Soccer-What is a "natural defender"?

[Anonymous]

Coach here -
For me when someone uses the term "natural" I think of how a player reacts without coaching and by instinct.

For me a natural defender has good positioning. They naturally understand how to keep between the defender and the goal. They instinctually know when to step in for a tackle or simply delay / keep the opponent in front of them.

They understand how to use their body regardless of their size to gain the greatest advantage in challenges.

Lastly they have a never give up attitude, even when beaten they work their butt off to get the ball back.

These are just a few, but probably the largest attributes that stick out to me when someone says a "natural" defender.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any parent or kid who doesn't like to defend will eventually find their smug asses on the bench .....in this day and age there is no room for lazy defending if you want to be a future pro or want a college scholarship...A real soccer player is a natural competitor so by default a complete soccer player is a" natural defender"...Have you noticed that the world's best defenders somewhere along the line played in a midfield position like wing earlier in their career?...eventually if the younger defenders do not get personal training or politic their way to the midfield they will be behind once they hit the u14 level. They simply will not have gotten enough touches on the ball IN PRACTICE OR THE GAMES....and the average midfielder will ride the bench because there are only so many midfielder positions....(again a ton midfielders in the DMV refuse to play in the back because their parents have drilled into them that the backline positions are trash...smh)...WELL one man's trash is another mans's treasure.. In fact, alot of times the players with the most potential never get the development that they need because the coaches park them in the back and never get them developed...because on the next level you have to somewhat athletic and skillful/technical...you will not cut the mustard if you lack one or the other. I am talking Women's Division one soccer...
There is an art to playing defense and a complete soccer player has the competitive nature that pushes them to naturally defend. This is a non-negotiable understanding...if you have noticed the backline players are some of your most valuable players at the higher levels...? The fact that most kids that play soccer in this area lack the athletic ability to play at the next level destroys the possibility of the best potential players going far because they are stuck in the back during their developmental years...The midfield and forward positions are so jammed packed many are forced to ride the bench or play defense or quit as they get older
World class defenders in fact world class players hardly ever play one position when they are younger....they are either pushed to the back or have no choice....BUT the one thing that midfielders have; if they are athletic enough, are good technical skills....
BOTTOM LINE...NATURAL DEFENDERS HAVE that "DAWG" IN THEM; something that alot of the teams need more of..they come with a blue collar mentality......Some of these coaches are selfish and would rather win than develop...if they took the best athletes and made them play a midfield position part of the time they would be some of your best soccer players but unfortunately this hardly happens..and the USA will eventually suffer on the women’s side and the Men are definitely suffering as we speak....Good athletes are normally your best natural defenders but ironically have a hard time developing to the best soccer players and this is sad.....NATURAL DEFENDERS ARE THE SALT OF TH

Sounds to me like he had very good coaches. Hopefully he won't end up listening to parents that are living vicariously through him.

1,000,000% YES.

We have been having this dialogue with our son's team. He unarguably has the best ball skill and field IQ on the team. They put him in Center D and found nobody could get past him and he was so calm and collected. Any other player they put back there---the team would collapse, get scored on and back he went, The other parents would argue he needs to play there.

The kid for past 2 years was not getting opportunity elsewhere. He came from a team where he was a top scorer/attacker. Kid frustrated. His team can't finish but they won't take him out of back because the score would be even larger against them. The few times (rare) he's moved up---he's scored a hat trick on what prior was a 0-0 game for the majority.

We have told them we are looking in our kid developing EVERYWHERE. It is in his best interest and they have been drumming any of the versatility he had right out of him. Less tourches, less dribbling and less opportunity to practice finishing.

We are done this year and going elsewhere. He's the kid that will 1 v1 and speed dribble and finishing contest at large camps--yet for whatever reason since no kid can fit back there for them there he goes (not.our.problem.) They'd rather come out defensively every gdamn game instead of putting up somebody that could finish. If you put goals in the net initially, you would worry less about getting scored on at the start of the game. Fine, move him back after the team is up and then move him back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weirdly, my son is a pretty good wing in futsal, but it doesn't seem to translate to soccer. He plays defense and midfield (the coach rotates the kids within certain parameters, not fully) in soccer. I'm not sure why the futsal wing skills don't translate over onto the larger field, but they don't.

