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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Do clubs/ coaches let parents know what playing style they are trying achieve?
My DS's U15 team's coach has changed the formation about 3 times and the team doesn't seem to have an idea of what style they play.  (Possession, long ball, high press...etc.)  We have only played 2 games and the boys have been practicing since June. I'd figure by now it would be locked in. 
Confusion reigns supreme on the sideline at our games.  (both spectators and the bench)
I'd like to hear what others' experiences are.

I also have the opinion that this coach is not good.[/quote]

My guess would be that your coach does not understand how to coach.

There is nothing wrong with changing tactics and formations per se - all pro clubs do exactly that.  And formations can change independent of "style" - at least to some degree.

However - whether it is a good idea for a U15 team depends on the base of understanding that the team already has - and the coach's ability to communicate clearly.  If the team does not already have a really solid grasp of playing possession football, decision making/willingness to pass backwards/judging when to attack, building from the back, quick passing, movement on and off the ball and how to create room for passes etc. then switching things up every week just results in confusion - which seems to be what you are seeing.

I saw exactly the same thing on my DS' team one year when his coach (who had a had a long playing career at a high level in Europe, US and Central America) attempted to treat them like adult professional soccer players.  He would arrive at the game field with a tactical plan for the opponent that the kids had never seen before, let alone practiced, and spend fifteen minutes explaining how they would be playing today.  The consequence was that the kids usually had no idea what they were supposed to be doing on the field and - exactly as you suggest - confusion ran amok on the sidelines and the field.

In general with kids it is better to teach and maintain a consistent style every week and maybe tweak one or two details - perhaps reading the keys as to how and when to press for example, or reconfiguring the midfield shape - but no more than that.  It's no different to math really - you shouldn;t try and teach a kid calculus before they have a fiorm grasp of algebra.  It doesn't mean calculus is wrong, but it does mean the teacher (who might be a great mathematician) is not a very good teacher.[/quote]

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