Looking for feedback from parents who've had kids in club soccer longer than I have about the likelihood that coaches will underestimate, undervalue or pigeonhole a player who moves into a primarily defensive role at a young age. My fairly skilled, average-speed, pretty athletic 11-year-old was moved (at his request) to left back this spring after playing primarily as a forward or a left-sided midfielder the previous couple of years. He has played pretty well on the back line, better than I think either his coach or I anticipated . He seems to enjoy it and is improving on a number of things that previously weren't strengths (in particular the skills involved in defending, on your own and with others), and improved in some areas where he wasn't bad such as reading the field with and without the ball and transitioning from defense to offense. He does get moved around a little, but I'd say 80 percent of his time this spring was spent there. As long as he's enjoying this role, I'm happy for him to be there. But I don't want future coaches to see "defender" and shunt him aside assuming he's back there because he's a weaker player. Thoughts on that likelihood?
This is a very good question. At least he did not start his playing career as a back. So at least he has some attacking skills from playing those other positions first. Playing the left back is also a plus for him. Does his coach allow him to attack after his team has won the ball? If not it's a dead end for him when he gets older. Does his coach work with all his players including the backs on offensive skills. If he does that and let's his backs attacks he might be all right on this team. If not it's a dead end for him. My son was a striker, offensive mid and a wing mid. Until he was 15 years old for all different teams. Then he was a left back. He won a scholarship to play soccer in college. There he played left back and a center back. In the beginning he did not attack as much as he did before. I told him just play your game and see what happens. He converted his college coach to his way of playing. He was the 4th leading scorer on his team in his 4 years there. So for him it worked out fine.
I am not that much further ahead of you…my son is 13, but he got moved back to center back pretty much full time around your son’s age…he’s enjoyed it, he’s excelled at it…at this point, many people probably do look at him as a defender (it’s probably not unfair to say I do as well), but I don’t think they see him as a weaker player…I don’t know what future coaches might think or see… But with that said, he will likely have a new coach with a new team (same club) in a few weeks due to the whole age change…and, I am really hoping my son will see other positions and challenges under this new coach…I’d almost like to say something to this new coach, but its slippery slope, a tricky matter and I am very adverse to be seen as one of those parents…have to play that by ear… But in any case, like you say, it’s tough…you want them to happy and having fun, but this fear of them being pigeonholed as just a defender can be a strong one…whether that fear is rational or not I am not sure. If by future coaches you mean though High School, then I am less worried about it… If by future coaches you mean college coaches, I don’t know…I have heard the stories, like the one above, that college coaches prefer offensive players; I don’t know how true it is overall. College is so far away and such a crapshoot to begin with, it’s hard to make decisions based solely on that criteria… Not sure I am actually helping or just commiserating with you, but good luck….
There was a club Long Island United coached by Adelphi coach Montgomery forget his first name. We let them play in the cosmopolitan junior soccer league under 19 A div. They had a left back he only had 1 arm. Holy cow was this kid good. They let him attack and was he fast and very physical. I would have loved to have him on my adult team. They actually charged that team around three thousand a player a season to play. I would have paid him to play for me.
Appreciate those responses. That's encouraging. His current coach (and likely his coach next year, too -- most of his current team is made up of 2005 kids, so most will likely stay together) pushes his fullbacks to start the attack, get up field, overlap, ... He's not too far removed from playing college soccer and seems to be pretty forward thinking. The boy who starts at right back and my son both bomb up the wings quite a bit (and in 8-v-8 and 9-v-9, they're both sort of hybrid fullback/midfielders out of necessity). I've been impressed by how much they've both learned when to go and when to stay home and to shift over and cover when other defenders move up. And my son has provided a quite a few assists this season and scored a few goals. So that part keeps him happy. As wulf says about his son, mine is having fun back there so far. When we watch games, I also try to talk up the fullbacks you see playing at the highest levels who are fully capable at both ends of the field and of they lung-busting runs for 90 minutes game after game. But you can tell a lot of the parents whose kids get pushed back to defense early think their kids are being told they're not quite good enough and at least some of the coaches and sometimes by extension other players have less trust in those kids to do the right thing with the ball under pressure and the like (of course, I also see center backs here and there at tournaments who are among the best players on their teams, all in all). Regarding future coaches, I'm thinking about those he'll play for within the club (where I suspect he'll stay through high school) and in high school itself if he wants to play there. At 11, yeah, it'd be nuts to think too far out.
