A few months ago we mentioned that the UK’s Football Association had banned leagues from keeping scores or standings for 7 and 8 year old players. This wasn’t a surprise and US Soccer recommends this as well, though many leagues continue to do so.
But now it seems to have gotten a bit extreme. A proud coach of younger players was quoted in a local newspaper that his team had ‘won the league’ and was severely reprimanded:
Scott Ager, who last season managed Priory Parkside under-9s ‘A’ team in Huntingdon, was sharply reprimanded after declaring that his team had won the league and having them photographed with a trophy by their local newspaper.
Mr Ager said: “I find it bizarre. It seems to me to work against talented players, as the teams who may lose heavily are likely to be ones with players who just play for a bit of fun. It is very frustrating. Kids put all this effort in but there is no reward.
“All the other managers in the league acknowledged that we had been the best team as we had won the most games. Football is our national sport, yet there are some strange rules around it.”
I’ve written a lot about competition and standings and how they weren’t the direct cause of bad parent or coach behavior. But this story is just bizarre. Reprimand a successful coach who got his kids in the paper and cause him to leave? To what end? Yes, maybe claiming to have ‘won the league’ without standings was a bit much, but punishable?
Bizarre.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:37 am
We lost 1 game in two years and drew only 3.Won 40 , must have won the league ? we did keep a discete record as did all the others in the A league..We had great fun , little pressure good coaching variety , good skills level and a wonderful atmosphere for boys to play there football in .They had bundles of talent thet just deserved a little bit of reward , an average size cup full of lemonade .What memories for them when they are older .I was lucky enought to do this as a kid on many many occassions it was nothing to
do with the coaches its all about those boys.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Scott,
Well said! I agree that taking competition out of the game is taking away memories for the kids who work hard and are successful. I’ve always said that removing competition won’t fix bad coaching. The reasons for national associations to try stuff like this are real. Parents and coaches lose perspective ALL the time, but no competition won’t fix it and it hurts coaches who only want their kids to succeed and have fun. Kids LOVE getting their picture in the paper – mor ecoaches should take the time to submit pictures and stories about their teams, regardless of their record.
Here’s hoping that the FA realizes this might have been taken to an extreme and adjusts the rules to avoid crazy situations like this. Good Luck!
September 25th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Scott, I’m with you, talk about political correctness being taken to an illogical extreme! I hope things sort out for you favorably as you sound like a fine coach and a person with gumption. Cheers, Tim