Should I be a winger? Recently after ending the season, I ended pretty banged up because my coach played me as a "6", and always ended really tired after the game. My coach put me there because our destroyer was basically injured and out for the whole season. I was pretty familiar with the position because I played there before numerous of times, it's very tough and you are pretty much commanding both the defense and the midfield. After the season ended, my coach wanted to see what I should improve on because I requested to change my position because I wasn't confortable. He told me I can choose any position available, which is pretty much everywhere because we don't have much depth in either position. So, should I be a winger? What are my main goals to be a successful winger? I'm currently working out to built endurance. I'm currently working on pace and acceleration, what can I do to improve? I'm 5'6 at 160. I'm average to stocky. I'm aggressive. I'm improving on my passing, any tips? I'm not a good dribbler. I'm not really good at crossing accurately. I sometimes get tired after minute 60, as in I need a breather. I need to take deep breathes. I'm not as creative, meaning I really just focus on scoring rather than crossing. I got sick a few weeks back and whatever happened (Sinus infection?, mono?) limited my ability to breathe as deep as possible whenever I'm at 95% target heart rate or more. Sometimes I can breathe deeply other times I try to breathe deeply but I feel like I should have sucked in a little more to my lungs. At rest I'm able to breathe normally. I'm 17 and just became a Senior, I'm trying out for Varsity Soccer at J.P. Taravella High School which begins sometime this fall.
Well, according to some of my mates who played last year, their coach ran a 4-2-3-1 at home and a 4-4-1-1 away, and he's tried many varied formations, 4-4-2 diamond, 4-2-3-1 wide, 4-4-1-1 attack. So I'm not sure exactly if the roles are the same on the wings.
So basically you'll be playing in midfield? If so, it's very likely you'll be asked to help the full-back as well as getting forward; therefore, I'd definitely suggest improving your stamina/fitness so you can do both. Of course, you may just want to pick your moments to bomb forward to ensure you can help the full-back if needs be. Also, you'll definitely need to work on your cross accuracy, unless you want to cut inside and pass the ball across the ball instead? Crossing may not even be all that necessary if your striker isn't an aerial presence, but it's always a useful tool to have if you're out wide. Dribbling helps, but it's not vital and if you work on your pace/acceleration as mentioned, you can try and simply knock it and run or play 1-2's around the opposition to go forward. Learning some basic tricks/skills to get past the opponent will be good for you. Also, remember that you don't want to be repetitive when going past the opposition full-back/winger as they'll soon realise you're doing the same thing all the time and stop you. Atm, it sounds like you're best sticking to a more central role while you work on things like pace/endurance/dribbling/crossing.
What I've said is from my experience as a LM/RM so it may pan out differently for you; anyways, I hope it all goes well and it's a great position to play in!
What should be my goal to reach my maximum pace and stamina? As of now, I'm on the tread mill for almost every day of the week, I'm doing 5 minutes of walking then 5 minutes of jogging, my total time would be about 40 minutes. I'd prefer cutting in more, basically staying between the midfield and the attack.
I would stop the walk/jog thing and work more on interval sprints, plyometrics, and some 2-3 mile high intensity (not "jogging") runs. Those will more accurately depict what you'll be doing on the pitch and increase stamina, speed and explosiveness.
Hmmmm, everything you have said about your skills and ability is opposite of the skills that a winger needs to have. Your coach is probably correct in playing in the holding role. Except, if you suddenly develop blinding speed and crossing ability, I would recommend you stay in your present role. Focus on reading the game better, and improve your passing ability; as in being able to pass ambidextrously and make every pass from 5-60 meters. While not a "glory" position, the holding role is a very key position, just check out Real Madrid with Makalele and the few years after he left. You need to be the engine for team, and will also dictate the rhythym of the game by not only switching the ball, but changing the tempo from short to long pass and vice versa. You also need to focus on your shielding skills.
Here's another position thought: I have many of the same limitations as you, and my college coach converted me from winger to a target forward role. Before college I played on the wing because I had a good cross, but I had pretty much none of the other attributes of a good winger. You don't actually have to be tall to be a hold-up forward; the most important thing is being hard to knock off the ball, so a short player with a stocky build can still be pretty effective in that position.
It would have been better to move to 4-2-3-1 after you win the ball. Then when you lose the ball then play a 4-4-1-1. Every coach plays within a formation differently. I can tell you how our team played a 4-4-2 and how our wingers played within that formation. But that might not be what your coach wants the wing mid to play. That is why you should ask him exactly where he wants you to play. Also how he wants you to play within whatever formation he wants to play. Don't quess ask him.