It could be his teammates (assuming they are different). A player who makes very quick decisions, has a good first touch and passes accurately (which would make for a good futsal player) is not effective, and therefore would not appear to be a "good" player to the casual observer, if his teammates are not capable of doing the same.

+1 right

Or maybe he's out of shape and can't make longer runs or longer passes and/or doesn't understand the spacing of the outdoor game. Don't blame others.

[Anonymous]

I have four kids - all soccer players. All are defenders - 3 center backs, 1 left back and 2 of four who can play goalie. It must be the way their brains are wired.

[Anonymous]

Someone who can’t score. It Means your kid isn’t good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone who can’t score. It Means your kid isn’t good.

Your insecurity is showing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone who can’t score. It Means your kid isn’t good.

Congrats on taking the "Dumbest Answer of the Year" award. I suggest you come see some elite ECNL girls play and you'll see what amounts to what NFL scouts call, a shut-down-cornerback. FFS...

Best defenders are the calmest players on the field. Forwards and strikers are practically jumping out of their skin... A good - or natural - defender can disposess a player and keep their eyes up while making a great pass for the counter.

Seriously. Most novice and dumb answer I've seen in 2020.

[Anonymous]

Some players have a natural ability to read the game and are adept at disruption opposing play. They are usually quick on their feet, athletic and physical in their style of play. If they had a knack for scoring goals, they might play up top, but they're better at disruption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any parent or kid who doesn't like to defend will eventually find their smug asses on the bench .....in this day and age there is no room for lazy defending if you want to be a future pro or want a college scholarship...A real soccer player is a natural competitor so by default a complete soccer player is a" natural defender"...Have you noticed that the world's best defenders somewhere along the line played in a midfield position like wing earlier in their career?...eventually if the younger defenders do not get personal training or politic their way to the midfield they will be behind once they hit the u14 level. They simply will not have gotten enough touches on the ball IN PRACTICE OR THE GAMES....and the average midfielder will ride the bench because there are only so many midfielder positions....(again a ton midfielders in the DMV refuse to play in the back because their parents have drilled into them that the backline positions are trash...smh)...WELL one man's trash is another mans's treasure.. In fact, alot of times the players with the most potential never get the development that they need because the coaches park them in the back and never get them developed...because on the next level you have to somewhat athletic and skillful/technical...you will not cut the mustard if you lack one or the other. I am talking Women's Division one soccer...
There is an art to playing defense and a complete soccer player has the competitive nature that pushes them to naturally defend. This is a non-negotiable understanding...if you have noticed the backline players are some of your most valuable players at the higher levels...? The fact that most kids that play soccer in this area lack the athletic ability to play at the next level destroys the possibility of the best potential players going far because they are stuck in the back during their developmental years...The midfield and forward positions are so jammed packed many are forced to ride the bench or play defense or quit as they get older
World class defenders in fact world class players hardly ever play one position when they are younger....they are either pushed to the back or have no choice....BUT the one thing that midfielders have; if they are athletic enough, are good technical skills....
BOTTOM LINE...NATURAL DEFENDERS HAVE that "DAWG" IN THEM; something that alot of the teams need more of..they come with a blue collar mentality......Some of these coaches are selfish and would rather win than develop...if they took the best athletes and made them play a midfield position part of the time they would be some of your best soccer players but unfortunately this hardly happens..and the USA will eventually suffer on the women’s side and the Men are definitely suffering as we speak....Good athletes are normally your best natural defenders but ironically have a hard time developing to the best soccer players and this is sad.....NATURAL DEFENDERS ARE THE SALT OF TH

1,000,000% YES.

We have been having this dialogue with our son's team. He unarguably has the best ball skill and field IQ on the team. They put him in Center D and found nobody could get past him and he was so calm and collected. Any other player they put back there---the team would collapse, get scored on and back he went, The other parents would argue he needs to play there.

The kid for past 2 years was not getting opportunity elsewhere. He came from a team where he was a top scorer/attacker. Kid frustrated. His team can't finish but they won't take him out of back because the score would be even larger against them. The few times (rare) he's moved up---he's scored a hat trick on what prior was a 0-0 game for the majority.

