Maybe, it SHOULD be all about winning...

Scrub It Kook said:
Maybe it's the coach, not the players driving the results. Maybe it's both. But politics definitely is a factor. Coaches can be blind the halo effect they place on some players too, especially if the player is a 'yes-man/woman' so as not to jeopardize their spot on the team.
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Yes, perhaps, and there are the legion of stories about pay-for-play....
 
I often hear that to fix US youth soccer, there needs to be promotions and relegation out of these letter leagues. In other words, it needs to be all about winning. Isn’t it?

Development could be an excuse for “I don’t know how to manage my players to get the best out of them therefore I am rotating them through my lineup hoping something will stick” or “oops I have signed up too many players and now I am making them all share minutes so I don’t piss the parents off”.

We had a coach when my son was 7 who allowed his players to dribble and take on players. We didn’t pass to each other much. Parents used to get so frustrated. He used to say it’s easy to teach passing later but he can’t teach a kid to dribble when he is 13. 5 years later, many of his players are now scattered all around the top teams in the area. Some have learned to pass and some still haven’t learned, but they sure can all dribble.

Only time will tell if a coach is right or not. Sometimes we parents focus on the present and on what’s good for our kids at this time, you can have a good coach and you don’t know it. Then again this is pay to play, you have to do what makes you and your kid happy.
 
Jamisfoes said:
I often hear that to fix US youth soccer, there needs to be promotions and relegation out of these letter leagues. In other words, it needs to be all about winning. Isn’t it?

Development could be an excuse for “I don’t know how to manage my players to get the best out of them therefore I am rotating them through my lineup hoping something will stick” or “oops I have signed up too many players and now I am making them all share minutes so I don’t piss the parents off”.

We had a coach when my son was 7 who allowed his players to dribble and take on players. We didn’t pass to each other much. Parents used to get so frustrated. He used to say it’s easy to teach passing later but he can’t teach a kid to dribble when he is 13. 5 years later, many of his players are now scattered all around the top teams in the area. Some have learned to pass and some still haven’t learned, but they sure can all dribble.

Only time will tell if a coach is right or not. Sometimes we parents focus on the present and on what’s good for our kids at this time, you can have a good coach and you don’t know it. Then again this is pay to play, you have to do what makes you and your kid happy.
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Pro/rel only works as a meritocracy only if both players and the team are bound together (if you are promoted, you can't drop the players that brung you,,,,you can't leave for another club unless the club agrees to release you). I don't think many people would like that (they'd just form a league with different rules) since it puts too much weight on whatever your first choice of club is as a younger. Otherwise, from an economics point of view, its just two different ways of congregating talent.

The current system basically allows clubs let in through the velvet rope the power to build it...those outside the velvet rope can't attract the talent to build top teams...top players seek out and try out for the top flighted teams. A pro/rel system without binding clubs and player would just mean you are rewarding clubs and coaches who are able to build winning squads as youngers and then as they advance in the ranks recruit the best players who would congregate towards the top flight teams-- as in the old coast, some powerhouse clubs will be able to build across the board, but they'll also be some random scatterings. The externality with the former is that there might be some legal complications with the current system. The externality with the latter is that the skill set you are hiring for isn't coaches who can develop players, but coaches skilled in recruiting the parents of top players especially when they are youngers. With the latter, since winning a place in the top flight is vital, it encourages shortcuts such as booting the ball into a footrace, recruiting players near the age line taller/bigger, teaching poor shooting techniques such as boot the ball hard or over the keeper instead of placement, dribbling instead of a passing game, avoiding building from the back.

You can have your soccer developmental, competitive or accessible....you only get to pick 2 of those.
 
I certainly don't believe pro/rel is the answer that solves all of a league's problems - it causes quite a few just as described above. On balance, I believe that leagues that don't have pro/rel result in clubs/teams having no plausible incentive to keep from being perennially terrible. They can continue to make money, and stay in the league indefinitely - regardless of team/club performance. Balancing the incentives to win is always walking a fine line - strengthening the teams that are winning - while also attempting to strengthen the league inclusive of all teams.
 
Jamisfoes said:
We had a coach when my son was 7 who allowed his players to dribble and take on players. We didn’t pass to each other much. Parents used to get so frustrated. He used to say it’s easy to teach passing later but he can’t teach a kid to dribble when he is 13. 5 years later, many of his players are now scattered all around the top teams in the area. Some have learned to pass and some still haven’t learned, but they sure can all dribble.

Only time will tell if a coach is right or not. Sometimes we parents focus on the present and on what’s good for our kids at this time, you can have a good coach and you don’t know it. Then again this is pay to play, you have to do what makes you and your kid happy.
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This is so true (in the general sense) that it kinda stings.

Things I've heard coaches say, in club: do not dribble, short passes is the only methodology which wins at the high level, defense is important, we are all about player development, no teams get special preference within the club.

What I've seen in practice: the best players are the ones who dribble more, short passes doesn't win (because passing isn't perfect, and more passes creates more risk, particularly at lower levels), good offense is what is celebrated (at all levels), the club is focused on their fixed methodology focus areas (not what is necessarily best for their players), and the top level teams absolutely get preference (to fields, scrimmages, etc.). The most skilled and greedy kids on the ball (dribbling, etc.) are usually the ones who are most celebrated, and the most elevated (within the club or externally). Solid defense and safe lateral passing might win games (debatable), but it's not flashy, and it won't get you noticed. Conversely, the best way to get on top teams and be celebrated (at least at a youth level) seems to be: be really good at dribbling, hog the ball, and try to score. And be more physical mature earlier, of course (as that compensates for a lot of missing skill).

I guess parents need to just find what works for them and their kids.
 
Jamisfoes said:
I often hear that to fix US youth soccer, there needs to be promotions and relegation out of these letter leagues. In other words, it needs to be all about winning. Isn’t it?

Development could be an excuse for “I don’t know how to manage my players to get the best out of them therefore I am rotating them through my lineup hoping something will stick” or “oops I have signed up too many players and now I am making them all share minutes so I don’t piss the parents off”.

We had a coach when my son was 7 who allowed his players to dribble and take on players. We didn’t pass to each other much. Parents used to get so frustrated. He used to say it’s easy to teach passing later but he can’t teach a kid to dribble when he is 13. 5 years later, many of his players are now scattered all around the top teams in the area. Some have learned to pass and some still haven’t learned, but they sure can all dribble.

Only time will tell if a coach is right or not. Sometimes we parents focus on the present and on what’s good for our kids at this time, you can have a good coach and you don’t know it. Then again this is pay to play, you have to do what makes you and your kid happy.
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Hmmmm, so based on that theory junior should never clean his room because he'll learn it later in life- got it... Too many Pep wannabees:Do_O
 
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