Why Winning Matters in Grassroots Sport, But It's Not What You Think

By Coach Barry Jones
IIHF Level 3 High Performance | USA Hockey Level 3 Performance

The most damaging sentence in grassroots sport may be:

"Winning doesn't matter."

At first glance, this statement appears noble. It places development ahead of results and attempts to protect young athletes from the pressure often associated with adult sport. Yet, after years of coaching athletes across grassroots, high-performance, women's, and state programs, I have come to believe that this statement is not entirely true.

Winning matters.

Children know it. Coaches know it. Parents know it.

If winning truly did not matter, nobody would keep score. Nobody would celebrate a goal. Nobody would desperately ask the score on the bench. Nobody would race to the puck, battle for possession, or celebrate with teammates after a hard-fought victory.

The issue in grassroots sport is not that we value winning.

The issue is that we have misunderstood what winning actually is.

The Adult Definition of Winning

Many adults define winning through a very narrow lens.

Did we win the game?

Did we finish first?

Did we win the championship?

The scoreboard becomes the sole measure of success.

Unfortunately, when this becomes the only definition of winning, a significant proportion of athletes experience sport as failure. Only one team wins the championship. Only a handful of players score regularly. Only a few athletes receive the majority of opportunities.

For many children, this can mean spending years believing they are losing.

This is where grassroots sport often gets it wrong.

The Child's Definition of Winning

Children rarely experience sport through the same lens as adults.

Children experience winning in moments.

Did I win the race to the puck?

Did I make a great pass?

Did I beat my defender?

Did I block a shot?

Did I support my teammate?

Did I score my first goal?

Did I do something today that I couldn't do last week?

For a child new to hockey, simply touching the puck under pressure may feel like a significant victory. For a more experienced player, winning might involve solving a difficult tactical problem or helping a teammate succeed.

These micro-wins accumulate.

They shape confidence.

They influence motivation.

Most importantly, they determine whether children return next season.

The Real Retention Tool

Winning is one of the most powerful retention tools available to grassroots coaches, but not in the way many adults think.

Children remain engaged in sport when they experience success.

The challenge for coaches is broadening what success looks like.

When athletes repeatedly experience meaningful wins, they begin to develop competence. Competence builds confidence. Confidence fuels engagement. Engagement keeps children in sport.

Ironically, by moving beyond a "win the game at all costs" mentality, we often create environments where more children remain involved, develop more rapidly, and ultimately win more games.

The goal of grassroots sport should not be to create a few winners.

The goal should be to create as many winning experiences as possible.

The Winning Continuum

Over time, I have come to view winning in grassroots sport as a continuum.

Personal Wins

• I worked hard.

• I tried something new.

• I showed courage.

• I improved.

   

Competitive Wins

• I won my battle.

• I was first to the puck.

• I created an advantage.

• I solved a problem.

   

Team Wins

• We supported one another.

• We executed our identity.

• We communicated effectively.

• We solved problems together.

   

Outcome Wins

• We won the period.

• We won the game.

• We won the tournament.

The mistake many adults make is focusing exclusively on outcome wins.

Children spend most of their sporting lives experiencing personal, competitive, and team wins.

As coaches, if we only celebrate the scoreboard, we miss countless opportunities to reinforce learning, effort, growth, and contribution.

More Wins for More Children

Throughout my coaching journey, one principle has consistently guided my practice:

The goal of grassroots sport is not to create a few winners. It is to create as many winning experiences as possible.

This does not mean removing competition.

Competition is fundamental to sport.

Children want to compete.

They want to keep score.

They want to test themselves.

The role of the grassroots coach is not to eliminate competition, but to design environments where every athlete can experience challenge, success, and growth.

Because when more children experience meaningful success, remarkable things begin to happen.

Children stay in sport longer.

Confidence grows.

Relationships strengthen.

Teams become more connected.

Learning accelerates.

And perhaps most surprisingly of all, teams often begin winning more games.

Not because winning became the primary objective.

But because winning emerged from an environment intentionally designed to help everyone succeed.

In future articles throughout this series, we will explore how coaches can intentionally design these environments through challenge, constraint manipulation, mixed-ability training, athlete ownership, and what I call the Goldilocks Paradigm.

Because in grassroots sport, winning matters.

It's just not what we think.

Author Bio

Barry Jones is an IIHF Level 3 High Performance Coach and USA Hockey Level 3 Performance Coach. His work blends ecological dynamics, nonlinear design, and athlete-centred leadership to build adaptive teams that thrive in uncertainty. He is also the developer of Task Sketch, a tool designed to support coaches in creating game-representative training environments.