At what age does it resemble actual soccer?

I think the spacing on the field is created by the fact that the players are holding their positions. This is pretty typical of higher level U11 teams even in my area. Select-level U11 teams in my area don't bunch up and over-commit to the ball as a general rule, so there is plenty of open space on the field. The kids in the video are much better passers than the teams in my area are, so they are able to utilize the space better.

Around here, at U9 and u10, the kids are pretty much all over the place. Defenders tend to hold their positions pretty well, but the midfielders and forwards are all over the place and are drawn toward the ball like iron to a magnet.

 

A Barca U11 player's soccer age is not going to be U11. Their age is probably closer to U14 so I would not compare them to a local select U11. My thinking is it is more realistic to compare them to a very good Div 1 U12 or high level U13 team.

 

Same here. The better team's basically keep their shape well. The best teams do so in the middle-third and attacking third, middling teams only the defenders do it most of the time. The poorer teams are all over the place. My son's U11 travel team worked on this a lot last year and still many of them could simply not get the concept. I'd say a third to half of them were still basically magnets attracted to the ball after a season of near continuous emphasis around this.

 

I agree with your observations. I think kids need both a certain skill level and a combination of proper passing technique and adequate leg strength in order to effectively play positions. That tends to happen around U11, but it can happen sooner. You need the skill in order to create the time and space necessary to find and complete a pass, and you need adequate technique and leg strength to allow you to complete the pass. Skill can be coached, and leg strength can be compensated for to some degree by improving a kid's technique, but you may find that players under the age of 10 just have a really hard time completing a 15 yard pass, especially on the crap fields we usually find ourselves playing on. (That's another advantage that the kids in the video have: a perfectly manacured field that allows them to more easily pass the ball over longer distances.) If your players can't complete a 15 yard pass, then you are going to have a hard time getting them to hold positions that are 15 yards away from each other.

 

I disagree based on my own experience teaching a 433 system to an ordinary U10g (8 and 9 y.o) team including some girls who were complete novices. If a player can run, they are strong enough to strike a ball. Even the novices could strike a ball effectively at least 20 yards using an instep drive. And the more skilled girls could strike accurately 30-35 yards with an instep drive or punt. Teaching defensive team tactics is very easy. Teaching attacking tactics is more difficult because you want to use guided discovery to promote creativity, but still it is easier than teaching skills. I used the scrimage time at about 3 practices total, less than 60 minutes total, on team tactics (running forwards and mids against mids and backs plus keeper). So it didn't take long at all.

In another thread the op linked to a site where the site claimed that you could teach players with minimum skills to play winning possession soccer, and that they had done it with U9's on up. (I believed they did teach team tactics to U9s, but criticized it as misguided.)

 

You had an entire team of 8-9 year old girls who could hit a ball 20-35 yards? That's pretty impressive. If you've ever watched U10 and U11 select level players take goalkicks, then you know what I mean. I have yet to see a single U11 boy hit a goalkick to midfield (which would be ~30 yards) without the aid of a serious tail-wind. I've seen U9 kids volley a bouncing ball pretty far, but that's not really relevant. Nor are punts, obviously, since we are discussing the ability to pass the ball such that a team's players can hold their positions rather than bunching up.

 

We played 11v11 on a field that was just shy of 70x40. It might have been 65x35. I distinctly remember a novice at fullback sending a long ball forward into the penalty area for our CF. That had to be over 20 yards in the air over opponents. I remember it being about 25 yards. Now granted that was a pass you would not have counted because it was a bouncing ball coming toward her (an opponent's clearance out of the penalty area). I remember two keepers whose punts traveled in the air to 10 yards short of the half line. Our best sweepers would send the goal kicks to the outside mids near the touch line, which I figure was over 20 yards.