I don't have any problem with you moving to a winger position. 1. Development ends at about 26, and you are 17. 2. It is a high school team. In fact I think its a good idea. In less than two years as an adult I went from no organized playing experience to starting as left winger beating out former college players on a competitive team. Two thoughts. Sprint speed is important, but quickness (in the first step and first 25 yards) is far more important. Typically, men gain strength and power until reaching full maturity in their mid-20's. In other words your quickness is going to improve as you get older. Quickness is also something you can further improve through training. Traditional crossing is a small part of what wingers do. And old-fashioned wing play (dribble to the end line and send a ball accross the goal mouth) is often not the preferred choice. Lots of professional wingers don't cross well. But an early cross (diagonal ball) is technically easier and usually tactically superior or they can cut inside. Wingers are very much 2-way players now. And usually one winger position is more defensive than the other. (Usually the left winger having to defend against the opponent's right side attack.) As for dribbling moves, wings use mostly simple turns (inside and outside cuts) change of speed (acceleration) and a fake shot or pass (Cruyff turn). Nothing technically complicated. In summary work hard and grow into the job. Nobody starts out with great skills.
If you have some weaknesses in your crossing, a good alternative is too look to get to the byline and then slam the ball across the 6 yard box or, cut it back towards the top of the box for a midfielder entering late to finish. By getting to the by-line you can make up for a lot of your issues with crossing (Valencia of Man United uses these techniques a lot) and if your team is great at knocking the ball around in their half you don't really need blinding pace as if you get into that area all you need to do is work a bit of space and you can get your cross in, if not, it's blocked and you win a corner or you can keep the ball. Chuck some of these into your box of tricks and you could easily work some space for your deliveries
Where do you have the most fun playing? Try and develop the requisite skill set to that position. Other than that, be flexible, learn every position to the best of your ability and your understanding and decision making will improve. But really for anyone to drastically improve, you need time on the ball, futsal, small-sided games. One of the best things you can do is just go to a school yard and knock the ball and move. Use the walls, use posts, change direction, just keep moving the ball at pace, one, two touch. If you can get really comfortable with the ball, you can free up your mind in the game. Your mind is the quickest muscle. Increased fitness will only enhance the skills you develop this way. Trails and hills are the best for soccer conditioning in my opinion.
I have also been wondering myself if I should switch to winger. My normal position is right or left back. I'm a very two footed player so the side I'm on doesn't matter. I just turned 23, male, play for a club in Germany, (either 6th or 8th division depending on which team they send me with that week). I'm 6' about 160-165 lbs (usually 165-167 but I haven't had access to a gym in 6 months). My team almost always plays a 4-2-3-1. I'm the type of fullback that likes to make overlapping runs into the attack, and I excel when playing on a team that dominates in possession so I can push forward and put in a cross or send a nice little through ball to the forward. My crossing is decent, but my shooting is inconsistent, which is why my coach said he didn't want to put me as a winger. Back in California I have played fullback, centerback, winger, definsive mid, and forward. A lot of coaches liked to put me at centerback but I never felt completely comfortable there. I always feel more free when playing a position that lets me move around and attack. And a lot less pressure about losing the ball if I make a mistake. It frees me up to be creative and dangerous and use my athleticism.
In the modern game there is no real distinction between the positions of fullback and winger. The coach assigns positions for a match based on what makes the strongest lineup. I think you misinterpreted your coaches comment: "My crossing is decent, but my shooting is inconsistent, which is why my coach said he didn't want to put me as a winger." He is not telling you that you aren't a winger. He is telling you a weak area that you could improve. I was in a similar position for the two years I played competitively. My skills were not good enough to break into a central position, but I was a quick 2-footed midfielder. I was the 2nd best RM, but about the 9th best player on the team overall and like most teams we didn't have enough left-footed players. So I always started. Depending on who was available for the match, I would be assigned to any flank position, but LM or LW more than the others. I loved being the utility player and improved a lot from the experience. And the coach noticed the improvement and depending on me to fill the holes in the lineup. What I am telling you is that, even if you don't ever develop better finishing skills than the wingers playing in front of you, coaches like players to improve and like having alternative choices.
The overlapping and attacking nature of the modern fullback position definitely has blurred the line between wingers and fullbacks. It would make some sense to have someone who is better at finishing start higher up the pitch and a person who is good at crossing start a little lower. It sounds like you wanted to be a center midfielder, but were more suited to the outside. Sometimes your abilities can just eventually show you were you should play. Being quick definitely helps beat defenders on the wing. I'm not super quick when changing directions, but I'm pretty fast if I'm chasing a winger, or beating someone down the line. But it definitely is fun to be able to play multiple positions, it keeps you on your toes and keeps things fresh. Thanks for the insight on my coaches comment. I have been practicing finishing lately with some friends, so hopefully I can improve on it a little and maybe score some goals.