re: Kids soccer, winning or coaching more important?

Kid doesn't need to be playing one or two games a weekend traveling all over at this age. He needs to be playing small sided and having more touches to learn ball control at age 10. And that is what most competitive academies (through u10) are moving to.

Playing against good competition will come in the coming years. But if there is a good acady system focused on ball skills then he should stay in that.

The academy (when done right) isn't about "everyone gets to play" it is about having kids get as many touches as you can get to learn ball skills rather than winning some meaningless select game where they get slotted into some "position" where they never learn a full skill set and maybe touch the ball half dozen times a game.

It is counter to everything that kids sports are about so I know most won't get it.