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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I like MU. I know it well because my child played for them. I wish everyone still at MU well. I think they do an excellent job of development. But whether we like it or not, or think it matters for development or not, they'll need to start winning some games for long-term viability of the club. [/quote]

Yeah, it's ok to take losses, but to lose over and over across the board year after year on multiple teams does indicate something is wrong.  Soccer is a competitive sport, and winning is a sign of competing well.

Players should also not be inoculated into believing losing is normal.  A truly competitive player won't walk away ok with that.  She has a fire inside that burns and makes her want to win.  It's what gives her that edge in those 50/50 moments.  [/quote]

A) Winning is the only thing that matters
B) Winning doesn't matter at all

I think both A and B are too extreme, and the truth is somewhere in between.  One of the big problems with MU for the first two years (as Spirit) was that they were operating under philosophy "B", and a lot of their decisions/communications reflected the lack of priority they placed on winning.  That seemed to change once MU was announced, and I believe they are trying to move the club towards a more healthy understanding of the importance of winning; Not that it is the only thing, but that it should actually be the goal of each match they play.

Unfortunately I think it will take time to see a significant impact of this philosophy shift on overall W-L records.  If a typical MU team has XX number of matches each season where they face an evenly matched opponent, historically they seem to win about 20% of those matches.  A renewed emphasis on winning could push that win percentage up to a more reasonable 50% or more of their evenly-matched games, but that would still have them well below .500 overall because they are simply overmatched in some games.

The important metric will not be overall record (or individual scorelines against FCV...), instead it will be whether or not they can start winning their fair share of the evenly matched games instead of consistently settling for moral victories.

[/quote]

Most players can live with that if the club starts showing them that is the shift.  Kids are smart and at least the older half of the team's will notice how fostering is done, who gets time, and they talk about it.  I've overheard those conversations.  Like so and so always loses the ball or so and so is never where she is supposed to be or so and so only passes to her friends.

I have seen some changes, including intensity of environment and more accountability.  Those will help. Although there are some questionable decisions that draw attention here and within the club, I have seen them make some of the hard decisions they will need.  There is more to go.

The club though needs to have some hard conversations still in some cases.  It doesn't go unnoticed by players.  We may talk about whether or not such and such player should be out there.  They are too.  Not because we are, but because they aren't in elementary school any more.  They understand the game and see what is going on.

I hope they can do it.  It won't be an easy path ahead.[/quote]

I too have seen that the kids are holding each other accountable. That is a good thing. One of the best moves coaches made is reducing the roster sizes. They are being very selective. That is easy to see with the new players coming to try out at practices. The smaller team rosters and game day rosters may even make it harder to win in the short run but is the right choice. For those now on the roster there is no where to hide. That is also a good thing.[/quote]

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