30/08/2026
📍 COACH’S CORNER #4 – Winning
Let’s talk about winning.
Before anyone thinks this is going to be another post telling everyone that winning doesn’t matter…
Of course it matters.
Every child wants to win.
Every coach wants to win.
Every time the boys step onto that pitch, they want to win the game. Nobody walks onto a football pitch thinking, “I hope we lose today” 😂
That’s just a fact.
But here’s where I think we sometimes get things confused…
Winning should not determine whether or not a team has played well.
And that’s a really difficult thing to accept.
As a coach, one of the hardest things is walking away from a game we’ve lost and telling the boys:
“I’m proud of you. You played well. You learned something today. Let’s take that into next week.”
Because losing doesn’t feel good.
Especially when you know how much the players wanted to win.
But they’re U10.
They’re still in their developmental years.
And ultimately, our focus has to be on helping them learn, improve and develop a love for football.
That’s one of the reasons youth football is supposed to be non-competitive at this age.
It’s not because winning is bad.
It’s because the game should provide an environment where children can play.
Where everyone gets opportunities.
Where they can play with freedom.
Where they can try things.
Where they can make mistakes without being terrified of the consequences.
Where they can learn.
Where they can become better players.
And sometimes, the games we lose are actually the games where we learn the most.
A defeat can show us where we need to improve.
It can expose weaknesses.
It can teach players how to respond when things aren’t going their way.
It can force them to solve problems.
It can teach resilience.
And it can give us, as coaches, a much clearer picture of what we need to work on next.
I’d much rather lose a game while watching our players attempt to play the football we’ve been working on, make brave decisions, try new things and learn from their mistakes…
…than win a game because we’ve abandoned development completely and simply done whatever it takes to get the result.
Because what’s the point of winning every game at U10 if the players aren’t actually developing?
This subject has been the cause of plenty of debates and arguments in youth football, and I’m under no illusion that one Coach’s Corner post is going to settle it 😂
There are still coaches who will play to win at all costs.
There are still teams being built in lower leagues with players who are already playing at a much higher level, simply so they can go out and beat everyone.
And, honestly, I’ll never understand it.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to win.
Wanting to win is healthy.
But there is a massive difference between wanting to win and making winning the most important thing.
At U10, the scoreline is only one small part of the journey.
The bigger picture is the player who has improved.
The player who has become more confident.
The player who has learned to make their own decisions.
The player who isn’t afraid to make a mistake.
The player who understands the game a little more than they did last week.
And, most importantly…
The player who still loves football and can’t wait to come back and play again.
So yes, we want to win.
We absolutely want to win.
But we’re not going to sacrifice the development of our players just to make sure we do.
Because we’re not trying to build the best U10 team in the league.
We’re trying to help these boys become the best footballers they can be.
And that journey is far, far more important than the result on a Saturday morning 💛💙