11 is a little early for any player outside the Elite set ups to be pigeonholed into a particular position or even area of the pitch. Our best Centre Back at u15 was a midfielder at u12. He first played CB to stand in, did well and enjoyed it so has not really moved (although he wants to be a right back now). Not sure what level your club is actually at but the coach is looking, from the sounds of it, to encourage the 'right' use of your son's skills in his role at Left Back. Good transitional skills at that age is a very positive sign (accepting I have seen some very dubious definitions of good transitional skills) Personally I would see the fact that he has moved around a little as a sign the coach sees him as a versatile, dependable player. Defence is one of the last places I would think of 'dumping' a weaker player - especially at a Full Back position. In 11 a side it takes too much positional and tactical awareness to risk a visibly weaker, less aware player so I am not sure many 11v11 coaches would see someone with defensive experience that way When a new player joins my team I always talk to them about where they have played and what position they like to play. I try not to judge which is correct for them until I have seen them enough and my initial assessment is always on their all round skills, strengths and weaknesses very rarely with a position in mind and I often try new players out in a couple of positions (2 years ago we had a CB join but he has played there once for us and has been in midfield) I guess it all depends on how those future coaches operate and think, but surely that is something you could gauge by speaking with them before you go along for the first time because your son's enjoyment will be greatly influenced by that person so they should be happy to talk to you about things like that, selection policy etc
My daughter loves to play left back or left cb because it forces her to use her non-dominate foot more. Her coach told her that he puts her there a lot because as a striker you need to be able to use both feet and know how defenders think/react. It's been our experience that you'll go further as a defender. EVERYBODY wants to be a midfielder or forward! When my dd is asked to play up on the elite teams - it's as a defender not a striker.
You have to have the right temperament when you play up. When at your age group your an attacker and a very good one. We had an under 16 team playing in our leagues best division they were in first place. Our attacking mid was a truly great attacking player. He averaged more then 2 goals a game from attacking and taking free kicks. Under 16 plays there games on Saturdays. Our under 19 team coach a good friend of mine. Wanted that offensive mid to play up on his team. They play there games on Sunday's. So he could play on both teams. They also played in the best div and were also in first place. He wanted this boy to play sweeper all out teams played with a sweeper back then. Why, because he wanted to use his free kick ability in post season play. Their sweeper was a great player but no one on the team had his free kick ability. It worked out terrible because he was not in the right frame of mind to play the sweeper position. He did get some free kick goals. But made plenty of mistakes when his team lost the ball at sweeper. He was very competent at offensive mid, but had no confidence when he played sweeper with the older team.
Good point and good advice. Really appreciate the feedback. The club is not a DA or anything like that, sort of a mid-size, mid-level club. The younger teams tend to look out of their depth when they (rarely) play higher-level teams from Chicago and St. Louis, though the older teams seem to hold their own. I agree it's too early to lock in, but we'll go with this since it was his idea and he's enjoying it. He played all over the field in previous years (though not much on the right -- he's a lefty and coaches have tended to want to play him on that side or centrally). Re comment by StrikerMom, playing LB does keep him on the field longer on a team that's had a crowded roster because most of the kids don't get excited about playing back there. Good for your daughter wanting to work on that off foot. I try to push my son to regularly work with his right, but with only limited success.
I didn't realise your son was left-footed. You're right I see a lot of lefties pigeonholed into LB and LW. The left-footed LBs that I've seen over the years don't seem to develop and then when it counts they get replaced by someone like my daughter who's more versatile/dynamic or by a left winger. It's such a fun position to play - but you have to play it well. Be strong on defence and attacking up the wing. Work on his crosses. And work on the right foot!
If your a great free kick taker that can keep you on the field longer then any position you can play on the team.
I love it when left footed players make long crossing runs to the right side of the field. From there they can attack inside the field from the right flank and be very very dangerous on attack using their left foot
Yeah, those runs from right to left across the top of the box can be really nice (and the same for a right-footed player coming from the left). I think he's starting to bite on the idea of doing the work it takes to be a strong free-kick taker. He's done more solo work at hitting a dead ball in the past few weeks than the previous few years combined. We'll see what happens. His group gets team assignments next week.
