How important are leagues to parents, and does league position take priority over player development?
Last season was tough for my sons U9’s team. There had been a number of players who had been scouted by local academies, which meant we had to rebuild our team.
The boy’s took time to gel and they soon realised that winning games, was going to be more challenging. They begun to understand that losing was also part of the game, tough as it was, for young children. Especially having spent the previous season, winning everything possible.
Our season wasn’t as successful as we would have liked if we base it solely on winning games, but the players and families got to know each other and have built a strong relationship ready for the new U10’s campaign!
The slight problem we now face, is that our team may have been placed in so called ‘lower’ league.
There could be a variety of reasons for this…
1) A lack of points compared to other teams in the league, resulting in relegation.
2) A new league structure due to additional teams joining the same age category, requiring leagues to be evenly numbered.
3) Restructured leagues with a view to making games more competitive, rather than teams getting thrashed.
The list goes on and on.
Some parents may not agree with the team being placed in a different league, and see it as relegation.
There may be parents who choose to take their child out of the team, because they can’t come to terms with not being in the ‘higher’ league. I honestly don’t mind which league we are in, as long as the children
develop and have fun.
I would love to hear other people’s views on this scenario.