I don't think a 20 yard instep drive is anything special. Maybe you are thinking of only the distance traveled in the air rather than the total distance traveled. When I say accurately I don't mean putting it on a teammates foot. I mean a playable pass into space, which takes less accuracy than passing to feet. My experience 20 years ago was that U10 girls were fairly strong with decent movement skills. It was just before the growth spurt when movements get awkward.

 

OK, understood. We were discussing the notion that kids need to be able to complete a pretty long pass with some degree of accuracy in order to hold their positions on the field. I'm not sure anything you're describing constitutes the kind of pass I had in mind.

As an aside, I'm surprised to learn that you played 11v11 on the same size field that kids now play 7v7. I thought the kids played on regulation sized fields back then. Can't say I really remember, but I'm pretty sure I played 11v11 on a full sized field at age 8 back in the early 80s. Crazy!

 

I think we can realistically begin to teach it about U9, but it won't resemble a true model of the senior game on game day at that point. In practice though it can through a lengthy scrimmage. The key difference is subbing. At those young ages, at least in the US, players are subbing out frequently. Rarely do you have a situation where both teams are playing any player besides their keeper for more than 10 minutes.

There's a huge difference in the play when players are forced to manage their energy while still covering their team associated responsibilities.

 

I don't like to use words like "hold" to describe soccer, but let me be clearer. I taught U10gs to play a high pressure, counterattacking 433 against opponents who were invariably playing 235 bunch ball. The girls "invaded" by playing keep-away from the "pack" by passing around or over it to a team mate, until they were close enough to pass to a forward in the penalty area. If they gained the space behind the pack they would advance some by dribbling before passing to someone else.

I don't want to make too much of this. I never got them to make combination passes in matches. (Mostly because there is no space for 1-2s with a pack coming at the you.) It took about 3-4 games to get to the point where the team was dominating the possession. And not a lot of movement off the ball is required to be open against a bunch ball opponent. It was about as simple as a team tactical problem gets. It was often building the attack from the "back" but our back line was winning the ball in our attacking half.

 

I need two or three practice drills for my soccer team. Here is the challenge: it is U8 coed and there is a wide range between the levels. I have one kid who has never played and one kid who is just big strong and skilled. This is a rec team, loose rules for the games and I am preaching attacking play for this season with very limited instructions on defense. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks. I am thinking of an exercise where I divide the teams in 2 (I have 9 so it is 5 and 4). Team one are positioned as statues in from of the goal say 1-2-2 between the halfway line and the goal. each player from team 2 has a ball starting at different points at the half line and need to dribble around the statues all the way down and score. then rotate. it is small goals no GK. think that might be a decent exercise?

 

Thanks!!!

I am okay with the cones not moving for now as half the team either has never kicked a ball before or have done so very little. I planned on starting them out that half running with the ball and maneuver around the cones/statues to begin with. then have them pair up and pass their way through.

for the more advanced half, i planned on having the cones and a couple of moving statues (dont start!!)

i think between what i have in mind and what you posted i can come out with something. my challenge is keeping everyone interested. the lower skilled kids can't run a more advanced drill and the advanced kids won't want me to slow it down too much, they are rearing to go!

Y'know, you are okay for an Arsenal guy

 

"Boxing" is a new term to me. I figured it was a Coerver term and found this Dennis Mueller definition:
"SOCCER BOXING
Pass the ball 4-6 inches between each foot. Move the ball foward and backward, then left and right. Circle around the ball (ball stays in one spot while you circle around in both directions)."

 

1. 15-20 mintes- Everyone with a ball in a confined space (maybe 20x20 yards) dribbling with close control and executing commands that you give them (like inside-outside dribbling, turn the ball around, etc.) After about 8-10 minutes, take one or two players' balls away and have them try to dispossess other players (not kick their balls away, but take the ball from them by tackling the ball). Player who is dispossessed needs to go dispossess someone else, so everyone stays involved for the entire drill.

2. 15-20 minutes- Keep-away/Possession. Start with one defender and add defenders as the kids get comfortable and are able to complete more passes. Eventually you might get to the point where you have even numbered teams playing possession, but I doubt it.

