Youth Soccer Clubs: Development vs Results

In my time as a youth soccer coach, I have experienced a variety of different club level philosophical approaches toward teaching young players the game of soccer. And in some form or another, it always seems to be inevitable that statements pertaining to the "development" of youth soccer players end being just that - a statement, but with little or nothing to tangible to back it up.

All of the clubs that I have worked for have touted their "development first" philosophy, whether directly on their website or verbally by the director of coaching or another coach. Below are a few excerpts from the websites of some of those clubs:



We emphasize player development at our younger ages and stand firmly on teaching our teams how to play the game properly in our training sessions and matches.

[We are an] organized club that believes in player development first. 

[We are] committed to the personal development of each individual in this program on and away from the soccer field.


I have no problem with a club designing and advertising a specific philosophical approach to how they will be educating young players - in fact, I think that every club should develop a clear idea of how they want to go forward.

I do, however, have a HUGE problem with the disparity that occurs between the stated philosophy and what actually happens when you dig a little deeper into the every day workings of a club. I will refer to the latter as a club's ACTUALIZED philosophy.

You see, at the end of the day, most youth soccer clubs are driven by only one thing - money. Without money, a club cannot; attract good coaches, pay for quality or even passable facilities, afford memberships to leagues and governing soccer associations, etc.

And for the most part, (besides those clubs that are fortunate to have an outside sponsorship, and even then, sometimes those can come from parents who have a successful business or high level corporate job) only one thing provides them money.

Parents.

(Now, disclaimer: This is not meant to be perceived as a blanket stereotype that applies to every single club and every single parent who has kids playing for a club. SOME clubs and parents are like this, and many are not, but unfortunately, as the saying goes, a bad apple can ruin the whole bunch.)

Parents write the checks, which pay the bills, and in turn, provide said parents with a certain amount of leverage in the decision making power at a club.

How, you ask?


Hypothetical Situation:

Let's say little Johnny is on the U12 "A" team at his club. He is one of twelve kids on the team and they play 8v8 on the field. The coach is pretty generous with playing time because he wants all the players to develop at a similar rate, instead of one or two weaker kids languishing on the bench every game. So all twelve kids share a relatively equal amount of each game. 

Johnny's parents think he should be getting more time than little Bobby, who at that moment in his development, isn't quite as dominant during games as Johnny. The team has struggled to win in some recent games despite playing high quality soccer, but the coach has continued to share playing time, which is in line with his personal coaching philosophy. Mom and dad think that if Johnny was playing all the time, instead of sitting out sometimes, the team would win more games. 

Johnny's parents also happen to have several other kids playing at the club, and mom is on the board. Instead of encouraging Johnny to speak to the coach about playing time or approaching the coach directly, mom and dad decide that since they are paying all this money for their kids to play, they will go directly to the Director of Coaching (henceforth DOC) and complain. They say that if things don't change, they will leave the club and go to the rival club across town.

Here's where things get interesting. Now the DOC is in a tough spot. He (or she, although too few women hold this role at the club level, a topic for another time) has to make a decision. Does he a), speak to the coach and say "you gotta play your best kids more, we need to win"? Or does he b), set things straight with the parents, and risk having a board member and someone who has influence over his job unhappy with his stance?


In my experience, it isn't always one or the other - it tends to become more convoluted at this point. This scenario can be applied to various situations in coaching - tryouts, games, attendance at training, etc. I have had DOCs tell me a number of different things regarding my specific choices as a coach (these are not verbatim, but are a general summary of the message):


We need results, so you can't play the kids that struggle in close games.

Play all your best kids until the game isn't close anymore, winning or losing.

This is a cup match, they gotta understand that we need to win and we need our best players.

Play the kids that didn't get much playing time next week when you play [insert club name here], that should be an easy game.

You gotta DEVELOP players at this age and play the right way.

You should take [player name here] because he has [sibling(s) name(s) here] who also play with us.


You get the idea. In some situations, but not all, parents can have direct influence over how a club's philosophy plays out.

To be honest, it isn't just the parents that drive a club's actualized philosophy - it's the level of conviction that the coaching staff has toward the realization of the core values. To abide by a certain philosophy, this conviction must be practiced by ALL the members of the club - from the DOC down to assistant and/or staff coaches - and every member must be consistently held to those standards.

I applaud the coaches and DOCs out there who are willing to be firm and stand up to parents or other outside groups to maintain their ideal philosophy. This takes a lot of courage in a career that often does not have long term job security and sometimes can be a political nightmare when it comes to dealing with parents or sponsors.

So how do I fit into this discussion?

Without going into too much detail, I have a specific idea in mind of the way I want to play. I also have specific standards that I feel need to be met in order to achieve this goal. These standards cover everything from work ethic during training to how communication should happen between myself and players/parents. I try to be consistent with the way I hold players/parents to these standards and to be an open communicator, especially when someone has an issue or concern. 

Am I always successful? No. But I continue to grow and evolve in my ability to consistently uphold my philosophy and lead others with my vision of how I want to teach the game. And it certainly helps when I have the support of the club and my DOC during that process.