“Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.” Bill Shankly
Our Philosophy
Many teams and coaches feel intense pressure to "win", and may take losses personally. This can lead them to worry excessively about where to put their players to maximize their "wins" when they really should be worrying about giving their young players valuable experience in all parts of the field. These same fears of "failure" (i.e., not winning) can also cause some youth coaches to focus on a few stars and relegate the rest to the bench or supporting roles. When this happens, most of the players don't learn anything or have any fun, and even the development of the "stars" can be harmed in the long run.
So, how do we define winning?
Often after a game our coaches are asked “did you win?”. Invariably they reply “yes” although if we’d been asked “what was the score?" the answer might have been different. In their developmental years, we at Glentanar Boys Club believe that kids really do "win" at football or, for that matter, any other sport if they have fun with their friends; learn enough about the game to become a fan; and get some healthy exercise.
Numerous studies show that while kids certainly enjoy winning contests, their short attention span allows them to quickly forget the score in the last game, at least until some adult makes a big deal out of it. In addition, because kids are naturally more focused on their own performance than on the performance of the group, kids can be perfectly happy if they had a great game themselves even if the team "lost". Because kids have these wonderfully short memories and an ingrained focus on "me", we believe we can have a "winning" season by setting the kids up to succeed at some task in every game and praising them for this accomplishment. Of course, it is important to teach them to work together and to whittle down the "me" focus a bit. Therefore, our coaches will include some team objectives that encourage the kids to work together.
Developing a Long-Term Focus
Instead of worrying unnecessarily about “winning” games we prefer to focus on long-term skill development. We honestly believe the wins ultimately will come as we become one of the more skillful teams on the field. We never worry about the short-term win/loss record and are not afraid to use a long-term focus to define "winning" in a way that gives everyone a fair chance to succeed.
Specialisation is for Advanced Players - Not Beginners
Our coaches believe that young players need to gain experience in all positions. We don't try to constantly 'hide" them in positions that will cover up their deficiencies; we prefer to take the time to develop their skills, so that they don't need to be hidden. We continually focus on the individual player's development in making positional decisions, rather than focusing on the "wins".
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Our Aims and Objectives
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