What age do positions start to stick and substitutions look less like rec leagues?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| When do players become starters and subs? Also, when do players start to play a position more regularly? |
Anonymous
|
Other than keeper - hopefully not until pro.
Seriously. It is one of the big mistakes that I and a good many parents made with kids coming up through youth soccer in the US. Yes - keepers need to specialize. Yes center defenders need to be reasonably tall. That’s about it other than the overall proviso that players need to be fast. The reality is that the more positions your kid can effectively play the better off your kid will be. My kid ended up starting as a defensive center mid early in her junior year of college because she was warmed up and standing at midfield ready to sub in when the starting defensive center mid was injured (blown knee). She subbed in and ended up keeping the position for the rest of her college career. Until that point she had not played a minute at a center mid position ever. Playing time is the most important aspect here. When they are playing in college or pros - where can your kid get on the field. If they have played multiple positions in multiple formations growing up they will be much more comfortable and capable in moving to a open spot when it opens up and matters. My kid plays center D. Great but we have two returning starters who are juniors at center D so if your kid wants to go to this school he will need to switch or go somewhere else. Kid gets beat out by another player? Guess they can quit then unless they can play something else. |
Anonymous
| Keeping it real here. If you are in a serious travel program it starts by U-12 (sometimes U-11)… |
Anonymous
I think field players would hope not to specialize in any position. Hopefully, the coach can play you where you are most effective. My kid and another kid on his team usually play striker but have often been pulled back to play mid. My kid has also played defense at his age group. Most kids who are talented can step up to play any position (maybe except goalie). |
Anonymous
| My kids have been playing since U6 and there’s always been starters and subs. Of course all kids got playing time but def there are starters and players who don’t get subbed out. |
Anonymous
| Around here specialization starts around U5 but this is not a good thing. Good soccer coaches train soccer players first, not positions, but those are hard to find. The later they start to specialize the better. |
Anonymous
|
about u14 after a year of full field you can start to see positions stabilize. The exception is GK the earlier you can start the better. GK is by far the most difficult position to learn. Its a totally different concept than any field positions and gets very little training at a normal team training. After u16 your pretty much locked in with the exception of some kids can easily interchange.
|
Anonymous
They were playing Rec in u6 and every rec league has rules about min and max playtime. |
Anonymous
| My 10yo’s coaches have started locking in positions, and I’m not crazy about it. |
Anonymous
Please big club who wins …u9! |
Anonymous
Maybe they did but I was never aware of it. It was a small Latino club and I suppose if was an issue of our kids not getting enough playing time, I’d have said something to the club owner. But our kids were starters and played entire games. |
Anonymous
|
Two different questions. Positionally, by U15, kids start to gravitate towards a section of the field - central defender or central midfielder, right side player at mid or D, right side player at mid or forward, striker or attacking mid, that kind of thing.
On subs v starters, it probably shouldn’t be a thing until the kids are U16, but it becomes pretty painfully obvious by the end of the U16 year who is still developing and who isn’t. It puts parents’ noses out of joint for little Mia to be a sub but at that stage in the more competitive leagues and levels, there will be some real differentiation. |
Anonymous
| So what is the right age to start specializing as a goalkeeper? |
Anonymous
| OP, misleading thread title. Rec is rec due to level of play and competitiveness and a desire for equity in play. Substitution patterns can be whatever the coach wants at any level until the point there are restriction. |
Anonymous
U11/U12. That's when our club welcomes them to keeper training. Need to at least be at 9v9 |