That a coach plays to win, doesn't settle much. Coaches, especially your average HS coach, are pretty short of being infallible. I've seen coaches seriously misjudge the players on their teams for one reason or another. Some coaches let short-term results blind themselves to the better long run bet. A coach trying to win, may place his faith in certain players and give them lots of rope to hang themselves with, while putting other players on a much shorter leash. Wouldn't want to hazard a guess as to what % of coaches get it wrong in trying to win. But I bet a non-trivial number do. HS Coaches are not infallible gods -- long way from it.