Should we teach gamesmanship in youth soccer?

Lee Robert said:
two excellent articles for parents

Part one - https://www.soccerwire.com/resources/should-we-teach-gamesmanship-in-youth-soccer/

Part two - https://www.soccerwire.com/resources/part-2-should-we-teach-gamesmanship-in-youth-soccer/

Enjoy
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Great article.

When my kid was in the single digit age years, his team played another team that was lowly in the standings. This was back when the flights for the youngers posted scores and standings. The other team went up and held a lead into the 2nd half. With about 10 minutes left and his team pressing, the other team's coach started substituting at every single stoppage. It was comedy since it was blatant he was just trying to hold the lead by killing off any momentum. I don't remember if it worked or not. I was just struck by the gamesmanship at such an early age. The coach deprived his own kids from playing under high stress in a game opportunity, and all the kids got a lesson in tactics/dark artistry.

Should we prevent this from happening? No. Gamesmanship happens in all aspects of life. Loopholes, gray areas, etc. Soccer is a lesson in a lot of things, including ambiguous and questionable behavior.
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr said:
Great article.

When my kid was in the single digit age years, his team played another team that was lowly in the standings. This was back when the flights for the youngers posted scores and standings. The other team went up and held a lead into the 2nd half. With about 10 minutes left and his team pressing, the other team's coach started substituting at every single stoppage. It was comedy since it was blatant he was just trying to hold the lead by killing off any momentum. I don't remember if it worked or not. I was just struck by the gamesmanship at such an early age. The coach deprived his own kids from playing under high stress in a game opportunity, and all the kids got a lesson in tactics/dark artistry.

Should we prevent this from happening? No. Gamesmanship happens in all aspects of life. Loopholes, gray areas, etc. Soccer is a lesson in a lot of things, including ambiguous and questionable behavior.
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My kids first club team was forced by coast to start in bronze even though it was the top ayso united team and could recruit all the fast kids. Regularly tore though other teams by 5, a lot of time by 10. The only close game was a coach who had the idea of placing all the field players in the goal except the goalkeeper and striker who guarded the box. Because the kids weren’t strong enough yet to get the ball way up over the heads it was surprisingly effective. The ball didn’t leave the back 1/3 let alone the half way line. Got two or three in over their heads for the win but it was the closest league game of the season.
 
I hate gamesmanship in youth sports, personally (although virtually all club coaches seem to embrace it). I'd rather have the 5-10 extra minutes of on the field play during close games, than all the various methods of time wasting and the like.

I guess I mentally draw the line at the point where game results matter for tangible value for players. That is, if/when you are paid actual money to win a game, then gamesmanship can be justified to achieve that result. For me, any point before that is just hurting the development potential for the kids (in the sense of game experience), and as the article notes, you can learn to pseudo-cheat later as necessary.
 
Grace T. said:
My kids first club team was forced by coast to start in bronze even though it was the top ayso united team and could recruit all the fast kids. Regularly tore though other teams by 5, a lot of time by 10. The only close game was a coach who had the idea of placing all the field players in the goal except the goalkeeper and striker who guarded the box. Because the kids weren’t strong enough yet to get the ball way up over the heads it was surprisingly effective. The ball didn’t leave the back 1/3 let alone the half way line. Got two or three in over their heads for the win but it was the closest league game of the season.
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Was the coaches name Jose Mourinho?
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr said:
Great article.

When my kid was in the single digit age years, his team played another team that was lowly in the standings. This was back when the flights for the youngers posted scores and standings. The other team went up and held a lead into the 2nd half. With about 10 minutes left and his team pressing, the other team's coach started substituting at every single stoppage. It was comedy since it was blatant he was just trying to hold the lead by killing off any momentum. I don't remember if it worked or not. I was just struck by the gamesmanship at such an early age. The coach deprived his own kids from playing under high stress in a game opportunity, and all the kids got a lesson in tactics/dark artistry.

Should we prevent this from happening? No. Gamesmanship happens in all aspects of life. Loopholes, gray areas, etc. Soccer is a lesson in a lot of things, including ambiguous and questionable behavior.
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Worse I ever saw was a U10 game one of my kids was in versus a team from Mexico. They went 1-0 up in the 1st half, and from then on, every time they were touched, they went down, the coach had to come in, and there was a sub. Every time the ball went out of play, there was a sub. It was mental, but they won.

It is what it is. The kids need to deal with it or use it.
 
I don't agree with (ab)using the free sub rule to run down time, as this subbing rule is in place to allow for more even playing time in the leagues that it is used. However, at older ages, knowing how to wind down the clock when nursing a 1-goal lead is a key part of the game. How do you keep control of the game when the other team is trying to create chaos? There is a distinction from taking your time with a restart as opposed to obviously wasting time. The referee is there to determine the difference, penalize the infractions, and keep the game moving. Faking injuries has no place in any level of sport. Rugby, even at the highest levels, has a much more healthy brand of competition than soccer. How Emi Martinez behaved in the shootout of the WC finals and the post-match celebration was embarrassing (my younger daughter was a bit confused what he was doing with the trophy). One needs to respect one's opponents, as without them there would be no match.
 
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