In youth soccer, the star player is often lauded as the most important player on the field as they score the most goals, but are star players really the most important pieces to building strong teams? It depends on whether or not that sport is a weak link or a strong link sport. The characterization as a weak link or a strong link sport is defined based on the level of importance of individual performances to the team’s overall success. As soccer is a weak link sport, it is not the stars that matter, but the depth of the team.
Weak Link Sports
In a weak link sport, the performance of the weakest member of the team has a disproportionate impact on the overall success of the team. This means that the team’s success is highly dependent on the performance of the weakest player or member, and if they perform poorly, the team’s overall performance will suffer. Soccer is the typical example people use to describe a weak link sport. It is generally accepted that if you want to win more soccer games you should replace the weakest players on the team with strong players. In one of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcasts he says, “You will never see one person dribble the soccer ball from one end of the field to another.” A large number of players are typically involved in the scoring of a goal, these individuals are the links in the chain that lead to the team’s success. The depth of the team is the most important aspect in team building.
Strong Link Sports
On the other hand, in a strong link sport, the performance of the strongest member of the team determines the overall success of the team. This means that the team’s success is highly dependent on the performance of the strongest player or member, and if they perform well, the team’s overall performance will improve. An example of a strong link sport is Basketball. If you want to win basketball games, you are better off upgrading the top players on the team, as they touch the ball and score so much more, they can impact the game more so than a bench player or the fifth starter.
Being on the Right Team
I often hear parents talk about wanting to be on a better team, understanding the reason why they want to be on that team is vitally important to know it is a good idea or not. Training with the higher level team and playing with a team on which they are not the weak link is often the best way to develop an individual player. Often bouncing between teams may be a little confusing to the player and logistically challenging for the family, but it is often the very best for the player. If a child is the weak link on the team, it will usually end poorly for both the player and the team.
If at all possible, try to get your player on a team where the top player and the bottom player are as indistinguishable as possible. The key difference between a weak link sport and a strong link sport lies in the level of importance of individual performances to the team’s overall success. In a weak link sport, the weakest member is crucial, while in a strong link sport, the strongest member is far more important.
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