shaka
Jr. Academy
Posts: 96
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Post by shaka on Sept 21, 2018 14:50:43 GMT -5
I've seen a lot of Academy games (regular season & tournaments) over the last 3 years watching most of the clubs in the Atlanta area/suburbs. It seems that all of the clubs are the same - coaches do not move their players around to different positions or areas of the field. If Academy is supposed to be primarily focused on development, why the player specialization? At what age (typically) should a player be in a fixed position?
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Post by olderthandirt on Sept 21, 2018 15:10:29 GMT -5
Question: do you mean that players stay in one position for a game or for many (or all) games? The coaches at the club with which I an most familiar generally have a player play all or most of one game play a single position, but the next game may find the player in a different position. In my opinion, that position placement allows for both continuity through a specific game as well as giving players the experience of playing different positions throughout the season.
From a broader perspective, I am of the opinion that player specialization is appropriate probably starting around U14.
The worst specialization that I have seen at the younger age groups is when a coach (or a parent) decides that a 10-year-old is a Goal Keeper and plays that player (or requests that the coach play that player) only in that position. In addition, I have seen parents put 10-year-olds into specialized Keeper training where the "trainer" employed by the club really knows very little about goalkeeping and runs drills that basically beat up the child.
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Post by atv on Sept 21, 2018 15:20:20 GMT -5
As far as field players, some continue to move around until U18. A lot of college players and professionals did not play their current positions at the youth level. IMO, moving around helps players develop into a more complete player with a better understanding of the overall game, especially when playing 11 aside. There are some players that can play every position on the field and others that can only play one.
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Post by olderthandirt on Sept 21, 2018 15:35:32 GMT -5
As far as field players, some continue to move around until U18. A lot of college players and professionals did not play their current positions at the youth level. IMO, moving around helps players develop into a more complete player with a better understanding of the overall game, especially when playing 11 aside. There are some players that can play every position on the field and others that can only play one. Absolutely agree. It's usually the more talented players who can play more that one position well and the less talented ones who tend to play one position much better than the others. But by about age 13 / 14, most players know which positions are their better ones and which positions they prefer to play. And when the players start to play in (gasp) high school, one of the first things that a coach is going to ask them is what position(s) they play. That doesn't mean that the high school coach is only going to play all players in their preferred positions - most teams can't exist with 14 forwards, 2 center-mids, 3 outside backs, and 1 player who admits that he played some GK back when he was 10.
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shaka
Jr. Academy
Posts: 96
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Post by shaka on Sept 21, 2018 15:43:54 GMT -5
As far as field players, some continue to move around until U18. A lot of college players and professionals did not play their current positions at the youth level. IMO, moving around helps players develop into a more complete player with a better understanding of the overall game, especially when playing 11 aside. There are some players that can play every position on the field and others that can only play one. Absolutely agree. It's usually the more talented players who can play more that one position well and the less talented ones who tend to play one position much better than the others. But by about age 13 / 14, most players know which positions are their better ones and which positions they prefer to play. And when the players start to play in (gasp) high school, one of the first things that a coach is going to ask them is what position(s) they play. That doesn't mean that the high school coach is only going to play all players in their preferred positions - most teams can't exist with 14 forwards, 2 center-mids, 3 outside backs, and 1 player who admits that he played some GK back when he was 10. Agreed!
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shaka
Jr. Academy
Posts: 96
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Post by shaka on Sept 21, 2018 15:49:42 GMT -5
Question: do you mean that players stay in one position for a game or for many (or all) games? The coaches at the club with which I an most familiar generally have a player play all or most of one game play a single position, but the next game may find the player in a different position. In my opinion, that position placement allows for both continuity through a specific game as well as giving players the experience of playing different positions throughout the season.
From a broader perspective, I am of the opinion that player specialization is appropriate probably starting around U14.
The worst specialization that I have seen at the younger age groups is when a coach (or a parent) decides that a 10-year-old is a Goal Keeper and plays that player (or requests that the coach play that player) only in that position. In addition, I have seen parents put 10-year-olds into specialized Keeper training where the "trainer" employed by the club really knows very little about goalkeeping and runs drills that basically beat up the child. I like the concept of having the player play one position in a game & then changing it up the the next game. My experience has been that the players are playing the same position every game. I've watched the same teams over the years & every time I see the teams, the kids are playing the position where they played the last time I saw them. Even the GK.
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Post by atv on Sept 21, 2018 16:04:36 GMT -5
That’s pretty normal. I wouldn’t expect a lot of experimentation at centerbacks. They tend to be pretty specialized. A holding mid may be converted to CB. Winger to outsideback. That kind of thing...
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Post by oraclesfriend on Sept 21, 2018 18:12:40 GMT -5
Question: do you mean that players stay in one position for a game or for many (or all) games? The coaches at the club with which I an most familiar generally have a player play all or most of one game play a single position, but the next game may find the player in a different position. In my opinion, that position placement allows for both continuity through a specific game as well as giving players the experience of playing different positions throughout the season.
From a broader perspective, I am of the opinion that player specialization is appropriate probably starting around U14.
The worst specialization that I have seen at the younger age groups is when a coach (or a parent) decides that a 10-year-old is a Goal Keeper and plays that player (or requests that the coach play that player) only in that position. In addition, I have seen parents put 10-year-olds into specialized Keeper training where the "trainer" employed by the club really knows very little about goalkeeping and runs drills that basically beat up the child. I like the concept of having the player play one position in a game & then changing it up the the next game. My experience has been that the players are playing the same position every game. I've watched the same teams over the years & every time I see the teams, the kids are playing the position where they played the last time I saw them. Even the GK. Good coaches try to avoid playing them in one position. I am against specialization until at least U15. You just stunt their development.
