Dan Loney
Dan Loney
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

I think the “p/r develops players” theory is one of the least defensible.

It isn’t the structure itself. Because the number of players developed by p/r basketball worldwide doesn’t compare particularly well with the number developed by any one college basketball conference.

Hell, LeBron James managed to motivate himself playing high school ball.

So I guess there are magical properties about soccer that let p/r work magic it can’t in basketball or hockey.

I’d be interested to see a real world example. I keep picturing a player telling a coach “Why bother? The Chicago Fire didn’t get relegated last year,” and the whole team quitting on the spot.

Maybe the scenario is that both player and coach are employed by the Chicago Fire. “Why bother, coach? We can’t get relegated.” So it seems sort of strange, if the Fire aren’t motivated, to have had 50% roster turnover since 2009.

Oh, wait, not since 2009. Since last October.

I’ve also read about the problem of “winning vs. development” too many times. If development is going to take priority over winning, then p/r is worse than useless. Not everyone has come to grips with this, apparently — the author of this http://www.thecoachingjourney.org/1/post/2015/05/winning-vs-development.html is a well-respected coach and p/r advocate.

So is Coach gonna put in the young kid to get him some necessary playing time, if the team is going to lose because young kid’s defense comes with a laugh track? Not if relegation is the price. Coaches don’t even do it much these days, when mere losing is the consequence. Curt Onalfo played his kids.

Promotion and relegation is such an artificial way of manufacturing real life drama for its own sake. I think coaches, players and executives have enough motivation to win without the prospect of literally taking the entire franchise down with them. I would never insult a professional by saying he or she doesn’t have the motivation to perform at top effort in the profession they’ve given their lives to, but that’s just me.

Oh, speaking of “she.” You don’t see women’s clubs and leagues pop up in these discussions much, do you?

    Dan Loney

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    Dan Loney

    Any artiste mentioning football will be paid off immediately.