Some of you know that I used to coach in Shenzhen before. Via that job I developed my first impression of youth football in China. Soon I discovered that most of the Chinese youth football is organized in the schools and I also coached at several schools myself.
你们有的人知道我以前曾经在深圳做教练工作。在那里，我对中国的青少年足球有了最初的了解，我发现大部分中国青少年足球培训都是由学校来组织的，我也在好几个学校做过教练工作。
Although I enjoyed that, I was more than once disappointed to see how obsessed schools were with the match results of their students.
虽然我很喜欢在学校工作，但我曾不止一次地看到学校对比赛结果非常重视，这令我很失望。
This is not going to be a blog in which I will preach that match results do not matter. I do believe winning is a very rewarding part of the game. However, some of the experience I gained in Shenzhen certainly made me think about the extent to which match results should matter in youth football.
我写这篇文章并不是要说比赛结果不重要，我也相信取得胜利是比赛中非常有意义的一部分。然而，在深圳的一些经验让我开始思考比赛结果对青少年足球来说到底应该占多大比重。
One event specifically raised this question to me. It was a sunny afternoon in Shenzhen and my school team (U12) had toplay a match against a weaker opponent. It was important that we would win this match, but because I was quite certain we would, I decided to put two of my regular substitutes in my starting formation. I reasoned this would be a good moment for them to gain some match experience. Playing real matches would be good for their personal development and would also give them a stronger sense of belonging to our team. I saw this match therefore as a chance to prepare them for a time in which we might really need them. If the game turned out to be unexpectedly difficult, I'd still have my two stronger players to replace them. Luckily, I didn't have to. We won with big numbers, my subs played well and I was happy to see them leave the field with new confidence. Nevertheless multiple parents approached me afterwards. They were furious that I didn't start with our strongest formation. I explained them my reasoning and added that these two players didn't harm the result. Some parents disagreed and replied that we could have won with even bigger numbers if it wasn't for those two.
曾经有一件事情将这个问题抛向我。有一天下午深圳阳光明媚，我们学校的球队（U12）和一个较弱的对手有一场比赛。赢得这场比赛对我们来说很重要，我也确定我们一定会赢，所以我决定在比赛开始阶段让两位替补队员上场，我想这是他们获得一些比赛经验的好时机。参加真正的比赛对他们的个人发展有好处，同时也会带给他们带来更强的团队归属感。我想利用这个机会训练他们，为将来真正需要他们的时候做准备。如果比赛不那么顺利，我也会用两个更强的球员把他们换下来。幸运的是最后我并不需要换下他们。我们以大比分获胜，我的替补队员表现很好，我很高兴看到他们离场时更加自信了。不过，有的队员的家长后来找我，他们不理解我在开场时为什么没有使用最强大的阵营。我向他们解释了我的理由，并补充说这两名球员并没有影响比赛结果。有些家长不同意我的想法，他们认为若不是因为那两个队员，我们可以赢得更大的比分。
Afterwards I discussed this incidence with some of my Dutch colleagues. Many of them shared similar stories of a result driven environment at their schools. One colleague concluded by saying that youth football should be more about developing players than about winning matches. I agree and this last statement brings me to my current work at the Qingdao Red Lions.
事后，我和一些荷兰同事讨论了一下这件事情。他们许多人也分享了一些类似的只关注比赛结果的故事。一位同事最后说，青少年足球应该更多地关注队员的发展，而不是是否赢得比赛。我很同意这句话，于是我开始了在青岛红狮的工作。
First of all, I want to say that I'm happily surprised to see how the parents at our club approach the development of our players. In the four months I've been working in the academy I've never heard any parent complain about a match result. I also feel the parents here are generally more patient when it comes to the skill development of their child. To me this shows that I was wrong to think that scoreboard thinking was something typical in Chinese youth football. I'm happy with this realization and working in such an environment certainly makes my work more enjoyable. Much more importantly, I believe this parenting approach also makes it much more enjoyable for the child. Together we are creating a happy environment where children can learn, develop and have fun.
首先我想说，我很高兴也很惊喜地看到我们俱乐部的队员家长们如何看待孩子的发展。我在红狮足球培训学校工作的四个月，从来没有听说过任何一个家长抱怨比赛结果，而且这里的家长对孩子的技能发展更有耐心。所以我错了，只关注记分牌并不是中国青少年足球的特色。认识到这一点让我很高兴，在这样的环境中工作也让我更加愉快。更重要的是，我相信家长们的这种教育方式也使孩子更愉快。我们共同创造一个愉快的环境，让孩子们学习，进步和玩耍。
Last weekend our youth academy played four friendly matches. On Friday an U10 formation drawed, on Saturday an U10 formation lost, and on Sunday two U10 formations won. On Monday Roel and me also coached our first friendly match with the school team of Amaresia. We saw a good game, against a bigger team, which unfortunately also ended in a defeat.
上个周末，我们足球培训学校参加了四场友谊赛。星期五晚上，U10队在比赛中打平，星期六在比赛中失败，而星期天在比赛中获得胜利。星期一鲁尔和我执导了我们和青岛美亚国际学校足球队的第一场友谊赛。比赛很精彩，对手很强大，但不幸我们又以失败告终。
Some of these results might sound disappointing, while others might sound great; to conclude with the words of my former colleague: 'development is more important than winning'. I therefore wish to compliment all of our players on their hard work and all the parents for their good support. 加油！
这些结果可能有的听起来令人失望，有的听起来令人高兴。用我以前同事的话说：“发展比赢得比赛更重要”。因此，我衷心感谢我们所有队员的辛苦付出和所有家长的大力支持。加油！