Hi, Read the following on a USA web site recently:- "Win at all costs mentality drives a large number (60% by 14 years) of boys from the game" The Longer boys played soccer the less moral they tested on the moral values of honesty, justice and responsibility" If you are a youth player or involved in youth soccer would be interested in any views, experience or comments you have regarding the statements
I agree, that statement is complete crap. I'm 19 (nearly 20) and also female... so just OUT of the youth system, but i'll give my input anyways. I've always had a win at all costs mentality with MYSELF and although i've seen it in my coaches, it's actually something that kept me in the game. I personally don't see how it's had any effect on my "honesty, justice and responsibility" because I keep everything, including that win at all costs attitude, on the field. If anything I think the sportsmanship you acquire (well some ) from the game would help with honesty, justice, and responsibility. Eh, could be rambling now .
There is nothing wrong about trying to win a particular game - in fact it would be rather silly to play and not try to win! When you have a Coach/Manager with a win at all costs attitude it can lead to abusing referees, abusing & bullying players, not developing players to their full ability - just using them while he scouts for others, profanity and "poaching" players from other teams. Surely when you are dealing (teaching) with "children" the first priority should be development & education of the indiviual not satisfying a Coaches own ego!
Hi Ya, No axe to grind just doing a bit of research - have had kids in football - am involved every week. Scouting for a top club. Trying to find out why many kids do not develop (talking 10 - 16 yrs) and why so many quit the game the figers in the Uk are nearly the same as those quoted in USA (ie 60% by 14 years). Interested in anyones views
My opinion is that around that age kids will figure out that they cannot compete with some others. Nobody likes to fail or feel like they are not a top player, so they may leave to sports that they can succeed more easily somewhere else. American Football is a good example of this. It is an easy game to play with very little skill involved, you just need to be physical. I would bet that many kids leave Baseball as well if they can't master the skills, although Baseball doesn't require the athletics that Soccer does. The athleticism needed for Soccer may be another reason why so many kids get weeded out. In American Football there is a place for you if you are overweight, can't run, or are athletic but just uncoordinated with your feet. Baseball is physically one of the easier sports just above Golf . I don't believe the kids leaving Soccer is such a concern. I think our culture of laziness is the concern in North America.
Clearly youth soccer in the states is far more fiercely competative than recreational youth football in the UK. Even professional club academy youngsters 10 - 16 in the UK are not encouraged to place the high premium on results that American youth club soccer so often does. In my experience far too many American parents treat youth soccer as a vicarious way to feel successful through their kids. The idea that they might have a very average, ordinary child who will never get anything more from football than playing purely for fun is unthinkable to this segment. A good percentage have zero interest in the spirit of the game, paying no attention to football other than to angrily scream, swear, rant and rave from the sidelines when their child is competing. Additionally, the carrot dangling on the end of the stick for many of these parents is a belief that if their child is at the top of the food chain, a college scholarship beckons (be an interesting study to see the percentage of parents who are certain their child will scholarship in soccer at college to the percentage of soccer scholarships that are actually awarded). This often leads to a shark tank mentality, where a lot of mid-teens find they are so results pressurized, they no longer enjoy the game - and that's why so many quit. I watched over the years a young fullback on one of my son's California teams. Everyone knowledgable with the game saw the clear potential of excellence in him. This young man eventually threw in his own towel at 14, unable to take the browbeating and verbal harrassment of a father who had clearly lost the plot - the lad's talented older brother had done exactly the same thing some years earlier. And just so I am clear...there are conversely many outstanding selfless parents and other adults involved in American youth soccer, who do keep things in proportion, do actually "enjoy" football, and don't think their child's current value and and future worth pivot upon their team winning the Dallas Cup.
Canadian Youth System is no good. The way coaches coach the players is no good they burn n tire them out that way why do u think they do so crap. Rest up sometimes it's brutal how there being coached man almost a 3 hour run is no good. So if it wasnt so brutal i think they would do so much better and go farther.