We have told them we are looking in our kid developing EVERYWHERE. It is in his best interest and they have been drumming any of the versatility he had right out of him. Less tourches, less dribbling and less opportunity to practice finishing.

We are done this year and going elsewhere. He's the kid that will 1 v1 and speed dribble and finishing contest at large camps--yet for whatever reason since no kid can fit back there for them there he goes (not.our.problem.) They'd rather come out defensively every gdamn game instead of putting up somebody that could finish. If you put goals in the net initially, you would worry less about getting scored on at the start of the game. Fine, move him back after the team is up and then move him back.

This is my girl on an elite ecnl team outside dmv - she is 2nd fastest, great skills, great at 1v1, delivers the passes, great 1 touch, reads the field, cuts off angles, fearless - great tackles, plays out the back, takes the weight of the game on her shoulder . . . but she will never get to play another position ever after years because the team doesn't score enough so razor thin margins on wins. weaker players go into midfield/ thinking of moving her - hopefully not too late. I don't care if she ends up naturally at defender and Center back - but want her to at least played one other position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any parent or kid who doesn't like to defend will eventually find their smug asses on the bench .....in this day and age there is no room for lazy defending if you want to be a future pro or want a college scholarship...A real soccer player is a natural competitor so by default a complete soccer player is a" natural defender"...Have you noticed that the world's best defenders somewhere along the line played in a midfield position like wing earlier in their career?...eventually if the younger defenders do not get personal training or politic their way to the midfield they will be behind once they hit the u14 level. They simply will not have gotten enough touches on the ball IN PRACTICE OR THE GAMES....and the average midfielder will ride the bench because there are only so many midfielder positions....(again a ton midfielders in the DMV refuse to play in the back because their parents have drilled into them that the backline positions are trash...smh)...WELL one man's trash is another mans's treasure.. In fact, alot of times the players with the most potential never get the development that they need because the coaches park them in the back and never get them developed...because on the next level you have to somewhat athletic and skillful/technical...you will not cut the mustard if you lack one or the other. I am talking Women's Division one soccer...
There is an art to playing defense and a complete soccer player has the competitive nature that pushes them to naturally defend. This is a non-negotiable understanding...if you have noticed the backline players are some of your most valuable players at the higher levels...? The fact that most kids that play soccer in this area lack the athletic ability to play at the next level destroys the possibility of the best potential players going far because they are stuck in the back during their developmental years...The midfield and forward positions are so jammed packed many are forced to ride the bench or play defense or quit as they get older
World class defenders in fact world class players hardly ever play one position when they are younger....they are either pushed to the back or have no choice....BUT the one thing that midfielders have; if they are athletic enough, are good technical skills....
BOTTOM LINE...NATURAL DEFENDERS HAVE that "DAWG" IN THEM; something that alot of the teams need more of..they come with a blue collar mentality......Some of these coaches are selfish and would rather win than develop...if they took the best athletes and made them play a midfield position part of the time they would be some of your best soccer players but unfortunately this hardly happens..and the USA will eventually suffer on the women’s side and the Men are definitely suffering as we speak....Good athletes are normally your best natural defenders but ironically have a hard time developing to the best soccer players and this is sad.....NATURAL DEFENDERS ARE THE SALT OF TH

1,000,000% YES.

We have been having this dialogue with our son's team. He unarguably has the best ball skill and field IQ on the team. They put him in Center D and found nobody could get past him and he was so calm and collected. Any other player they put back there---the team would collapse, get scored on and back he went, The other parents would argue he needs to play there.

The kid for past 2 years was not getting opportunity elsewhere. He came from a team where he was a top scorer/attacker. Kid frustrated. His team can't finish but they won't take him out of back because the score would be even larger against them. The few times (rare) he's moved up---he's scored a hat trick on what prior was a 0-0 game for the majority.

We have told them we are looking in our kid developing EVERYWHERE. It is in his best interest and they have been drumming any of the versatility he had right out of him. Less tourches, less dribbling and less opportunity to practice finishing.

