reputation is impacted by their teams' winning records?

Yes, sadly our youth soccer culture has adopted many standards of ranking that should be used with U18 level players and higher. When I see a state and national ranking system used to determine a team’s success for 10 to14 year olds, I cringe. Also, many clubs hang their hat on a few top teams to fuel the rest of the club.

While I think it is a great accomplishment for a club to have one or two teams to compete at a regional or national competition, this says little about the overall development plan for a club or the playing style of the club as a whole.

When do you coach to win?

All the time! The key is to play possession soccer via switching the ball multiple times from side to side, take risk by playing from the goalkeeper to the backline and backline into the midfield line and finally demonstrating creativity and technical insight in the final third. The possession game is what I strive to win first as a coach and hopefully the score will follow.

Sadly, there is a great deal of direct play in youth soccer and often players rush to play errant “through balls” into an opponent’s goal box. I also think it is sad when youth teams do not play possession soccer on corner kicks; many still prefer long kicks into the box and hope for a second ball or defensive error to gain a goal scoring opportunity. Direct free kicks, corner kicks, and long throw ins are all part of the game, but again they provide little overall education to youth players.

If your players did not pay to play, would you coach differently?

No, but I think it would provide a different relationship with the parents.

I always coach with passion and a drive to help my teams play excellent possession-minded soccer. The fact that I am paid very well as a youth coach drives to me create the best practices that I can.

I do feel sad that many youth players who can’t afford training fees do not get the best coaching or training environment. Roswell Soccer club, like many, has started a scholarship program to help parents in need afford select soccer fees. I also think it is great that the MLS youth academy clubs are covering much of the cost for their youth players to play.

Do you have any other thoughts about winning and development?

The key is that we need, as a soccer culture, to embrace the artistic/possession side of the game.

The Spanish National Team did not achieve winning a Euro Championship, World Cup, and second Euro Championship overnight.

They had many coaches at many different levels working hard to develop a possession soccer playing style. All the Spanish National teams follow this style and never question it. We need the same process to take place here.

U.S. Soccer is working very hard with the Development Academies youth program, but all youth clubs need mandates from U.S. Soccer to play possession soccer consistently with all age groups. At this point, soccer in general is desperate for directions and there is way too much direct soccer being played at all levels in the USA.

Also, coaches must start to become modern and use technology to educate players. Video analysis technology should be at the top of the list for coaches at all levels of the game to provide feedback to players. Also, youth clubs must begin the process of using video analysis to create and implement a possession-centered curriculum for all the coaches in a club or organization to follow.

We use video analysis at all levels, and show all the players, coaches and parents in our 9 to 12 year-old teams a case study using video of how we played during the last spring season. Did we play from the back, and how well did we do that?  How are our teams playing, and what are the future directions in accord with our club philosophy? Video is the key to answering these questions, and it helps to get everyone on the same page.

Paul Holohan of Carlsbad Lightning SC and Carlsbad Elite

Paul Holohan, College Placement Director at Carlsbad Lightning Soccer Club

How do you balance player development and winning?

From my perspective, these two concepts are less about "balancing" and more about understanding their proper sequence. This is a point that is commonly misunderstood in youth soccer here in the United States.

One is an input and the other is an output. The key for coaches is to focus on the former, particularly with the younger players. What you do and how you train and develop players from ages 8 to 15 years of age is the key. If you win games, that's fine, but the dominant focus needs to be on developing soccer players.

At younger ages, if players train properly, develop technically and get sufficient experience in matches, those are the key inputs. The focus isn't on winning. Winning is an output from a variety of things like organization, skilled players, strong team concept and tactical execution

These two ideals go hand in hand, and it’s how you manage them that is important and at what ages.

In contrast, when I coached at the U.S. Development Academy level and now at Carlsbad Elite, there is an emphasis on game-day performance and thus winning at ages of 16 through 18. At this advanced stage, physical and mental development is nearly done except for some fine tuning. This older group is preparing to make the leap to the college game, and it is justifiable to put a strong emphasis on competing and winning.

It nonetheless starts at the younger age groups. Get the sequence right. Focus on development early and often and winning will follow. It requires patience from coaches and parents, but there are no shortcuts. A lot of coaches focus on size and speed in order to win at the younger levels, and in my opinion, it's really that misplaced, short-term focus that has held youth development back in the U.S.

How important is winning, and why do you feel this way?

Every coach wants to win. In the Southern California club environment, players and parents also want to be associated with a winning team. So, it is hard to get away from it. Instead, at Carlsbad, what we try to do is educate the players and parents that if we teach and develop players the right way, winning will be an outcome. There are times of the year when winning becomes more important. In the more high-profile events on the calendar, we prepare our boys with a view toward winning, but it is important to keep it in the right perspective.

Do you believe a club's reputation is impacted by their teams' winning records?

Unfortunately yes. Everyone loves a winner. It's America.

We all want to be associated with success and there are a lot of benefits to learning to win. It is just important, however, to learn from losing. We spend time on that too. Because there is such an emphasis on winning (output), I typically go to great lengths to talk about things that are in a players control like the quality of their attitude and their work rate. We talk about everyone buying into our team concept.

At the end of the day, things happen in a game that aren't always in a player’s or team's control. It is healthy, in my opinion, to understand that everyone wants to win. That is why it is doubly important to communicate to players about the things that are in their control, not those things that aren't. At the end of the day, soccer is "the beautiful game" and there is a lot for players to learn about life in general from winning – and losing.

When do you coach to win?

I always go onto the field to win. However, at times there can be certain things that you might be working on and want to see implemented on the field. There are games during the year where a loss might not be crucial. 

If your players did not pay to play, would you coach differently?

No. I would like to think that our staff and I develop players to become footballers, and thus when the time is right to go on to the youth national teams, college or whatever the case may be, they are well capable of doing so. Whether they pay or not would not affect the philosophy of how we want to train and develop our players.

Do you have any other thoughts about winning and development?

To really make a change and perform like the rest of the world's youth academies, there needs to be a change on the emphasis on winning. Even if we only stressed player development at the basic stage of development from 9-12, this would be a start.  We should have games with no standings, per se.

U.S. Soccer has to do this from the very top down and make everyone comply. I don't mind a different focus at the older age groups, as we need to teach winning at some stage, but at the younger ages these changes could be introduced.

Related Articles: Youth Soccer Player Development vs. Winning at All Costs

 

READ PART 1 on Player Development vs Winning with Alberto “AB” Bru of Real So Cal Soccer Club, Colin Chestersof Surf Soccer Club, Noah Gins of Albion Soccer Club, Teddy Chronopoulos of Chivas USA Youth Academy and Warren Barton of Fox Soccer TV and San Diego Flash Soccer Club to get their insights.	READ PART 2 on Player Development vs Winning with Christian Lavers of ECNL, former U.S. National Team captain Thomas Dooley, Billy Garton of Manchester SC, John Napier of San Diego Soccer Club (SDSC) and Eric Warner of FC Hasental for their insights.

READ thoughts on the topic from Rene Miramontes of Crusaders Soccer Club and US Youth Soccer Director of Coaching Sam Snow.