Positions or Challenges?

A tactical consideration for managers and coaches is what formation to play and which players to play where - but for those coaching younger players, this shouldn't be as high a priority. 

We've all seen it, young kids all chasing the ball around like bees around honey. 

At the early stages of development up to U9s or U10s, children might not understand the roles and responsibilities of each position - just because we do, don't expect it from them.

And as their development is your priority, rather than whether they are capable of overlapping or swinging in a dangerous cross for your striker to tuck away, a different approach to on-pitch responsibilities would be the better option.

As a coach, therefore, you must be conscious of using adult terminology (defenders, midfielders, strikers, wingers etc.) to describe each position without clarifying each role.

Here are some ideas about how you could prepare your players to play, instead of giving them set positions...

1: Provide an outline of 'positions' by coming up with different terminology they might understand better, e.g. 'The Magician' for a Midfielder or 'The Finisher' for Forwards.

2: Highlight some key attributes of what each role requires, e.g. Hard worker, quick thinker, positive, for the Finisher.

3: Set challenges for players in each role when your team has the ball or when your opponents have the ball, e.g. try to receive the ball and be able to see both goals, or recognise when your teammates need help winning the ball back

4: Create visuals, like player profile cards, for the players to understand and picture what each role is required to do. 

5: Allow players to try all the roles on the pitch. So they can get familiar with the different jobs players do when they are in different areas of the pitch. 

It's always important to remember that match day should be an extension of training when they can bring what they have learned together to try out against another team.

Allow your players to not be afraid of things not going quite so well or of making mistakes. This could form part of your 'Match Day Philosophy' that you share with your players and parents.

In our CPD course 'The New Coach: Running Your Very First Team', we help coaches develop their approach to match days, and also provide free resources to support them A Match Day Planner and Player Cards.

If you would like to join the coaches that have already taken the course, check it out by clicking the image below.

Setting match day challenges
Giving your players challenges that are appropriate to them might be better than putting them in structured positions in a formation.
Resources
Ipswich Town U18s coach Callum Tongue talks about how he went from being a young goalkeeper to coaching outfield players in a professional academy.
Video
Elliott Ward, former Premier League defender and now UEFA A Licence coach at Colchester United's academy, speaks to the MiMentor team for the Coaches Coffee Club
Video
In this leadership guide we look at some of the important things you should be considering ahead, or during your early days, of becoming a manager or head coach.
Articulate
Daryl McMahon, boss of National League outfit Dagenham & Redbridge, joined MiMentor's Ross Embleton and James Baker to talk about his thoughts and experiences on his journey into coaching in the professional game

The former West Ham United and Stevenage midfielder moved into management with Ebbsfleet in 2014, before a spell in charge at Macclesfield.

In 2020, Daryl took the helm at the Daggers and this season steered them to an eighth-place finish.
Daryl talks in the Coaches Coffee Club about his career in the game, as well as his views on what makes a great coach, while also sharing with us one of his favourite sessions.
Whether during pre-season or through the campaign, strength has become a much more important element of the game in recent times.
Encouraging young players to dribble with the ball not only helps them develop key skills, but also plays an important role in maintaining possession.
In this episode of the MiMentor Coaches Coffee Club we discuss The Art of Observation with former FA Tutor Jamie Godbold.
Video
In this webinar, questions were put to our expert conditioning mentors around conditioning with regards to youth players, pre-season, in-season and technology.
Video
In our Mentoring Soccer Coaches Diploma course webinar, tutor Sarah McQuade led a case study exercise between herself as a mentor and MiMentor's James Baker as the coach mentee.
Video