2024 Reflection #2: Winning.

The purpose of the game in football is to score one more goal than the opponent… to win the game.

In youth football (specifically) there is a polarizing concept that “winning is not important” vs “winning precedes everything”.

The issue with winning as a concept is that… winning is not a concept… because winning is an outcome.

If you play ANY game you play the game to win. Monopoly, poker, tennis, horse racing and football are all games SPECIFICALLY finite games; there is an END to the game with an OUTCOME.

So the starting point of this article is that the purpose of the game is to win. Now where the conversation of “winning” in youth football gets into the grey area, is that you have young children playing a game (which they are trying to win!)

But the coaching community in youth football, thinks “winning” is an ugly word? This again is the misinterpreted understanding of players playing the game to win AND players learning how to win.

We are developing players for an end line; professional, college, academy and high school football. That end line requires the players to have a relatively high football ability to contribute to their team winning the game.

But saying “we have to win” is arbitrary. It means nothing and acts as a bravado statement.

Imagine asking the finalists of the 100 meter race at the Olympics “who wants to win?!” Hopefully the metaphor shows that wanting to win is irrelevant. The winner of that race will be the best sprinter who has prepared to the best of their ability to win the race. In short… the sprinter with the best process.

So perhaps the conversation on winning should be flipped. Instead of “we have to win…” we should consider “how do we win…”

“We have to win!”

? Creates a ultimatum “what happens if we don’t win?!… will I lose my job / role / position?!…”

? If we don’t win = we are shit.

? No direction = blanket statement with limited interactions with team / players / staff.

VS

“How can we win?”

? Creates connection; “we” are all involved in the objective of winning.

? Creates a direction of planning to win. The team can create the best process to win.

? Creates comm(unity)! Everyone is a stakeholder in winning.

Summary; the purpose of the game is to win. The best process WILL win.