Possession Soccer for U11 Girls

[Anonymous]

How long does it take for a U11 girl’s team to learn and develop possession soccer can be able to effectively and efficiently pass/distribute that ball to their teammates?

During various tournament and league games, I’ve seen a few team that are able to do this and it was impressive/fun to watch.

Is this based upon how they practice/drill, duration of the players playing together on the same team, and/or are these girls just have a better field presence than the typical U11 girl?

[Anonymous]

Style of play is based on practice and game play learning.
So:
Week 1
- practice focus on buildout from back and passing triangles
- game: emphasize what you learned , expect to lose the game but win the development
Week 2
- practice triangles and drop passes, field switch and involve the keeper
- game: see above
Week 3
-practice transitions in shape from offense to defense etc - compact - open up
- game: see above
Week 4
- practice possession with purpose and attacking principles
- game: see above
Week 5
- practice scrimmage with possession approach
- game: reap the results of hard work and watch them play the beautiful game

For most teams this is half a season and you can expect to lose in the short run
It is the right coaching approach period
Be brave enough to do it.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on how the players were trained at U9 and U10. You can teach possession, but if they don't have the skill to do it, then they won't be able to use it in a game even if they do all the right things during practice.

[Anonymous]

A lot of this comes down to individual skill level. The training you are describing above assumes that all of the players have a good first touch, can pass accurately with 1 or 2 touches, can play accurate passes over distance, know how to shield & turn quickly, have foot skills and can go 1v1 when they need to, and can use their weaker foot well enough to use it when they need to.

Until the players have all of that as a solid foundation of skill base, teaching them the items you listed is going to educate them on team play concepts but their play could break down very easily if the skill level is not there yet.

[Anonymous]

Focus only on the individual skills until they are ready to learn this. Then you can teach a possession style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this comes down to individual skill level. The training you are describing above assumes that all of the players have a good first touch, can pass accurately with 1 or 2 touches, can play accurate passes over distance, know how to shield & turn quickly, have foot skills and can go 1v1 when they need to, and can use their weaker foot well enough to use it when they need to.

Until the players have all of that as a solid foundation of skill base, teaching them the items you listed is going to educate them on team play concepts but their play could break down very easily if the skill level is not there yet.

i answered the OP's ? of how these teams can implement possession style play.
the training I described did NOT assume players have good first touch etc. which is why I said expect to suffer and lose during games.
this is why American soccer fails and delays the development of its players, the game is the best teacher so teach it the right way
otherwise you are not teaching a team play concept in a team sport that is based on positioning/responsibility/tactic

it is so sad to hear parents/coaches every weekend yell "big kick" "give it a big kick" instead of encouraging a player to settle the ball, truly possess it individually for a moment and then make a decision about what to do next - dribble/pass forward, lateral, or back and to challenge themselves to make that decision in the context of attacking or defending as a team

the game is really simple, teach it and challenge players to rise to the occasion, they will

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of this comes down to individual skill level. The training you are describing above assumes that all of the players have a good first touch, can pass accurately with 1 or 2 touches, can play accurate passes over distance, know how to shield & turn quickly, have foot skills and can go 1v1 when they need to, and can use their weaker foot well enough to use it when they need to.

Until the players have all of that as a solid foundation of skill base, teaching them the items you listed is going to educate them on team play concepts but their play could break down very easily if the skill level is not there yet.

i answered the OP's ? of how these teams can implement possession style play.
the training I described did NOT assume players have good first touch etc. which is why I said expect to suffer and lose during games.
this is why American soccer fails and delays the development of its players, the game is the best teacher so teach it the right way
otherwise you are not teaching a team play concept in a team sport that is based on positioning/responsibility/tactic

it is so sad to hear parents/coaches every weekend yell "big kick" "give it a big kick" instead of encouraging a player to settle the ball, truly possess it individually for a moment and then make a decision about what to do next - dribble/pass forward, lateral, or back and to challenge themselves to make that decision in the context of attacking or defending as a team

the game is really simple, teach it and challenge players to rise to the occasion, they will

Cheering the goalies 'big punt, big foot...wow!!" at U11 is comical. The goalie is usually too big for the small field at that point and can basically get into the other side's goal box. Really teaching 10-year olds a lot about soccer playing this way...NOT!

[Anonymous]

It is tiring to watch girls in this age range dribble way too much and slow the speed of play. Instead of taking an easy pass to eliminate a defensive player they dribble and slow play. The parent say oh wow look at her footwork. The defense resets and the player eventually passes and the ball is stolen.
Other girls do much better but you have to have a few girls who are looking to move the ball around. When that happens it’s fun to watch.