Quote Originally Posted by KITZ View Post
Not really. You become a better footballer by playing with and against better footballers. It's nice to have a nice coach who will give you a hug along the way, but if you want to play NPL in Newcastle or aim higher then none of that will get you there.

Teaching your player (as a parent or as a coach) how to deal with the adults they come across is going to be the single best skill in this space you can give them. How to get on the pitch and play football, take the direction that helps them and filter out the ridiculous commentary from other players, parents on the sideline and coaches will get them much further. You can't always control who is going to coach you, and just because you start the season with the worlds best coach, doesn't mean it's going to end that way either.
So is your answer to only go to an NPL club? There are NPL clubs with poor culture, poor programmes and poor coaches. The PYL now allows clubs from either NPL or NL1 to push into the top tier. It is now one comp. Take BelSwans as an example, they finished above NPL clubs in the youth club championship but if we accept that only NPL clubs are worthy of consideration, they would be overlooked.
No one is suggesting that a "nice coach" be found. The suggestion is to look at the club, its programme, its coaches, its TD and choose what you feel is right for you, and that will vary from person to person. Belswans proved this year that the NL1 clubs can compete with the NPL clubs and I think the South Cardiff 16s have shown that they can compete too.

You are right in your second paragraph. Mental toughness is a characteristic any player needs to fight his way up.