We are done this year and going elsewhere. He's the kid that will 1 v1 and speed dribble and finishing contest at large camps--yet for whatever reason since no kid can fit back there for them there he goes (not.our.problem.) They'd rather come out defensively every gdamn game instead of putting up somebody that could finish. If you put goals in the net initially, you would worry less about getting scored on at the start of the game. Fine, move him back after the team is up and then move him back.

This is my girl on an elite ecnl team outside dmv - she is 2nd fastest, great skills, great at 1v1, delivers the passes, great 1 touch, reads the field, cuts off angles, fearless - great tackles, plays out the back, takes the weight of the game on her shoulder . . . but she will never get to play another position ever after years because the team doesn't score enough so razor thin margins on wins. weaker players go into midfield/ thinking of moving her - hopefully not too late. I don't care if she ends up naturally at defender and Center back - but want her to at least played one other position.

Sounds like your kid could play anywhere since she’s so good. Why not have her play for a coach that cares?

[Anonymous]

2 of my kids have been called “natural defenders” by their soccer coaches in u-littles and I think it fits them. What the coaches have said to me is that my kids are good listeners, and that the coaches know they’re always in position when they look for them. Maybe that’s part of being a good defender?

They are both big for their age, too- and one of them (the better one) doesn’t mind getting physical.

There is that quality of doggedness- like little guard dogs. They relish getting that ball out of the goal area. I wouldn’t say either of them are very fast- so the idea that slower bigger kids are defenders (mentioned above) might be right, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2 of my kids have been called “natural defenders” by their soccer coaches in u-littles and I think it fits them. What the coaches have said to me is that my kids are good listeners, and that the coaches know they’re always in position when they look for them. Maybe that’s part of being a good defender?

They are both big for their age, too- and one of them (the better one) doesn’t mind getting physical.

There is that quality of doggedness- like little guard dogs. They relish getting that ball out of the goal area. I wouldn’t say either of them are very fast- so the idea that slower bigger kids are defenders (mentioned above) might be right, too.

That is what Ulittle coaches look for, but by U13 and above the defender attributes change. Speed is a requirement. They are faster than midfielders. They have to out pace the wings and strikers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any parent or kid who doesn't like to defend will eventually find their smug asses on the bench .....in this day and age there is no room for lazy defending if you want to be a future pro or want a college scholarship...A real soccer player is a natural competitor so by default a complete soccer player is a" natural defender"...Have you noticed that the world's best defenders somewhere along the line played in a midfield position like wing earlier in their career?...eventually if the younger defenders do not get personal training or politic their way to the midfield they will be behind once they hit the u14 level. They simply will not have gotten enough touches on the ball IN PRACTICE OR THE GAMES....and the average midfielder will ride the bench because there are only so many midfielder positions....(again a ton midfielders in the DMV refuse to play in the back because their parents have drilled into them that the backline positions are trash...smh)...WELL one man's trash is another mans's treasure.. In fact, alot of times the players with the most potential never get the development that they need because the coaches park them in the back and never get them developed...because on the next level you have to somewhat athletic and skillful/technical...you will not cut the mustard if you lack one or the other. I am talking Women's Division one soccer...
There is an art to playing defense and a complete soccer player has the competitive nature that pushes them to naturally defend. This is a non-negotiable understanding...if you have noticed the backline players are some of your most valuable players at the higher levels...? The fact that most kids that play soccer in this area lack the athletic ability to play at the next level destroys the possibility of the best potential players going far because they are stuck in the back during their developmental years...The midfield and forward positions are so jammed packed many are forced to ride the bench or play defense or quit as they get older
World class defenders in fact world class players hardly ever play one position when they are younger....they are either pushed to the back or have no choice....BUT the one thing that midfielders have; if they are athletic enough, are good technical skills....
BOTTOM LINE...NATURAL DEFENDERS HAVE that "DAWG" IN THEM; something that alot of the teams need more of..they come with a blue collar mentality......Some of these coaches are selfish and would rather win than develop...if they took the best athletes and made them play a midfield position part of the time they would be some of your best soccer players but unfortunately this hardly happens..and the USA will eventually suffer on the women’s side and the Men are definitely suffering as we speak....Good athletes are normally your best natural defenders but ironically have a hard time developing to the best soccer players and this is sad.....NATURAL DEFENDERS ARE THE SALT OF TH

1,000,000% YES.

