The US Soccer Development Academy presents its coaches with two agendas that must be balanced: development vs. winning.

In truth, these are ideals that must be simultaneously juggled by any youth coach, but even more so in a league attached to US Soccer.

So which is more important? Can the two coexist?

These are questions that can only be answered on an individual basis.

“Well for me, in coaching the 18s I think we have to be focused on performance,” said Real So Cal U18 coach Alberto Bru. “In a lot of ways their development, or the critical part of it is already done. In two to three months they’ll be gearing for college; our focus is performance. I think we’re always trying to teach, but at the higher levels you think more about playing well and winning games.”

For U18 De Anza Force coach Chris Dangerfield the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

While the club itself has quality younger players coming through the ranks like Marc Pelosi, Ryan Masch, Emilio Huerta, Alfred Edmonds and TJ Casner, the U18s are enjoying a strong season with a Northwest Division record of 4-1-1.

But the team couldn’t enjoy the success it is without making strides throughout the year - which speaks to the development of the players.

“If you’re developing good players and teaching them the right things then you’ll win games,” Dangerfield said. “We have players (like Anthony Salciccia) playing with the US National teams, which is huge for them and the team. We try to mix in the younger players so that we make sure kids moving up next year will be better prepared for the bigger games moving forward.”

Dangerfield was quick to add: “I fully support the Academy and the effort to develop and prepare players, but I also want to win.”