Category: Soccer Drills

When children start playing soccer at younger ages (U-6 and U-8), the emphasis should be on small-sided soccer. At these ages, teams should use a 3 v 3 or 4 v 4 without goalkeepers. They will eventually move to a 5 v 5 with a goalkeeper when they get to U-7 or U-8. The small-sided game maximizes the number of touches each player gets, and also gives them an opportunity to understand the basic concepts of the game. For a discussion of how to use small-sided soccer in your coaching sessions, visit this link.

At these beginning levels, the players are just beginning to learn how and when to pass the ball, and you may have begun to introduce the concept of positions (for example, in 5 v 5 you may designate one or two players at a time to be “defenders,” or, to be certain that they get back on defense every time).

At some point, the number of players on the field expands, and the size of the field expands. Now, there is a need to assign positions to the players and to be certain that there are players who defend and players who advance in an effort to score. You may play 7 v 7 or 8 v 8 (including a goalkeeper) and it is often difficult to decide on a proper formation. For example, in 7 v 7 you may play a 3-3 or a 2-2-2 or a 1-2-1-2 or a 1-2-2-1. A 3-3 means 3 defenders and 3 forwards. A 2-2-2 involves two defenders, two midfielders, and two forwards. A 1-2-1-2 generally means a sweeper back defender, two wing defenders in front of the sweeper, a centre midfielder, and two forwards. A 1-2-2-1 generally means a sweeper back defender, two wing defenders in front of the sweeper, two midfielders in front of the defenders, and a centre forward.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all of these formations. For example, a 3-3 may give you a solid defence and a solid offence, but there is the risk of large gaps between the forwards and the defenders. This makes it difficult for the defenders to get the ball to the forwards, and leads to a situation in which three of your players are playing and the other three are watching and waiting. For example, either the forwards are working together in your offensive end to try and score while the defenders are standing and watching at midfield; or, the defenders are fighting an attack while the three forwards stand near midfield, waiting for the defenders to get the ball out to them. With a 2-2 the midfielders have to run a great deal. They will either stay close to each other and cover the entire width of the field, or stay just in front of the defenders, or stay just behind the forwards, often getting involved in the offensive third of the field.

Triangles tend to be an important shape in soccer. The players can form triangles in the 2-2-2 by staggering the lines as play occurs, but the formation can still lead to the players remaining in two straight lines. The 1-2-2-1 and 1-2-1-2 create the triangle relationships from the get-go, but can leave gaps in the field or can result in a single player covering the entire width of the field at his or her position. The 2-2-2, 1-2-2-1, and 1-2-1-2 formations will all present challenges for the coach seeking to have his or her players use the full width of the field.

Whatever formation you decide upon, as a coach you will then need to communicate the concepts behind the positions to your players. Some players learn on the field. Others learn by looking at a diagram. Others learn well from reading and re-reading a textual description of their responsibilities.

To help you, we have prepared a basic summary of the general responsibilities of defenders, midfielders, and forwards. These descriptions track the concept of a 2-2-2 formation in a 7 v 7 game. Before you use them, you need to tailor them to your particular coaching approach, philosophy, and formation. For example, if you decide on three midfielders instead of two, the responsibilities of the centre midfielder may differ from the responsibilities for the outside midfielders. You may want your centre midfielder to be aggressive on offence or you may prefer him or her to drop back on defence or to mark the other team’s best forward or midfielder on defence. You probably want the wing midfielders, not the centre midfielder, to take throw-ins. You may want your wing defenders to take all throw-ins. You may want your centre midfielder or a wing midfielder closest to the corner to take corner kicks. There are many variations.

Still, we thought it might be helpful to set out the position responsibilities in writing, to allow the players to read and reread their responsibilities, to allow their parents to read something that explains whet their child should be doing on the field, and to focus your thinking about what you want your players to be doing.

Feel free to use these pages as you see fit, and to edit them and change them to make them consistent with your approach. You may want to prepare a separate description for the left midfielder and the right midfielder. The same may be true for the right and left forward or right and left defender. Your goalkeeper may take all goal kicks, and so on.

It never ceases to amaze me how many youth soccer coaches expect 6, 7 and 8 year old children to be able to play in (and hold) a particular position on the field. The same coaches can often be heard shouting ‘spread out!’ or ‘stop chasing the ball!’ and, no doubt, wondering why their players are taking absolutely no notice.

Similarly, I’ve heard children as young as 5 or 6 described as “a natural defender” or “a striker”. Even worse, some young soccer players are labelled as not fit or quick enough to play in outfield positions and are stuck in goal for whole matches – even whole seasons!

In the article below, Curt Brand describes why it is usually unreasonable to expect children below the age of about ten to properly understand the concept of space and movement on the soccer field, never mind positions or ‘tactics’.

