Player Development — The Growth Mindset and Age Appropriate Curriculum

An area that sets our club apart is our unique and proven approach to developing players. Instead of focusing solely on immediate results - a win at all cost approach that compromises the individual development plan for short term rewards — we view the development of our players as a process with the goal of shaping players at all levels to reach their full potential.

This approach requires a development philosophy rooted in two key educational pillars: the growth mindset and age-appropriate curriculum. Below we discuss each.

The Growth Mindset

The Growth Mindset philosophy is based on research from Stanford Psychology professor, Carol Dweck, who places an emphasis on building confidence through the process of improvement. A player with a “growth mindset” believes that they can cultivate their skills through effort, persistence and an enjoyment of growing - and will continue to work hard in the face of setbacks. The focus here is on the journey, and enjoying the process of improving. Ultimately, it’s about fulfilling a player’s full potential by curating a passion for learning and seeking opportunities to grow.

In contrast, is the fixed mindset, where a player believes their basic abilities are just fixed traits that cannot be changed in any way. And that success is the affirmation of these abilities. This mindset leads to avoiding failure at all costs, avoiding challenges and not taking risks. A player with a fixed mindset lacks confidence in their potential to improve and so often feels the need to constantly prove themselves.

At the heart of what makes the “growth mindset” so powerful is that it creates a passion for learning rather than a hunger for approval.

In translation onto the field, this means putting our players in the position and encouraging them to take risks with the goal of growing and placing an emphasis on learning through experience. Our focus is on building complete players that are on competent in 1vs1 situations and also tactically sound.

Age-appropriate curriculum

Developing the whole player requires tailoring specific curriculum that is appropriate for each age group.

It also means training our coaches on age-appropriate teaching techniques and skill set development.