3. 15 minutes- 1v1. Line of attackers stationed 15 yards away from a line of defenders. The defenders have two goals to defend and are stationed between those two goals. Roll the ball out to the attacker and have him go to either of the two goals. He can switch which goal he is attacking to encourage changes of direction and deception. Attacker and defender switch places after each turn.

4. 15-20 minutes- Scrimmage.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. Question: Do you "assign" positions (and names of those positions on the field)

Backstory: I don't assign positions in scrimmages and games. It is 4 v 4 and U8 mixed. My philosophy is that you teach them how to recognize when the opening is and move there. When the players get passed on to another coach that coach can instruct as they wish buy from being with me, the players would know what it looks like to be open for receiving a pass, be able to make that pass and be able to receive that pass. practices thus are focusing on controlling passes, making passes and dribbling. i will point out to players that they are not open or should attack the open space. my instructions amounts to player with the ball nees options upfield and to the left and right, but i dont say you play on the left and you are on the right. when we have the ball i am getting everyone upfield to support the attack.

So should i assign positions?

 

Depends on what I am teaching. When I coached U10 youth, it was 11v11. So by necessity, I had to teach a minimum of team tactics and positions. Before the first session, I decided what unique name I was going to use for each of the 11 positions and used them consistently. It is the only way to avoid confusion when making substitutions during 11-a-side matches.

The modern view is to use SSGs so you don't have to teach team tactics and positions. For U8 4v4 without keepers, I would not teach positions--just the fundamentals including how to support off-the-ball in possession and out. Knowing how to support off the ball necessarily means understanding how to make a good shape attacking and defending. So I would assign players to the side, but all my comments would be about fundamentals, and would not make any reference to positions at all.

 

Thanks @rca2 Just to clarify, you would (in a 4v4, no keepers) say left side, right side, mid upfront, and say a players behind the line (only just for asking my question), so they are assigned a side for games and practices. But you comments might take the form of "Andrew has the ball (he is left side for arguments sake), who is supporting him, does he have an open player?" as opposed to "Andrew is the left midfielder, Sara you are striker you need to be making a run for him to pass" kinda thing?

Sorry for being picky, but this means a lot to me and i want to understand what you are saying..... (there is a follow up but need this answer first)

 

I don't think you are picky. These are good questions.

First: If you want to use labels, I suggest left wing, right wing, striker and second striker. It inherently says everyone is an attacker, and it is more exciting to brag about being a "second striker" than some fullback position. It also emphasizes that the 4 players are equivilent to one "line" in 11v11 soccer, so that the experience will be easier to carry forward in future years. (Learning that you need to have width and depth within a line is important to team tactics in the full game.) Finally in soccer traditionally you think of the attack having four lanes to fill--compared to three lanes in basketball. So 4 forward positions will also make the experience easier to carry forward in future years. If someone asks who defends, "everyone" is the answer.

Second: You have the right idea, but I would do it differently from a coaching methods perspective. During a game, I would not ask questions of the players. I would just wait for someone to make a good run and make a positive comment. During a practice I might occassional stop play and ask a question. I would also use my short-hand to make coaching points. An example is that one coach likes to use the analogy of "open hand" and "closed fist" to the proper shapes on transition to attack and transition to defense. Another example is that you are propably teaching them how to run into "triangle" positions (aka run into position to receive a forward diagonal pass). I probably would refer to that run as being a "wingman" (like fighter pilots) or in reference to Ducks or victory-- a "V". So you would have a "catch phrase" as shorthand for that concept. How I see that playing out is your "left wing" with the ball is not going to be on the left side. He is going to be dribbling at the goal--so moving to the center. So the other players are going to make their supporting runs to form that "V" around him. The fourth player adds depth. Making the players decide how to build the shapes promotes understanding of the principles and creativity.