Soccer tactics and young children

by Curt Brand – “D” Licensed U10 Coach, WAM United Willington, Ashford and Mansfield, Connecticut (USA)

Six and seven year old children will quickly understand that soccer is a game played with a ball. They will more slowly learn that they cannot touch the ball with their hands, become more proficient at the skills you have tried to teach them, and run around the field with great enthusiasm. However, they will be much slower to learn the tactical concepts of the game. They are just not developmentally ready for this lesson yet. Having said that, teaching tactics to this age player is not appropriate. Let’s talk a little bit about teaching tactics.

Soccer, although it is played with a ball, is really a game of space and movement without the ball. Unlike some other sports, (baseball, for instance), soccer does not really have positions. Rather, players have differing responsibilities which change as the ball and the other players move about the field. In a strict sense, only the goal keeper really has a “position” to play.

In your first game, you will observe that all of the players will chase madly after the ball in a pack. Occasionally, a stronger player will get a foot on the ball and it will pop out of the pack. Instantly, the pack scurries after the ball and ingests it, the ball disappearing within a forest of little churning legs. As the season progresses and the players develop their skills, you can try to teach them some tactical awareness, but don’t get frustrated when you discover that they learn these principles very slowly.

Once the players have developed some skill and comfort with simple passing, you can then introduce the concept of movement.

A successful pass is made not so much by the player who delivers the ball but, by the player who makes a run to get open.

At the six and seven year old level, a good run is any movement which takes the player away from the pack which surrounds the football.

After years of listening coaches plaintive pleas of “Don’t bunch up”, I am convinced that most first and second grade players have great difficulty internalizing the concept that sometimes you chase the ball and sometimes you don’t. Save the truly exceptional neophyte, most young players either chase the ball all the time (whether they have a prayer of getting it or not) or never go after it (soccer as an on-the-field spectator sport). Ideally, one player will go after the ball and the other teammates will spread out, looking to get open for a pass.

Choose the few players on your team who appear to be most advanced and try to teach the concepts of space and movement on the field. You can also yell, “Don’t bunch up!” as long as you don’t get frustrated when they don’t listen. Relax — space and movement are nine year old concepts.

by Rick Meana – Director of Coaching, NJ Youth Soccer

Formations and “designated positions” are not appropriate for U6-U8 play.

Why, do you ask?

Because children at this age do not understand, do not have the capacity to grasp the concept of “functionality.” They don’t understand that the pieces make up the pie as a whole. They only can understand that pieces exist, but don’t understand how they contribute to the make-up of the whole. In school they learn about basic math, reading, and writing, with an emphasis on fun discovery and development. They are not grouped by accountants, lawyers, or doctors, each having their own curriculum. Everyone receives the same basic curriculum that helps form a foundation for later education and applications.

Before players learn functionality, they need to first experience basic movements. Through spontaneous uninhibited play, children can learn to solve problems, invent, create, and become aware of their physical relationship with their environment. Small-sided game play offers all these factors, and in addition, contributes to skill development. This becomes a foundation for the next levels of play.

Besides, the use of terms such as ‘defenders’, ‘fullbacks,’ ‘midfielders’, and ‘strikers’ are analogous to asking a six-year-old to describe the duties of an accountant or lawyer. Do defenders just defend? Not attack? Does that mean that they need to stay close to their goal? (Usually, these players have been seen standing on the edge of their penalty box 50 yards away from the action – after being instructed by their coach to stay back.) These are literal definitions of positions that are misconceptions of the game of soccer. Usually, these misconceptions derive from other sports where positions literally are constants of what action players’ perform/areas of the field, i.e., baseball. This is not true in the modern game of soccer.

Let’s take a look at the modern “adult” game to gain a perspective. Players who are termed “defenders,” are becoming notorious for scoring goals, while “forwards” who have become famous for their scoring prowess must now be able to defend and chase down assertive back players. Coaches have also had to convert forwards to defenders because of a shortage of attacking defenders. Players today, no matter their position, need to be fluent in all “soccer skills.”

Midfielders, once known for their ability to launch attacks and work at a high rate for 90 minutes are being converted to defenders, and so on. All this goes to show that positions and formations aren’t the answer. Besides, it is not necessarily being in a designated “position” or being a part of a formation that helps the players solve the problem/situations in the game, but rather the ability of the player to read visually the cues, that is the movement of the ball, movement of the teammates and opponents, and quickly execute a movement/decision that will be effective.

Soccer is a game where the players are constantly changing their movement and activity patterns because the game demands – fluidity, interchangeability, unpredictability, quick thought and execution. Adherence to the formations will not aid players in developing the foundation of the game needed to meet these demands.

The activity in “small-sided” games, where players are not inhibited by formations and positions, result in a variety of movement patterns, more contacts with the ball and other players, and is more challenging to a player physically. It also offers many opportunities for players to make decisions and solve problems based on the conditions that are encountered in the game. This is the “learning environment” that is best for the players at this age and maturity level.

Further proof that this environment is best; can be seen in those professional coaches, who in order to economize their practice, efficiently use small-sided games often, to provide a more challenging environment than 11-a-side play. And that is proof- positive that small-sided games, are important for this age group, however, formations and designated positions should not be used by coaches of U6-U8 players.