Thought I'd re-up this one and seek a little more feedback/advice with a change in my son's team and situation. My now-u13 son is still playing almost exclusively on the left side of the back line, but the team has a new coach who has shifted to a 3-4-3, so the outside backs don't get up and down the lines nearly as much as they used to. The coach -- who I like and who so far seems to be pretty strong -- has everybody pushing up and pressing, so the back line isn't just anchored in place when the team is attacking. But over four games at a tournament last weekend, I could count the number of times my son got up the wing on one hand. A plus for him is that he's the primary taker of corner kicks so far (they just switched to full-size fields and he's one of a very few who can consistently whip the ball in from out there with any accuracy), and can use that leg strength to switch fields, hit long cross-field passes, ... He's also one of only a couple of players on his team who don't get subbed off -- he played every minute of those four games last weekend. But he says he misses the chance to be more involved in the attack than he was last year -- I can only recall him taking one shot in those four games, and hitting maybe one cross. And I remain a little concerned he's heading toward being pigeonholed as "just a defender." I agree with the earlier post above about that spot being no place to hide a weak player -- and in a back three, maybe that's even more true. I just don't want him to be looked over in the future. Feedback welcome.
Over a year has passed since I posted above…and I might have changed my tune a little…although I readily admit it’s based on limited personal experience and even perhaps some sour grapes… I believe my son has been pigeonholed as “just a defender”…and it has caused him to be somewhat looked over going into High School…. Over the last few years, my son played defense (CB) on his club team…strong defender, anchors the backline, clocks every or almost every minute of every game, bla bla bla….I don’t believe anyone sees him as a “weak player,” at least with regard to his specific role… Going into HS, I believe he was one of three freshmen who had a legitimate chance to make Varsity….him and two of his club teammates….my son, the Defender, one kid, an attacking midfielder, and the other, a pure striker…the two offensive players made Varsity, my son did not. We (both me and my son) are cool with it…the “affirmation” would have been nice, but he’s happy playing/starting JV, as opposed to sitting the bench and clocking very few minutes on Varsity… The striker has already been “sent down” to VC (although retains his Varsity spot)…and to be quite honest, hasn’t done much or been that impressive on VC…even worse, our offense tends to become very one dimensional when he’s in…as in, it’s all about feeding him the ball…. But any who, I digress… But yeah, It’s hard not to wonder if he (my son) was more an attacking player, opposed to a defensive player, then perhaps he would have made Varsity…it’s hard not to think back to all the time he spent “punching the clock” on the backline, while those other two were more involved in the attack…but at the time, I didn’t much wonder or care about it. Maybe owning to a somewhat American, non-soccer, outlook…I mean, in Football, nobody would overlook a player because he was “just a defender”…nobody would overlook a strong middle Linebacker or Strong Safety…mean, hell, in Football, the whole negative concept of “just a defender” doesn’t even exist… But in soccer, apparently, it does… but that being the case, and knowing what I know now, would I or could I have changed anything? The answer is probably not… What could I really have done? Change clubs/teams? Cause a big stink with the coach/club? Whereas there are a couple of other options in our area, none of them were/are that appealing….the simple fact is my son, didn’t want to leave “his” team/club and even more importantly, he liked...loves playing defense…what I am supposed to do; force him to play somewhere or something else simply because it might make him a better “player” in the long run, yet risk him being miserable in the meantime….to the point he might even quite altogether? But enough with the pessimism and feeling sorry for myself….maybe he’s being temporally “overlooked” for now or maybe he just needs to earn the trust of the Varsity coach….playing the backline does require a high level of dependability and consistency; I am fairly confident my son will make Varsity next year; and will end his HS career as a starting CB…which is as far into the “future” as we really ever looked…so, not really sure what I am “worked up” about… Once again, not sure this (rambling) feedback is helpful or not…but at least I feel better
You're reading my mind a bit, Wulf. To some degree my perception here is based on the way the other parents see the game (the coach is new enough that I'm not sure how he sees things yet). Most of them have seen a bunch of soccer by now, but there's little appreciation for things a defender has to get right -- positioning, help defense, reading the other team's attack, ... I let out a loud "nice" when my son pulled off a clean tackle last weekend deep in his own end that stripped the ball, left the attacker standing but out of the play, and my son in a position to quickly get up and move the ball forward. But I don't think what he did was noticed much. I wouldn't change clubs or anything like that -- his club is the only one of any size that wouldn't involve a one-way drive of at least an hour. And he loves his teammates. And, like you, as long as he's happy doing what he's doing, that's great. But if his own regrets about not being more involved in possession, attack, ..., pick up, I wouldn't object to him asking his coach about the wisdom of a position switch (or a little time in more than the one position -- at least half the kids on this team appear to be playing in a couple of (usually linked) spots on the field. Hope your son has a good fall season, Wulf, and good luck to him winning a varsity spot next year.
Maybe play futsal in offseason and get a private coach every couple of weeks to keep up his striking "skills" just in case his next coach sees him as a striker again.
