Is Your Coach Holding Your Child Back? The Truth About NRLW Development
- EXCEL Sports Management
- Mar 22
- 4 min read
Coach Holding Your Child Back NRLW: What Parents Must Understand
How a Coach Holding Your Child Back in NRLW Development Can Cost Years
The coach you trust… just might be holding your daughter back. You must ask yourself, Is coaching holding your child back?
Parents don’t want to hear this…
but it happens more than you think.
Because not every coach is a developer.
Some are selectors.
Some are system coaches.
And some… don’t even realise they’re limiting players.
Now let’s be real.
At grassroots level, many coaches are volunteers.
They’re learning.
They’re new.
And they’re doing their best.
But once you step into development pathways…
👉 Lisa Fiola
👉 Tasha Gale
👉 Harvey Norman
👉 NRLW
There is no excuse.
And this is where the real problem starts…
👉 loyalty and trust.
Parents say:
“She’s always had this coach…”
“We trust the coach…”
“They’ve looked after her…”
But that coach is at that level for a reason.
It’s time to understand something clearly.
NRLW clubs… and NRL clubs…
👉 are businesses.
They have:
systems
accountability
performance expectations
So the sooner you understand that…
the sooner you realise:
👉 this is not about loyalty
👉 this is not about comfort
👉 this is about what is BEST for your daughter.
⚠️ THE TRUTH - Is the Coach holding your child back
Here’s the problem.
Parents think:
👉 “My child is playing… so they must be improving.”
That’s not development.
👉 That’s exposure.
Exposure only matters…
👉 if development is happening with it.
Because you don’t need to be a big-name player…
👉 you need to be a performing player.
A performing player is ticking the right boxes:
running good lines
speed and agility
defensive effort
positioning
energy on effort
body language
work off the ball
But if there’s no development…
👉 exposure means nothing.
Because real development is:
repetition
correction
understanding
progression
And if your child is doing the same thing every week…
not being corrected…
not being challenged…
👉 they are not developing.
💣 MUST UNDERSTAND THIS
Selection is not development.
(I'll say it AGAIN)
Selection is not development.
Selection shows where your child is at.
👉 Development shows where they’re going.
⚠️ WHERE IT GETS DANGEROUS
Some coaches:
stick with the same players
build around a winning formula
overlook raw talent
Not because they are bad people…
👉 but because winning becomes the priority.
And here’s the truth no one talks about:
👉 you cannot keep winning
if you are not developing.
Eventually…
👉 the gaps get exposed.
You see it all the time.
Teams dominate all year…
👉 then lose when it matters most.
Because when teams review properly…
👉 weaknesses show.
And if you’ve been doing the same thing all year…
👉 those weaknesses don’t disappear.
I deal with this constantly.
Players coming back…
having to relearn everything.
Fixing habits that should’ve been corrected years earlier.
And sometimes…
👉 it’s too late.
Because now you’re not just rebuilding skill…
👉 you’re risking confidence
👉 and even injury.
🔥 WHAT REAL DEVELOPMENT LOOKS LIKE
So how do you know if your child is being held back?
Ask yourself:
Are they improving every week?
Are they being coached… or just picked?
Are they being challenged… or just comfortable?
Because here’s the reality:
Some parents complain:
👉 “My daughter isn’t getting picked…”
Others say:
👉 “My daughter is starting every week…”
But both can have the same problem:
👉 no development.
Because comfort…
👉 is where development stops.
Look at the best athletes in the world.
Do they get comfortable?
No.
👉 They work harder.
Because the moment you get comfortable…
👉 you lose your position.
💣 THE TRUTH - Is the Coach Holding your child back
The right environment doesn’t just play your child…
👉 it builds them.
Because the wrong coach…
👉 can cost your child years.
And the right one…
👉 can change everything.
On average…
👉 players lose 2–3 years.
Why?
Because they stay in the wrong system too long.
We don’t need to waste years.
We need to:
👉 build value every year
👉 improve every year
👉 move forward every year
Because right now…
👉 more players are losing value than gaining it.
🧠 EXCEL SPORTS POSITIONING
At Excel Sports…
we don’t guess development.
We don’t guess coaching.
👉 We track it
👉 We build it
👉 We place players in the right environments
And the right environment…
does NOT always mean a winning team.
Some players need:
harder environments
more work rate
confidence building
Others need:
better players around them
higher intensity
stronger systems
Every player is different.
And this is the hard truth…
Parents don’t always want to hear this.
Because it challenges what they believe.
But we know this system.
And we know female pathways better than anyone.
We’ve proven it.
Identifying players at 15
Developing them into NRLW players at 18–19
Building pathways from Lisa Fiola to NRLW
Our success comes down to one thing:
👉 attitude.
And when you’re in the right environment…
people don’t tell you you’re good…
👉 they come to you for advice.
💥 In CLOSING
Excel Sports are leaders in female pathways.
And we’re telling you clearly:
👉 not every coach
👉 not every club
is right for your daughter.
As a parent…
👉 it is your responsibility
to make sure your child is moving forward.
Because development is not a guess.
👉 It’s a decision.
Learn more about
MUST READ - MINDSET
Comments