what is more important, level of competition or coaching

my DD may not be playing at level of competition we have been playing at, but i know for a fact the coaching is better....so is this a good thing or bad thing?

It's a good thing- especially if she is very young. Learning correct technique and mastery of ball skills is most important. This will prepare the player for a higher level of competition at a later age.

Quality of coaching, quality of teammates, and quality of competition - in that order. She'll practice more against teammates than play against competition.

If she doesn't receive quality coaching, she won't have the degree of personal success she would like to have and putting her into a higher competitive level will just become discouraging. I agree with eagle, coaching, teammates and then competition.

axlefoley wrote:my DD may not be playing at level of competition we have been playing at, but i know for a fact the coaching is better....so is this a good thing or bad thing?

It's a very good thing. The most important thing when building a home is a good solid foundation. It is the same with anything you do in life, especially soccer. Sure, when you step up a level in competition it may take some time to adjust to the overall level of play... like speed, but you will be able to adjust if you've had good coaching that has given you a solid foundation to build your house on.

Old habits die hard, and if you've developed bad habits (bad technique), then when you try to go up levels in competition your house will eventually breakdown and fall, and then you will have nothing.

Just to throw this out there, if the coach is better, then the competition in practice should be perfect for whatever challenges are ahead.

CoachKyle101 wrote:

axlefoley wrote:my DD may not be playing at level of competition we have been playing at, but i know for a fact the coaching is better....so is this a good thing or bad thing?

It's a very good thing. The most important thing when building a home is a good solid foundation. It is the same with anything you do in life, especially soccer. Sure, when you step up a level in competition it may take some time to adjust to the overall level of play... like speed, but you will be able to adjust if you've had good coaching that has given you a solid foundation to build your house on.

Old habits die hard, and if you've developed bad habits (bad technique), then when you try to go up levels in competition your house will eventually breakdown and fall, and then you will have nothing.

Just to throw this out there, if the coach is better, then the competition in practice should be perfect for whatever challenges are ahead.

Very well said... my DD was basically relegated out of the team with all her good friends 3 years ago... we found an amazing coach, and her love for soccer has translated into her desire to the best she can be...priceless. She spends more time outside of her regular club working on improving herself.... all so she can be one of the top contributors to her club, coach, teammates....

Encouraging skilled coaching = FUN = happy soccer for all!