One look at the Premier League Elite Player Performance Plan EPPP and it’s clear that the goal is to industrialise the production of homegrown talent. If you include the 12 teams in the Women’s Super League, that’s 104 teams, all approaching the problem of developing young players in much the same way. The task is to develop and share best practices. But that’s not the hard part. The hard part is treating people like humans while working in a system that expects you to think like a robot.

A Pyrrhic victory is a term used to describe a victory that comes at such a high cost that it almost feels like a defeat. Sadly in youth sport (and parenting), the costs mount up, and defeat only shows up when it’s too late. The horse has bolted. Here are a few examples worth thinking about: Age group international honours. Fourteen years olds back squatting bodyweight +. Coaching your kid’s age group.

There’s a rule in copywriting that says “Show don’t tell“. By allowing readers to draw their own conclusions, the writer creates engagement. In coaching, there is a shift away from direct instruction, for much the same reason. However, the argument over whether we should show people or tell people is missing the point. Equally critical is the practice of providing people with information before they form an opinion, a crucial step in sound decision-making.

The kid who has the lead role in the school play, the school rugby team captain, and has 10 A* stars in GCSE. No, not that kid. The one, who asks questions, accepts challenges, and has taught themselves to play guitar. Give me that kid. If we want to change this crazy culture of ours we need to start paying attention to success that looks like failure and not failure that looks like success.

The good news is that everything is working well. That’s what we want to hear. What we don’t want to hear is that the project has been plagued with glitches since we started. It’s clear that NHS managers don’t want whistleblowers. Fans of football clubs don’t want to see their team concede possession of the ball. And that if we are going to hear about the bad news it’s better to put it between two pieces of good news.

If the rule is that you don’t eat breakfast cereal that colours your milk then pink milk is not an option. However much you like the colour pink. That’s the rule. If the guidance is to eat healthy, then just maybe pink is fine as long as the milk is organic. If you aren’t making progress, but repeating the decision, first check the rule book.

On summer break my kids have been designing obstacle courses for themselves. From hanging, climbing, kicking, ducking, leaping, jumping, to running. They have even drawn out various hopscotch formats using chalk on the local tennis courts. But, perhaps my favourite time during the summer holidays has been drafting in other kids and families to make up uneven, non-bio banded, community kickabouts on a smalled sided 5 a side pitch.

An independent thinker doesn’t follow the crowd. Which is odd because there is wisdom in crowds. But the maverick knows that there is only wisdom in crowds that are capable of independent thought. To make progress, connect independent thinkers to a network, rather than focus on assembling a group that merely agrees with each other.

An author is a writer who has published their work. Evidently, it’s not the task of writing, it is the skill and environment necessary to commit to the practice of shipping your work that makes the difference.