oh i hope i am doing this right i need an answer on a few soccer postions for my team as I am new to this. what is a stopper what is a sweeper ans what is a striker will i use these foir 8-10 year olds
Striker is a forward but more forward. Stopper is between the mid field and the defense, but more of a midfielder. Sweeper is a defender who roams around the entire back, rather than just left, center or right.
David Regis called himself a stopper at the end of last year with Metz. He played in the middle of a three man back line. I think your definition of stopper is more suited to the libero position, no?
In some sweeper systems, the sweeper comes up to midfield when the team is in possesion, my team used to play that way. The difference between a stopper and a sweeper has faded in my opinion...
Stick with simple "forwards" and "defenders." This is a critical learning time for youngsters in the game. I myself coached a group of 11 year-olds and found that simple was the way to go. At least at the start. Begin their in-depth education slowly. Start with forward and work your way to striker. They will pick up quickly, but don't skip the beginner steps that make their soccer knowledge foundation.
Most teams don't even use orthodox sweepers anymore, it's not something you should bother teaching to 11 year olds. Stopper is a rarely used term, again not worth bothering about. Striker is a very commonly used position and worth teaching.
Sweeper and libero is the same as far as I know. Anyway, a sweeper 'operates' behind the normal defenders. And a stopper... I think this is the same as what we call 'voorstopper' in Holland and as far as I know it's a defensive midfielder.
The stopper attempts to stop the rush of attackers while the sweeper sweeps up what is left. As a youth we played the sweeper stopper defense but for us it was the back four aligned in a diamond. sweeper left back right back stopper So its different for everyone. hope that made it as clear as mud.
This is the traditional use of a sweeper and stopper that most teams (if they choose to) use. The sweeper is simply a center defender who drops back a bit, and the stopper is a center defender who pushes forward a bit. In reality this only helps teach players their roles on the field. Kids tend to take a positions name literally (i.e. left back stays left), and describing a player as a center defender might put in their head that they must stay in the center. Calling them alternate names will give them the freedom of mind to move about the field. The terms just help kids open up their minds to open up the games.
I second Chicago1871 on using the structural positioning of forwards, middies and backs is best for that age group. He's also on the mark about kids taking the position too regimentally. In addition to freeing minds, the more esoteric positions arise from unique abilities of individual players on a team. Strikers are sprinters with a killer instinct. Sweepers and Liberi are essentially defenders with some offensive responsibilities. Stoppers are consistant tacklers and spoilers. Rovers play around midfield are good playmakers and very strong distant runners. Wingers can dribble well and cross accurately. A good team combines both structural and free range roles.
A useful tip. Simply identify famous players they know and the way they play with the various positions. They'll know how these players play in their head and understand, they can even start watching these players more closely on TV to see what they do. If they don't watch much football of course, it won't be that effective, but then why are they playing football?
Lol. It's probably too much asking 8-10 year old American kids to sit down and concentrate on players in a game, especially when they probably don't watch or play football much. They just want to get out there a kick a ball. That's why it may be too early teaching them about Sweepers systems etc anyway. If they were big football fans from Europe, Africa etc, It would be worth teaching more.
Well, at 8-10 years old, the important thing is for the kids to just run around and have fun, rather than get too technical. But I do think it's helpful to show them match videos or take them to matches, just so they have something to model after.
to teach them what NOT to do, show them Rivaldo against Turkey; Italy, Argentina and Mexico along with any other south/central american side.