Changing positions at U14

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has been playing right wing. It’s been his main position for a few years now. He also plays left-wing and striker a fair bit. This year he changed clubs to get more of a challenge. His new team is playing at a much higher level than his old team. However, they just changed his position to right back. He is never played defense before and is definitely not a natural defender. This kind of scares me as he’s so used to playing offense. My question is this: is it normal to change positions at U 14? I guess I assumed he would play offense because he’s good at it. Pros/cons to changing positions?

My son had to change positions at U16! There was a lot of competition on the team (DA). If he wanted to play (had been left wing) he had to learn right back. He rose to the occasion, learned it and played it. He now plays Division 1 soccer in college and one of the reasons he was recruited was for his flexibility to play multiple positions well. It can be a benefit!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son has been playing right wing. It’s been his main position for a few years now. He also plays left-wing and striker a fair bit. This year he changed clubs to get more of a challenge. His new team is playing at a much higher level than his old team. However, they just changed his position to right back. He is never played defense before and is definitely not a natural defender. This kind of scares me as he’s so used to playing offense. My question is this: is it normal to change positions at U 14? I guess I assumed he would play offense because he’s good at it. Pros/cons to changing positions?

My son had to change positions at U16! There was a lot of competition on the team (DA). If he wanted to play (had been left wing) he had to learn right back. He rose to the occasion, learned it and played it. He now plays Division 1 soccer in college and one of the reasons he was recruited was for his flexibility to play multiple positions well. It can be a benefit!

My DD was being rotated from offense to defense since she started soccer at U8. I always felt they kept rotating her because they didn't know what position was a good fit for her. After reading this thread, I now know that what the coaches were/are actually doing will benefit her in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coach here.

There are several reasons a coach would make a position change. Some of the most common are.

1.) He feels this is the best/better position for the player given their current level.

2.) The player's desired position/best known position is actually a poor fit for them currently and the coach is trying to find a better home for the player.

3.) While not the players best position, the team is severely lacking in position X and the player does a decent enough job / better than other options.

The worst is where a coach is simply trying to "hide" a player by playing them where they think they will do the least amount of damage in order to secure a victory.

Your son should ask his coach on why he's played there. It's amazing to me how often changes are made and people are too scared to simply ask why.

A lot of coaches will just lie when you ask him why.

That's not a reason not to ask though is it? And a good coach won't lie.

If you know he is going to lie, for some parents there is no point to ask. Yes, some good coach won't lie, but I feel most will.

You can ask the question in a way that helps give the coach room to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coach here.

There are several reasons a coach would make a position change. Some of the most common are.

1.) He feels this is the best/better position for the player given their current level.

2.) The player's desired position/best known position is actually a poor fit for them currently and the coach is trying to find a better home for the player.

3.) While not the players best position, the team is severely lacking in position X and the player does a decent enough job / better than other options.

The worst is where a coach is simply trying to "hide" a player by playing them where they think they will do the least amount of damage in order to secure a victory.

Your son should ask his coach on why he's played there. It's amazing to me how often changes are made and people are too scared to simply ask why.

A lot of coaches will just lie when you ask him why.

That's not a reason not to ask though is it? And a good coach won't lie.

If you know he is going to lie, for some parents there is no point to ask. Yes, some good coach won't lie, but I feel most will.

You can ask the question in a way that helps give the coach room to be honest.

Thanks for suggestion