20 years on from 20-0: My part in the match that changed youth football

“Hammered”, “thrashed”… the terms should have been complimentary to my team. The culmination of 3 years of coaching, we had entered the Stourport Under 8’s league exceptionally well drilled. Half our team had already played a season within the year above, and I fancied our chances to win the league. Not long into Primary school, these were already footballers, tough kids who played daily in the playground and understood the game.

Unfortunately, our opposition that day were not so well prepared. A well-meaning parent had entered a group of ten new players into the league and this was their first ever match. The result was a matter of record, a 20-0 scoreline. Published on the league website, we were also encouraged to submit match reports to the local papers, which I did in good faith, giving as generous a description of our opponents’ efforts and chances as I could. The headlines were written by the papers, and the game was then picked up by BBC Radio 5 Live. A phone-in on the matter followed, which I only became aware of the day after.

Had I been asked to comment, I would have told them that after the league match we played a friendly with the two teams mixed together that I think finished a 3-3 draw. But I don’t know what else I could have done differently to soften the blow to the children who experienced that defeat. I don’t know if they became aware of the newspaper headlines, and if they dropped out of the sport or went on to become better players. I also don’t know if it made the result better or worse that we went on to win the league on goal difference.

The FA quickly changed their rules. Results for this age group were no longer to be recorded, league tables non-existent and policies changed. The FA changed their guidance and told the world that children were not motivated by winning. We now have two new rules; for every four goals behind, the losing team can bring on an additional player, and at 9-0 down they can end the game. I think these two rule changes are big positives for the game. Still a football coach at this age, but now with a daughter of my own in the team, we have been 4-0 down three times, brought on an extra player and scored (you then have to take the additional player off), losing one game 4-1, another 6-3 and coming back to draw a third 5-5.

Despite a more forgiving environment, the FA can tell me that kids aren’t competitive but we should all realise that’s not entirely true. Some players are happy whatever the result. Others are driven to win, generally strengthening their performances, but occasionally weakening it. Tears are a regular occurrence, something that would have been rare 20 years ago. Much of the winning mentality comes from parents, who don’t take FA courses and some of whom are as competitive as ever. I’m fortunate to now have a fantastic set of parents for the team I’m currently coaching but that has not always been the case. In previous seasons I’ve experienced parents fiercely shouting poor instructions from the sidelines at other people’s kids and once had a parent withdraw his daughter from the team because we lost a mere two games in a row. It’s a shame they didn’t stay for us winning the majority of the remainder of the games that season without her. Like many parents, they have visions that their child is the next Messi or Ronaldo, seemingly unaware that the best players are already on the books of league clubs, and, even then, far fewer than 1% will make it professional.

But what about me? Has this experience - or perhaps being a parent myself - changed how I coach? Yes, selection is now based on first-come, first-served, and a strong equal opportunities policy. I stress the importance of enjoying the game, respect, and hard work. We give good game time to the children who are new to the game (though not perfectly even) and we also still aim to win. We encourage the kids, tell them where they can improve and hope for a last minute winner. If we lose, I tell them how well they’ve done but they know themselves if they’ve had a bad game and if they’ve been “hammered” or “thrashed”. We lost our first game this season 8-1, I’m pretty sure we all had a bad weekend after that one, but then improved to a 4-1 defeat the next time we played them and then a series of 1-1 draws with that same team.

Twenty games into the season, we’ve won ten, lost seven, drawn three, and I hope everyone’s enjoyed it. I think winning and enjoyment are intrinsically linked but one does not necessarily cause the other, and the tension between the two needs constant monitoring. Have we struck the right balance between competitiveness and fun this season? Ask me in another 20 years.