Youth Football Players Talent vs Coaching in Youth Football

This is the age old argument; Talent vs Coaching.  I just read USA Football’s article In high school football, does good coaching trump talent?  by Stephen Spiewak which got me thinking about talented players in pee wee youth football ages 6 to 12.  How much does talented skills players mean to a youth football team?  Well, a ton.  I think youth football is very similar to basketball where you can have one or two stud players out of 12 on the basketball team and be a force in you’re league.  I think in youth football if you have 5 to 6 studs or on your youth football team then any coach can look pretty good especially if they have the fastest experienced running back in the age group.

I agree that coaching is very important to have a winning program.  And that is what good coaches can do for any organization from pros to youth sports.  Good coaches can almost on average guarantee winning seasons, positive experiences for the players and that the athlete will learn the sport’s fundamentals.  But, at the end of the day you still need talent to win consistently in the Playoffs and Championships.  I know here in Texas, High School coaches get fired for not winning playoff games even with above average winning percentages.

So I agree with the article that Coaching is very important but I recently read You still need the hosses to win.  Great coaching alone will not win games consistently in youth football / sports because at these young age levels one or two really fast experienced running backs can devastate an age group with even just a little coaching.

If you ask me if I want my son to play for the team that has great coaches but have not won a Super Bowl lately but still have winning seasons or for the team that has won the last 4 Super Bowls because they have they have the one man-child running back that is dominating the league sweeping Left and Right all day long and an average coaching staff, I would put my son on the great coaching staff team.

So yes, I love great coaching.  But can great coaching in youth football over come talent in youth football.  Yes and no.  Good coaching can keep teams very competitive and in the hunt, but a dominating tier 1 tailback in youth football is very hard to stop especially with an above average team around that running back.  And that team with the stud running back, will usually win the big game.

Even though I know I am a good coach, I always try to recruit the top players in my age division.  I never try to leave winning up to lady luck.  And that is great coaching; being able to find and recruit the best talent for your team.  So I am greedy and want both.  LOL

What do you think?  Can great coaching overcome talent in youth football?

Remember to Play for Fun and Winning is Funner!

~ Coach Parker

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