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shaka
Jr. Academy
Posts: 96
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Post by shaka on Sept 21, 2018 22:31:19 GMT -5
That’s pretty normal. I wouldn’t expect a lot of experimentation at centerbacks. They tend to be pretty specialized. A holding mid may be converted to CB. Winger to outsideback. That kind of thing... I hear you, but we're talking about 8,9,10 & 11 year olds. I think that's the perfect time for experimentation. What's the risk? That they might lose an academy game? 😄
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Oct 4, 2018 4:56:58 GMT -5
I've seen a lot of Academy games (regular season & tournaments) over the last 3 years watching most of the clubs in the Atlanta area/suburbs. It seems that all of the clubs are the same - coaches do not move their players around to different positions or areas of the field. If Academy is supposed to be primarily focused on development, why the player specialization? At what age (typically) should a player be in a fixed position? The landscape of US Soccer forces you to specialize a whole lot sooner than you should. With that said you should really look to start specialization around the U14 age-group. This is because, most high level soccer coaches pick players based on positional abilities. They don't just want a great defender, they want the best CB, RB, or LB etc. Same goes for Midfielders and Forwards/Strikers. Let's not go into the whole parlay on Goalkeepers(biggest kid, kid with bad footwork or technical skills, they luv playing goalie); I think what you as the parent have to do is make sure you have you kid learn all the phases of the game. Speak with your coaches and advocate for moving the kid around, especially between the ages of 8 - 12. I would say push to have your kid play different positions in bunches. So maybe the fall they play in the back, then in the spring they work the midfield with transitions to forward as an example. Furthermore, I think we here in the states fail in the creative arena. So I would supplement with pick-up games. If you kid is playing in the back, have them play up front during pick-up games or futsal. That way they don't lose the skills of playing up front, they can also forge playing both from the back and transitioning to the front. Averts them getting into bad habits like booming the ball since they don't know how to string passes with the midfielders or forwards.
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Post by daddyo on Oct 5, 2018 9:41:51 GMT -5
Most coaches pigeon hole kids at an early age, not great for development at all. Both my boys were put in chosen positions by 10, many times I have discussed this with their coaches about developing and challenging the complete player. They were there for wins, not development and the coaches did not appreciate any thoughtful feedback or insight. As I switched clubs with my kids they started playing multiple positions. It's been a long road in the crazy world of Youth soccer, My oldest can play every position on the field now and rarely ever leaves the pitch. He played different positions in ODP and High School which gave him added confidence and greater tactical understanding. My youngest can play all but forward, but is thrown in forward sometimes and seems a bit lost bc he's an unselfish player and doesn't think, "Go to Goal", he thinks pass first always.
Mrs Futsal Gawdess, you are spot on about having the kids play different roles outside of regular team soccer. It challenges them physically and more so mentally.
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shaka
Jr. Academy
Posts: 96
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Post by shaka on Oct 5, 2018 20:58:47 GMT -5
I've seen a lot of Academy games (regular season & tournaments) over the last 3 years watching most of the clubs in the Atlanta area/suburbs. It seems that all of the clubs are the same - coaches do not move their players around to different positions or areas of the field. If Academy is supposed to be primarily focused on development, why the player specialization? At what age (typically) should a player be in a fixed position? The landscape of US Soccer forces you to specialize a whole lot sooner than you should. With that said you should really look to start specialization around the U14 age-group. This is because, most high level soccer coaches pick players based on positional abilities. They don't just want a great defender, they want the best CB, RB, or LB etc. Same goes for Midfielders and Forwards/Strikers. Let's not go into the whole parlay on Goalkeepers(biggest kid, kid with bad footwork or technical skills, they luv playing goalie); I think what you as the parent have to do is make sure you have you kid learn all the phases of the game. Speak with your coaches and advocate for moving the kid around, especially between the ages of 8 - 12. I would say push to have your kid play different positions in bunches. So maybe the fall they play in the back, then in the spring they work the midfield with transitions to forward as an example. Furthermore, I think we here in the states fail in the creative arena. So I would supplement with pick-up games. If you kid is playing in the back, have them play up front during pick-up games or futsal. That way they don't lose the skills of playing up front, they can also forge playing both from the back and transitioning to the front. Averts them getting into bad habits like booming the ball since they don't know how to string passes with the midfielders or forwards. Great advice and thankfully I have already put it into play and the coaches have responded
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Post by atlfutboldad on Oct 5, 2018 23:35:13 GMT -5
It really depends on their natural talents early on. Tall/big players for keeper/defense, fast players for forward, skilled players for midfield, etc.
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Post by oraclesfriend on Oct 6, 2018 7:58:18 GMT -5
It really depends on their natural talents early on. Tall/big players for keeper/defense, fast players for forward, skilled players for midfield, etc. Problem with that is at youth ages the tall players at U10 are not always the tall players at U13. Their "natural talents" change too with age and skills can be worked on. Play everything until U13 at a minimum. The more versatile you are the better.
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Post by 04gparent on Oct 6, 2018 11:16:06 GMT -5
So far the feedback has been really good. I would add that you want to make sure your player has elite foot skills. Great foot skills carry to all positions on the field.
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Post by 4theloveofsoccer on Oct 7, 2018 6:47:44 GMT -5
So far the feedback has been really good. I would add that you want to make sure your player has elite foot skills. Great foot skills carry to all positions on the field. I agree with many if not all on what have chimed in with this post. There is much more to learn and gain from playing multiple positions at an early age than just playing one. I understand some kids are better at scoring or love playing GK, but they need plenty of time at other areas on the pitch as well. Players will grow and learn more playing multiple positions and being a versatile player than being really good at one position. There is a risk if a new player comes in that is better, where will that leave your son/daughter? Julian Gressel is a good example, the guy has played multiple positions for Atlanta United and you can't take him off the field.
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