Apr

Does winning Matter?

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coach, development, enjoyment, fun, learning, losing, preassure, skill, Tackle, try, Winning

“If winning isn’t important, why then do we keep score”

Kids having fun playing Rugby League

When I started coaching I was 25 and started with a team at under 10s, everything that I did was about winning the game the following week. If that meant changing positions to put my biggest lad against the oppositions smallest then I would or if we could just barge through them up the middle then that became the game plan but the outlook was very short term, sure at under 10s and 11s we where winning games but does that really matter?

All those years ago I would have argued with anyone until I was blue in the face that winning mattered to both the kids and the parents and no one could have swayed me otherwise however over the last 5 years that outlook and those views have spun 360 degrees and as I prepare to take on my next team at under 10s I really couldn’t care if they don’t win another game for the next 3 years, let me try and explain why.

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3 Comments to “Does winning Matter?”

P.Smith April 30, 2010 at 9:20 am
Good article. I think many coaches who started at a young age group and worked through the ages will recognise much of what you say. Skills Development and enjoyment for the kids are key. However you only have to watch a few matches on a Sat / Sun morning to see that the 40 mins on the pitch is often more important to the coaches / parents than the kids.
There does however come a point where a competitve team spirit should be nurtured. I see no problem in kids enjoying the victory as long as defeat dosn’t feel like failure. Again its back to the coaches recognising the positives in the performance rather than dwelling on scoreline.
admin May 25, 2010 at 1:11 am
This week we went to play a team on a nice sunny sunday morning. On meeting up with the opposition coach his first question was “How have you done this season?” followed by “We have won our last 7 “and then asking “How do you think you will do today?”

Straight away I knew this coaches coaching philosophy “Win at any cost” and so it proved during the game.

The opposition raced into a 2 try lead whilst our defence worked out what day it was (I questioned if they had come down with sun stroke in the warm up) and all was very jovial.

Our defence woke up and started to close them down quicker forcing a mistake or 2 where we capitalised by passing the ball through hands wide and scoring, by half time it was 3 tries to 2 to us.

In the second half there coaches became very frustrated and started shouting at the lads for passing and dropping the ball (How will they learn unless they try it?) and the team seemed to back off. The coach then wanted the ball passing only to his biggest 2 players as they needed to score, the rest of the team stood about like spare parts.

Game was drawn at the end and whilst we where having a laugh with the kids spraying water at each other the opposition coach proceeded to tell his team how terrible they all where and that they must try harder. We had strops with kids and coaches refusing to shake our teams hands but we didn’t mind as it gave us the opportunity to have the chat about treating winning and losing in the same manner and that it didn’t matter as long as they all had FUN!
nick boneham July 4, 2010 at 11:12 pm
very true,thankyou for bringing it to everyones attention.i have seen it so many times and even experienced it with a previous trainer of mine,all i can say is get over your own egotistic ways and think of the big picture.[the kids]and have fun.