Originally Posted by Anonymous
So it appears there are 2 schools of thought here. One is that having a successful team playing against good competition is most important vs. good coaching/positional training is most important. I would expect this changes as the kids get older. Do you think the younger ages (2022 and younger) benefit more from good coaching or playing with and against more skilled players. As a parent, I get frustrated when I see kids that don't pass or don't hustle back on defense and wonder if it hurts other's development or just impacts win/losses.
The answer is both. You should want both. You need to develop skill and then do it under pressure. Everyone looks great in line drills and skill drills. As soon as you put pressure on 90% of the kids they can't throw, they can't catch, etc. Its a balance. You also don't want to be playing hammers all he time.