03-20-2008, 09:47 PM
Okay, but what if you are stuck with a team that is playing 8v8 or 9v9 or 11v11,even though it is plain that many of them need lots of remedial work on the basic skills? And, what happens when you get your team assigned only 2 weeks before your first game so that there is no possible way to cover even beginning 1v1 work before you are thrown to the sharks?
You know that many parents and players may start questioning your abilities if your team starts losing its games by big margins, even if you have solid credentials as a coach. Also, since this is recreational soccer, your job of player development is likely to be complicated by having at least 1-2 players who have little athletic talent/interest, or who have physical/mental impairments that make learning more challenging . Unfortunately, it is unlikely that some of these kids could become soccer players even if you spent every waking hour on the task. Finally, the kids on your team might have lots of overall athletic talent, but may be smaller/younger than average and be unable to win footraces or pushing contests with kids who are a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier. At this point, you may simply have to face the reality that short-term wins are very unlikely, no matter what you do.
When you are facing these types of predicaments, it may become necessary to use some initial positioning assignments just to buy the time needed to work on the basic skills of the core group of players, bearing in mind that it may take 2 or more seasons to accomplish this. While it IS possible to play virtually positionless soccer from the beginning by adopting an approach based upon natural swarming , it may be so unfamiliar to your audience that you decide that it's more trouble than it is worth. So, if you decide to use positional assignments for your group, here are some suggestions.
The First Few Weeks
For the first few games at least, consider putting your best players on central defense. While you probably won't score, at least you'll avoid getting clobbered quite as badly. Then, as soon as you can, try to develop a few promising players to work in as wing defenders which will allow you to rotate your more seasoned players into the central midfield or even into a forward role. It is generally considered that the hardest job on the field is sweeper, or central defender, if you're not playing with sweeper. The second hardest is center midfield and central defender with a sweeper behind him, followed by center forward, left defender, left mid, right forward, right defender, left forward, and right midfielder. Typically, for weaker or less-talented players, it is conventional wisdom to put them in one of the easier positions and sandwich them between two solid players so that there is good cover if they run into problems.
You know that many parents and players may start questioning your abilities if your team starts losing its games by big margins, even if you have solid credentials as a coach. Also, since this is recreational soccer, your job of player development is likely to be complicated by having at least 1-2 players who have little athletic talent/interest, or who have physical/mental impairments that make learning more challenging . Unfortunately, it is unlikely that some of these kids could become soccer players even if you spent every waking hour on the task. Finally, the kids on your team might have lots of overall athletic talent, but may be smaller/younger than average and be unable to win footraces or pushing contests with kids who are a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier. At this point, you may simply have to face the reality that short-term wins are very unlikely, no matter what you do.
When you are facing these types of predicaments, it may become necessary to use some initial positioning assignments just to buy the time needed to work on the basic skills of the core group of players, bearing in mind that it may take 2 or more seasons to accomplish this. While it IS possible to play virtually positionless soccer from the beginning by adopting an approach based upon natural swarming , it may be so unfamiliar to your audience that you decide that it's more trouble than it is worth. So, if you decide to use positional assignments for your group, here are some suggestions.
The First Few Weeks
For the first few games at least, consider putting your best players on central defense. While you probably won't score, at least you'll avoid getting clobbered quite as badly. Then, as soon as you can, try to develop a few promising players to work in as wing defenders which will allow you to rotate your more seasoned players into the central midfield or even into a forward role. It is generally considered that the hardest job on the field is sweeper, or central defender, if you're not playing with sweeper. The second hardest is center midfield and central defender with a sweeper behind him, followed by center forward, left defender, left mid, right forward, right defender, left forward, and right midfielder. Typically, for weaker or less-talented players, it is conventional wisdom to put them in one of the easier positions and sandwich them between two solid players so that there is good cover if they run into problems.