Recently, I encountered words that partially cleared the persistent uncertainty I’ve carried for years.
Balancing “victory” and “development” represents perhaps the eternal theme for youth category coaches.
Any coach attempting to implement player-future-focused coaching should encounter this dilemma at least once.
The Coexistence of Victory and Development
I, like many others, have grappled with this dilemma. However, since encountering the phrase “Winning can coexist with excellent development” through the reference book below, I’ve begun to sense a way out of this dilemma.
Reference: “FC Barcelona’s Human Resource Development Methods“
This statement comes from Josep Guardiola i Sala, an exceptional figure both as a soccer player and coach.
Why did such words emerge from him?
Both the reference book and his career history clearly indicate his experiences at FC Barcelona were pivotal.
Let me excerpt a particularly impactful interview from the reference book.
Reading this should help you gain a more tangible sense of what he means by “coexistence of victory and development.”
This interview helped me take a first step toward understanding his conviction that victory and development can coexist.
“Whether using substitutions to run down the clock and secure victory is appropriate remains debatable. Conversely, demanding ‘Win 9-0, not 5-0’ by only playing high-level players and denying bench players opportunities also requires consideration. However, as an essential principle, it’s necessary to instill in every player’s heart that ‘at Barça, only winning has value.’ This too is important in development.“
– Josep Guardiola i Sala
Excellent Development Cannot Exist Without Victory
What he wants to convey through this interview is:
“Providing growth opportunities for all players is undoubtedly important. However, prioritizing victory and becoming endlessly hungry for it – this very attitude dramatically accelerates player growth and ultimately achieves excellent development.”
“Winning can coexist with excellent development” can be rephrased as: “Excellent development cannot exist without victory.”
I myself sometimes thought that practicing excellent development might occasionally require sacrificing victory (perhaps I thought this way to justify my own practice).
However, this may be incorrect.
Victory is truly the essence of genuine excellent development.
Critical Reflection on This Philosophy
While Guardiola’s perspective offers valuable insights, it requires careful contextualization for youth volleyball development:
Important Considerations:
Context Matters: Guardiola’s comments emerge from elite professional academy settings where players have already demonstrated exceptional commitment and ability. Youth recreational or developmental programs may require different balancing approaches.
Defining “Victory”: The concept of victory in youth development should extend beyond mere scoreboard outcomes to include process victories – executing learned skills under pressure, demonstrating improved decision-making, showing resilience.
Age-Appropriate Application: What works for 16-18 year olds in elite academies may not suit 10-12 year olds in community programs. The victory-development balance shifts across developmental stages.
Avoiding Misinterpretation: “Only winning has value” at Barça doesn’t mean sacrificing long-term development for short-term results. Rather, it means cultivating a mentality where striving for excellence (winning) drives development.
The key lies not in choosing victory OR development, but in structuring environments where pursuing victory becomes the vehicle for development – where the hunger to win motivates players to train harder, think deeper, and push beyond comfort zones.
This requires coaches to distinguish between:
- Win-at-all-costs mentality (sacrificing player welfare/growth for immediate results)
- Victory-driven development (using competitive pursuit as motivation for comprehensive growth)
Keywords: victory and development balance, youth sports philosophy, competitive mindset development, FC Barcelona youth academy, Guardiola coaching philosophy, long-term athlete development, winning mentality coaching
