At what age do travel soccer clubs start to specialize kids at positions
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Anonymous
| my kid has played center mid from u8 up until now u13 and his coach wants hime to play as a back now should I be concerned he spent his entire time in travel as a center mid I feel like this time was for nothing now |
Anonymous
| so he's been specialized into one single position for 5 years. Don't you think it's good for him to become better at more than 1 position? |
Anonymous
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A center midfielder, the "#10", is the 'quarterback' of a soccer team. They are the one that sets up the attacks, keeps players in their positions, occasionally scoring on their own, and also responsible for defensive duties. They should be very talented with the ball at their feet, not greedy, and have a very strong read of the game. Our team's CM has scored maybe one time this year but has made over ten assists, set up over dozens of chances and is considered the rock of the team. When he subs off, the team loses shape and focus. You need to ask is your CM doing this role or is he better suited for somewhere else on the pitch? (And FWIW, on many teams defenders often run quite a bit less than midfielders and are subbed less frequently).
There are many factors at play behind the change, including: Has he reached puberty? Is he bigger than other kids? Faster, slower, stronger, etc? Is he talented with the ball at his feet (or not)? Does he know how to read the game? Do other players listen to him arrange the formation? Does he communicate well? What sort of defense does your team play? For example some teams play the best kids in defense to keep the score low, some play the worst hoping to win the game in the midfield. Are there other kids more talented at CM? Is your team a 'win at any cost team' or trying to develop players in a variety of positions? Are you moving up to 11 aside and need more defenders? Do you have weak defenders and need help back there? It's really too hard to tell why without more details. Personally, I wouldn't consider time in midfield as a waste but it is a fair question to ask the coach why he is moving him back to defense and whether he sees him having a better chance of performing there than in midfield. |
Anonymous
| pp - sorry for the typos. Whacking it on my phone and trying to edit left some words out of place. |
Anonymous
| My kid is a u12 and has been playing center mid and left back. Different roles for sure but I think it makes a lot of sense to learn both. I’d be happy if my kid gets an opportunity to try something different |
Anonymous
| I wouldnt be to upset at u13 . if your son is a field player especially a center mid . it only can further his development be moving him to the back position . the only position that I would consider specialization is the Goalkeeper. . if you can find a GK who is dedicated to only playing the GK position than by u11 you should start with GK specificity training only because the GK position is a game within itself and can't be improved as much as other positions thru a general team practice. |
Anonymous
Those are the two positions my son plays as well. He plays at a Club that really values defenders and they have a lot of leeway to be part of the attack—possession Club. His curse is that he plays well everywhere and not many do defense well so the Coach says he can’t trust anyone else back there. But, he is a very intelligent player. I feel like he does a better job where he can make a bigger impact on attack/feeding balls. |
Anonymous
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some get pigeon holed at u9. other coaches claim that a time at one position gets a player ready for another position, which, if true, leads me to believe that the other player playing that position is not aware of their impending fate.
Sometimes the kids put at right or left back earlier are liabilities for some reason and coaches eventually want some players who are just as aware of offensive tactics as well as defensive. Aware meaning understanding the opponents attack as well as joining in their own. i’d want a defender who once in a while can mix it up well up top on an overlapping run. |
Anonymous
I agree if you can find a kid who is dedicated to playing the Keeper spot at U 10 or older and has the Keeper mentality, you need start position specific training with them. Almost all other positions can be interchangeable . I think most clubs in the area under value the Keeper position way too often. if you have a kid who has some skill and embraces the keeper role you need to start specific position training him/her as early as possible. Everyone else gets better by playing together during training, But a keeper needs a high volume of reps to get better. Keeper is like the kicker in football they almost need to be trained separate during practice then incorporated into the live part of the team training. its very rare you can find a younger kid who wants to learn position of keeper if you get one hold on to them and develop them from as early as possible. |
Anonymous
Think of Pique and Kimmi h. I pointed out the goals Kimmich has scored from outside back recently. In some style of play, backs are highly valued. American-style play it’s a dead-end—boot it out, but if you are at an intelligent possession Club some of the best players are put back there. |
Anonymous
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OP, I told my kid being able to play any position on the field is going to make him versatile (coach’s dream) and help his overall play. A striker that knows how a defender thinks and vice versa after spending time in both positions while developing makes for a stronger, craftier player.
Forwards are a dime a dozen. So many players want forward that competition for those spots as kids get older is insane. |
Anonymous
| NP. This is very interesting. My child has been playing keeper at u10. He loves keeper but I worry that he has specialized too early. I’ve had coaches tell me not to let him spend so much time in the goal but his current coach keeps him there for entire games about 50% of the time and half the games the other 50%. It just doesn’t provide enough time on the field and I can see his skills there slipping. But maybe I’m spending too much time worrying since keeper is ultimately the position he wants to play? |
Anonymous
| Wingback can be the one of the most exciting positions to play, as you can pick your space to attack based on what the players in front of you are opening up for you and you can arrive into the box unannounced as the forwards and mids will attract most of the attention. On my team some of our most talented players play 2 and 3 as it allows them space and 1v1 matchups to use their creativity in addition to attacking overloads. Our center backs often help bring the ball out the back and step into the midfield, and they go up on corners as well. Then on top of that there’s the rush of playing defense and denying an opponent, making a tackle, winning a 50/50, your player might actually like it and have an aptitude for it! |
Anonymous
I think the biggest problem is most coaches are former field players and don't honestly understand the Keeper position enough to develop one. their innocent ignorance is what the problem truly is. the young keepers suffer because coaches like to pat themselves on the back and take pride in developing field players because its easier and far better odds . I would like to know how many clubs work with there Keeper separately during training and not jus supplemental an hour a week and at what ages? every soccer team practice ive seen from u10 up and thru u17 every other position is being developed 3-4 times per week for 1-2 hr blocks but the keepers aren't getting the needed reps to develop. how do the different clubs in the area handle keeper training please let know how your clubs do it ? thanks in advance |
Anonymous
I notice they take the brunt of the blame too. Kids can repeatedly lose it at forward/midfield—but when the back is taking on a forward/often more than one and they get by all the parents of firwarsmda whose kids just lost the ball btw, groan and blame the back. |