My son (now U15) has been a CB for most of his soccer career. He's tall (5'11"), sees the field well, and communicates to his teammates. I think it's sad that anyone would look at ANY defender and automatically think "weaker player". If that's what a coach thinks, I wouldn't want to play for him anyway. My son got invited (through an ISL camp) to participate in the MIC tournament in Barcelona this year. He was the only "natural" defender selected (they picked players from each of the 10 camps they ran). Talking to one of the mom's who's son normally plays forward but moved to the backline for the tournament... her: "I don't know how you guys handle the stress, as a forward, the worst that can happen is he loses the ball, on defense if you mess up, you give up a goal". If a defender can do his (or her) job, teams can't lose. They may not win, but if you don't get up any goals, you can't lose. His middle school coach (he's in 8th grade) has played him as a forward in a couple games, but I think that's because he's so dominant at that age level. He's also on the HS JV team and has started 4/6 games that 8th graders are allowed to (if a junior is on the field, 8th graders can't be). One of the games he came off the bench, he still played 45/60 minutes. I mentioned the MIC tournament. He also made the state ODP team last year and started all of those games. If your child is enjoying what he's doing, don't stress over his role. Feel free to encourage him to work on his footskills in his off time, but don't pressure him as "if you want to be a midfield/forward". If he asks you on his own, fine. I think any semi-intelligent coach knows he needs defenders.
Yes, this what me and my son call “The Life of a Defender”…not always lot appreciation for what they do, especially the little things; you can do 99 things right during a game, and one mistake can cost you a goal, or even the game….you can even do everything right, like challenge a cross ball in the goal box, and still end up “screwing up”…cause unless specifically called off by your keeper, you can’t, can’t let that ball go through or drop unchallenged…And yet, in challenging for that ball, there’s a small chance you put it in the back of your own net….oh well, Life of a Defender….
Good post, great advice…. But this line did jump out at me… He was the only "natural" defender selected (they picked players from each of the 10 camps they ran). Whether we use the term “weaker player” or not, and I agree we shouldn’t….but isn’t that an indication of the pro-offensive player bias we are talking about? The fact that these coaches and assumed soccer experts would rather take Forwards and stick them on the backline plays right into the fears and concerns parents of “just a defender” have… Needing something (defenders) and valuing and appreciating something aren’t always the same thing…I need a gas cap for my car, but I can’t say I value or appreciate that gas cap…it’s just a gas cap…. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer….I agree nothing to stress out over; just find it an interesting conversation….
Good point. What I don't know is: 1) How many (self claimed) defenders went to the camps 2) How many ISL invited to the tournament 3) How many declined the invitation (it obviously came with a price tag) Ask kids at the younger (<U12) ages what position they'd like to play and I'm guessing the overwhelming answer is "forward". Of course, it's exciting, you score the goals, right? I would hope coaches at the older ages (HS & College) know better, that a good defender is an asset. Because most kids (nothing official, just my feeling) would rather be a mid or forward, if you can excel on the backline, there's a better chance of continuing. If a forward or mid is moved to the backline, does that mean they're the weaker player? If you're watching a game, do you assume the backline is the weaker players? If anywhere, I'd think your weaker players would be better placed in the midfield. Not to take anything away from mids, they can be keys to the game, but I would think there's less damage to the team if they make mistakes (and don't get me wrong, ALL players, including mine, make mistakes). Going back to the post about good free kick takers (brag coming up, apologies in advance)... my son has figured out how to (finally) hit long balls. Here's a free kick from 41 yards out (in MRL Premier 1 just so you know the goalie is no slouch)...
I'd put the "best" (most technically sound at offense and defense) player at center mid at any age provided you have a back line who can get the ball forward a bit. I often see younger age group teams who even have their best all-around players playing in the back. Much easier to hide a less technically sound player up front in my opinion. You put a weak player in the center of the field then you are just inviting the opposing forwards into your box without a fight.
Yeah, I’ve actually all heard and definitely seen it a few times, you “hide” your worst* players up top….even less chance of a costly mistake…clock a few minutes, chase the ball around a bit, while giving your better forwards a little breather…everyone’s happy and hopefully no damage done… * And by “worse” I tend to mean, for whatever reason, a player in over their head and probably shouldn’t be playing at the level they are…as opposed to someone simply being slightly less talented, but still appropriately talented, then someone else…I don’t want to give the impression that anyone who comes off the bench to play forward is a bad, or the worst, player on the team…under most and normal conditions, I wouldn’t think that all…