We have been having this dialogue with our son's team. He unarguably has the best ball skill and field IQ on the team. They put him in Center D and found nobody could get past him and he was so calm and collected. Any other player they put back there---the team would collapse, get scored on and back he went, The other parents would argue he needs to play there.

The kid for past 2 years was not getting opportunity elsewhere. He came from a team where he was a top scorer/attacker. Kid frustrated. His team can't finish but they won't take him out of back because the score would be even larger against them. The few times (rare) he's moved up---he's scored a hat trick on what prior was a 0-0 game for the majority.

We have told them we are looking in our kid developing EVERYWHERE. It is in his best interest and they have been drumming any of the versatility he had right out of him. Less tourches, less dribbling and less opportunity to practice finishing.

We are done this year and going elsewhere. He's the kid that will 1 v1 and speed dribble and finishing contest at large camps--yet for whatever reason since no kid can fit back there for them there he goes (not.our.problem.) They'd rather come out defensively every gdamn game instead of putting up somebody that could finish. If you put goals in the net initially, you would worry less about getting scored on at the start of the game. Fine, move him back after the team is up and then move him back.

This is my girl on an elite ecnl team outside dmv - she is 2nd fastest, great skills, great at 1v1, delivers the passes, great 1 touch, reads the field, cuts off angles, fearless - great tackles, plays out the back, takes the weight of the game on her shoulder . . . but she will never get to play another position ever after years because the team doesn't score enough so razor thin margins on wins. weaker players go into midfield/ thinking of moving her - hopefully not too late. I don't care if she ends up naturally at defender and Center back - but want her to at least played one other position.

Sounds like your kid could play anywhere since she’s so good. Why not have her play for a coach that cares?

Want to second this. One of my favorite things about my daughters coach is that he moves our players around. Younger players, and maybe not everyone every single game, but most players play at least 2 different positions over the course of the game for multiple minutes/shifts. It's been great for my daughter who can run all day and thrives in the midfield from a stamina standpoint, but wasn't the best on the ball defender. There are still better defenders on the team from a 1v1 perspective, but I love that our coach mixes them up and all the players have gotten markedly better at all the positions they play over the course of the game vs the beginning of the season. Of course the game style changes when some of our better defenders are midfield or up top or our typical goal scorers are back, but that's not bad and it's good for everyone. And this happens in close games, not just blowouts (either direction).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 of my kids have been called “natural defenders” by their soccer coaches in u-littles and I think it fits them. What the coaches have said to me is that my kids are good listeners, and that the coaches know they’re always in position when they look for them. Maybe that’s part of being a good defender?

They are both big for their age, too- and one of them (the better one) doesn’t mind getting physical.

There is that quality of doggedness- like little guard dogs. They relish getting that ball out of the goal area. I wouldn’t say either of them are very fast- so the idea that slower bigger kids are defenders (mentioned above) might be right, too.

That is what Ulittle coaches look for, but by U13 and above the defender attributes change. Speed is a requirement. They are faster than midfielders. They have to out pace the wings and strikers.

No they just have to be physical and get to the body of the offensive player. Once a defender makes contact with the body of the offensive player it is over in 90% of the situations. So a natural defender has to be physical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 of my kids have been called “natural defenders” by their soccer coaches in u-littles and I think it fits them. What the coaches have said to me is that my kids are good listeners, and that the coaches know they’re always in position when they look for them. Maybe that’s part of being a good defender?

They are both big for their age, too- and one of them (the better one) doesn’t mind getting physical.

There is that quality of doggedness- like little guard dogs. They relish getting that ball out of the goal area. I wouldn’t say either of them are very fast- so the idea that slower bigger kids are defenders (mentioned above) might be right, too.

That is what Ulittle coaches look for, but by U13 and above the defender attributes change. Speed is a requirement. They are faster than midfielders. They have to out pace the wings and strikers.

That's a bit of a myth. Defenders don't have to be physically faster than the strikers though it doesn't hurt. They just have to be smarter and better positioned or mentally quicker so they get to where they need to be before the striker.