We had an odd situation come up in our last game for my U8 team. The league style of play is two 4v4 games going on at the same time with no keepers. The other team showed up with only 6 players. My team had 9 players and the other coach suggested we play 5v5 on 1 field so they would have 1 sub. When we were about to start, my other 2 players showed up for a total of 11. So I talked to the other coach and we agreed to a couple of our players joining theirs. We played the first quarter of the game with my group having 4 subs and theirs 3 - not great. After the first quarter, we came to the realization that we had plenty of total players to split into 2-4v4 games so the kids would get more playing time, which is what we did. Anyway, the interesting thing is the difference in play in the first quarter versus the remaining 3. My better dribblers quickly realized they couldn't get through all of the other players due to the crowded space, so they adjusted and started passing more. The players took the lessons we'd practiced regarding moving into space to be open for a pass, and they started to get rewarded for it with good crosses and passes. The movement was rather good. After we switched back to 4v4, the teamwork and passing changed back to normal, where the spacing was good, but players continually look to dribble through to get an open look at goal - considering the size of the field and the power shot technique they've learned, all of my players can easily score from mid field if open. I don't discourage this type of selfish play - anyone with the ball has the choice on whether to dribble, pass or shoot - booting the ball aimlessly out or away is something we discourage. To sum up, I found it good that the players were absorbing the space and movement activities we do in practice and were able to apply it so quickly when presented with a new challenge.
Re: Interesting Observation In the spring my 5 year old was scoring 10+ goals every game in a 4 v. 4 no GK situation on a largish field for them. She can dribble and figured out that if she dribbled backwards the bunch would follow her and then she could just do a big arch to turn-around and they'd continue following and be behind her now and she'd be on her way to goal or she would just dribble through the players. Anyway, this fall in a different league. It's 6 v. 6 on fields about half the size, and she won't dribble. She was just picking an opening and trying to kick the ball through the scrum. So I kept encouraging her to try to dribble. After the game I asked her why she wasn't dribbling and she said, "too many kids to get past"
Re: Interesting Observation Games baffle most of my U8s. In the SSGs during practice they'll move and use space, get open for passes, stay ahead of the ball, etc. Come game time, most rarely if ever move ahead of the ball. They're always behind it. My son usually keeps most of the possession and has very good control, but he has to dribble through the swarm because none of the others will move ahead of him or into space to receive a pass. Last weekend we had an indirect free kick about 20 yards out. My son goes into the box, ready to go. He was the only attacking player in there. One of my players was ready to take the kick and two others were standing even with the ball about five yards to the right of it. So I say to them by name, "Player 1! Player 2! Go to the goal!" Nothing. I say it again and they turn to me as if they acknowledge it. Nothing. One more try, motioning to the goal, hoping my Jedi powers will somehow move them in that general direction. No movement, and I turn around and walk back to the bench laughing.
Re: Interesting Observation tangent: I had a similar thing happen on the coin toss this past Sunday. I picked two captains but realized I had not given them instruction on what goal to attack if we won the toss (I walked the field prior to the match and one side was worse for wear and would deteriorate because of the rain that we were getting at kickoff). Anyway, so I told a third girl this info, which way to attack, and sent her out to the coin toss. I watched in amazement as we win the toss (ref indicates) and one of the captains I sent out ahead points in the opposite direction, while my "last second" captain just watches and says nothing. Gotta just shrug it off.
Re: Interesting Observation But to speak to the topic... this season, we've worked on receiving, first touch away from pressure, and striking the ball (inside of the foot pass) and their kicking motion. For all three we've played a lot of rondos and they excel at it in practice but never showed up in a game. Always rushing to goal, that kind of thing. So to tie back into another thread ("scolded for running up the score"), we had a team meeting a few weeks back that after we got up 5-0 I said they had to stop scoring. I didn't get into specifics of how we would stop scoring. So this weekend, 2-0 at half but after 5 minutes in the second it was 5-0. After they regained the ball, they automatically went into keepaway mode. Spent the next 25 minutes passing the ball around in our half (of all places) and what a sight. I didn't prompt them to do this, they did it on their own. Swear to God. If I had a chance to tell them how to stop scoring, I would've just told them to play normally but miss the goal or something. But there they were, a team I was sure COULD NOT play like this, playing keepaway, playing on the ground, passing and moving. So maybe it illustrates that what we teach our playes is "in there" but for some reason they don't bring it out. Maybe a fear of making a mistake? They normally pass and stand (more than I like them to), balls are either on the ground, bouncing, or in the air (in equal amounts), and a majority of play is direct to goal.
Re: Interesting Observation I've played a game with my U15s that clearly highlights this dichotomy. Even squads, with one full size goal + keeper. One team must attack the large goal to score. The other team defends the big goal and scores a point by completing 5 consecutive passes. The difference between the way the two teams play is incredibly striking. The team attacking the big goal went way too quickly, too straight ahead, not enough patience to work the ball side-to-side to open lanes for good scoring opportunities--they'd force it forward, into pressure, and lose the ball. The defending team, OTOH, suddenly kept the ball like Barcelona; with no direction, they were free to find any available space and take their time. As elessar discovered, it's the scoring bit that seems to push all that other stuff out of their heads. It takes a lot of training to get through the "possession with a purpose" idea.
Re: Interesting Observation I think the main value to me in this observation is that it reinforces the things I've been teaching the kids all along and the attitude that we don't need to force passing/teamwork. The kids are developing great with the freedom to make their own choices on the field. Their confidence on the ball is awesome and it provides them the space/time/confidence needed to take time and survey their options when they get stuck. The reason they don't do it in a normal 4v4 game now is that there is so much space that there isn't the need to stop. 4 players are rarely enough to stop them from scoring. In the end, patience is the key. Next year the set-up changes to 6v6 with keepers. This change will likely prompt the need to play more like they did in the first quarter on Saturday, which will be interesting to watch.
Re: Interesting Observation Isn't it great to find out that you are in fact preparing your players for the next level! Usually we don't get to see such clear objective evidence of success. It is also a great example of how coaches can influence play during practices by changing the playing area. Just keep adjusting until you get the behavior you want.