Win at all Cost? Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing? What happened to enjoying the game? Not many players will actually make it to professional or even collegiate level. Soccer can still be enjoyable for players at all levels. Sure, winning is more fun than losing! Personally, I prefer to lose to a good team in a close, well-played game to trouncing a mismatched team.
The close, well-played game is fun for all players and coaches (don't forget the referees). A mismatched game isn't fun for the losers and isn't much better for the winners. The winners get no feeling of accomplishment. Neither team learns much from the game. Maybe the losers get to see what skilled players can do, but they were probably so flustered they didn't absorb much. I'm not saying don't play hard or don't play to win. Try to play teams with equal or greater skills if you want to improve.
How about a tie? Is it really like kissing your sister as expressed by NFL football players in the 1970s? This attitude prompted the league in which I was coaching to institute a rule to eliminate ties. While this is fine for championship games when a championship is to be awarded, is it really necessary for all league games? If two complete halves result in a tie, can't that result stand?
Maybe add the overtime periods. That certainly stands in world cup pool play. There were games when my team was playing a team we knew was superior to us when a tie would have been a good result. At least we got the 1 point for the tie rather than 0 point for a loss. Sometimes my better players would not be available for some games due to health or other issues (ever happen on your team?). Maybe these were my goal scorers. If we could hold off the other team and keep the score down giving us a chance to win or even to tie I considered it a successful game.
The close, well-played game is fun for all players and coaches (don't forget the referees). A mismatched game isn't fun for the losers and isn't much better for the winners. The winners get no feeling of accomplishment. Neither team learns much from the game. Maybe the losers get to see what skilled players can do, but they were probably so flustered they didn't absorb much. I'm not saying don't play hard or don't play to win. Try to play teams with equal or greater skills if you want to improve.
How about a tie? Is it really like kissing your sister as expressed by NFL football players in the 1970s? This attitude prompted the league in which I was coaching to institute a rule to eliminate ties. While this is fine for championship games when a championship is to be awarded, is it really necessary for all league games? If two complete halves result in a tie, can't that result stand?
Maybe add the overtime periods. That certainly stands in world cup pool play. There were games when my team was playing a team we knew was superior to us when a tie would have been a good result. At least we got the 1 point for the tie rather than 0 point for a loss. Sometimes my better players would not be available for some games due to health or other issues (ever happen on your team?). Maybe these were my goal scorers. If we could hold off the other team and keep the score down giving us a chance to win or even to tie I considered it a successful game.
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