I'm an assistant coach for a team, as well as another parent along with a young coach who hadn't coached much before but played at least. Our team lacks talent and has gotten beat (both shutouts). The kids are mostly 8 year olds. The last game the kids played a bit better, but the other assistant and the head coach are suggesting we cut down on the rotation of players through positions. (Stick with a goalie or two, maybe 3 of the 11). Then play the other kids in the same spot until they learn positioning. My thought is I don't want to get too rules based on these kids at this age. (Get back to your spot on defense)., etc., because these kids need to learn how to make decisions on their own and just telling the kids to get back on defense and always playing the same kids on defense will hinder their ability. I'd appreciate the feedback on this whether it's okay to have the players specialize like that at age 8-9.
First everyone is an attacker when your team has the ball. Even if your position is a back. Second everyone is a defender when your team loses the ball no matter what position your playing. If the coach lets you play like that it's okay to play the same position all the time. If he does not let you play like that then it is not okay to play the same position all the time.
I was gone for most of the last game, but my wife was watching and she said the other assistant was often telling kids to "get back" repeatedly. I don't know where the ball was on the field at the time, but it's concerning me a bit that we might create "defenders" that are afraid to play more than the bottom third of the field.
These are 8 year olds. You are not supposed to be training them like high school players. They are supposed to learn fundamentals, not "positions." If the coaches don't know the fundamentals or don't know how to teach the fundamentals, then the less the coaches talk and give instructions the better. I have never told a field player to get back to his "spot." Not ever. I have never even suggested to a field player that there was a "spot" on the field where he belonged. But it happens all the time by well meaning coaches that don't have a clue as to how to play the game. Soccer is not pointy football or baseball. At that age instead of "positions" kids are taught both 1st, 2nd, and 3rd attacker roles and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd defender roles. These are not positions but roles related to the general principles of play. This covers what to do on the ball and how to support off the ball. That is what you should be teaching U10s. Nick's point is that if everyone attacks and everyone defends, then everyone gets experience in all six roles. If coaches restrict the players, then players need to rotate positions in order to experience all the roles. Nick didn't say it, but I am sure he agrees that no one should be specializing in the keeper position at that age. Doing so will guarantee that the player will not be playing elite soccer 5 years from now. These days keepers should be as good with their feet as a field player. My rule was that nobody played more than a half match as keeper and every keeper played at least a half in the field.
If you are not going to let your defenders attack and in practice if you are not traing your back how to attack. Then pull your kid out off this team next season. Because they will not go any where in our game in the future. On better older teams the policy is to take none starter or older mids and strikers and turn them into backs. They already have the attacking skills needed to play the modern game. I always thought it would have been a fantastic move to turn McBride into a center back when he got too old to play striker anymore on our national team.
how many players are on the field? 6v6? The idea that you put 4 or 5 field players on the field at this age isn't an accident. It's by design. Because then everyone on a team can be involved in the play. At U11, we play 8v8 and our spacing is about 30 yards between my deepest defender and highest attacker and 30 yards side to side between each flank player. And we train to move together in that block as much as possible. At U8 when you have four, they can (supposed t0) move around together in that as a unit. Once you have more than ten yards between two players then they cease to work as a team. There's a difference between mobbing the ball and being in the vicinity.
To answer your question directly, just rotate everyone through all the positions (even GK). It'll be good for all of them in the long-term. especially since they're only 8.
My personal opinion is that you should not focus too much on the potions part, rather than allowing kids to have fun. Once they are 11 or older, you could start introduction more positions focus. Just my 2 cents.
One of the things the assistant coach has been getting on the players to do is to run ahead of the person with the ball so they can get open for a pass. I don't know if he just means to run even with them (or the last defender) to be open for the pass or if he's just not aware of soccer offsides rules. What he's actually communicating for the players to do is run ahead offsides for the long leading pass.
Offsides? Your league uses the offsides rule for U10 6v6? Movement off the ball is a good thing, that is what "shape" is about. Ideally the player on the ball should have 2 diagonal passing options all the time. But the time to teach "shape" and movement off the ball is during the practice sessions, not during matches.
There is currently not offsides, but it begins at U11. With a recent change, it may be starting next year at U10.
First it's offside not offsides. What are you teaching these kids to do stand next to the keeper and fight them for a ball near goal? So they can learn what not to do when they get older. So teach them to play dumb soccer until they reach 10?
A 'no offside' rule is quite common in small sided U-little games…and it doesn’t necessarily equate to standing kids right next the keeper or teaching dumb soccer…
If kids get used to waiting for a team mate with the ball to get his head up before they make their runs there would not be a lot of offside called. Even 8 year olds can learn to do that. Let's give kids a little more credit then they are getting now.
There is a lot of merit in what you said, Nick. Diagonal or curved runs so you can watch the back line or AR helps enormously too. My problem is that half the adult amateur players I saw didn't know the Offside Law. IMO that translates into half the youth coaches not understanding Law 11. Not fine points or terminology, but tactically important things like which restarts are exceptions to Law 11. My guess is that most youth coaches don't teach kids how to run off the ball or teach visual cues either. I blame the coaches for how the kids play, not the kids.