Anonymous wrote:Another parent of a U11 here who only gets played in the back. We have spoken to his coach who said that is where he needs him. Thankfully our player plays essentially the entire game, but at that age most kids want the 'glory' of scoring a goal or two (not to mention the developmental benefits to rotating through positions).

Yes. With a big roster my U11 also plays the entire game as center back. He has talked to the Coach and he has been getting time at Center Mid. Granted, in a competitive game in a tournament he won't move but I think my son has learned to love being depended on so heavily. It's been a big adjustment because he has come from Clubs where he was always a forward and scored lots. This is giving him an entirely new appreciation of the game.

But, I would like time in 'non-critical' matches for him to move up front for a bit. Just to keep him happy because he misses the goals.

Another parent of a U11 here who only gets played in the back. We have spoken to his coach who said that is where he needs him. Thankfully our player plays essentially the entire game, but at that age most kids want the 'glory' of scoring a goal or two (not to mention the developmental benefits to rotating through positions).

Kids should be rotating between 2-3 spots on the field, including the goalie. That does not mean a striker has to play defense, but could be simple adjustments like Center Mid playing on the wing or a full back playing in the mid field. If this is travel that you are referring to, the days of sticking the fat kid in the backline is over. Most of the time those kids are most athletic.

Anonymous wrote:At u10 the kids should rotate through ever position. Winning does not matter at u10. So if the coach tells you your kid is the only one he can depend...too bad. The other kids need to learn the position so he can depend on them. They should start getting slotted into one or two positions by around u12.

You need to talk to the coach and ask for you son to be rotated through different positions. Tell him you are concerned about his development as a player.

This should apply up until about u12. This is the problem with US soccer. Sticking kids into set positions at early ages. They need to experience all positions. The only exception might be during a tournament when you want to win. Otherwise, league games are meaningless except for parents who freak out when they lose.

That’s pretty dumb. Just play them as a forward and have them track back if their defensive output is oh-so-important

Wow... same story here. U10 boy that asked the coach to play forward. Coach told him he needs him on defense because he is one of the only kids that actually can get back on defense. Ridiculous. The rest of the kids stand at the mid field and do nothing.
Ultimately he wants to play midfield. I told him he can just push up as a defender and get to play offense. He is fast enough to get back but that won't always work.

At u10 the kids should rotate through ever position. Winning does not matter at u10. So if the coach tells you your kid is the only one he can depend...too bad. The other kids need to learn the position so he can depend on them. They should start getting slotted into one or two positions by around u12.

You need to talk to the coach and ask for you son to be rotated through different positions. Tell him you are concerned about his development as a player.

I have a U10 player who always gets played in the back--same kind of thing. He is fast and very reliable. Of course he'd like to be scoring goals, but, besides going along with what the coach asks, I think it is good for his development. I have an older boy who only played forward at the younger ages because they had strong foot skills/could score. But when he aged into 11 v 11 you can tell that he is not as strong on defense as other kids and that he hasn't developed the vision of the whole field. So basically, he still plays forward. A lot of the kids who were defenders in U9 -U11 become midfielders later on and can really play anywhere.

Anonymous wrote:My son is stuck as goal keeper at u11. He loves the position and is pretty strong there so that’s how the coach justifies it. I see now that his development has clearly suffered this year, yet he’s loved every minute so I’m torn. We chose convenience, fun and friendship over development which as the parent of a 10 year old seemed logical. Yet I think we will regret our decision at tryout time.

We’re at a club that has a different philosophy from our coach. If we had any other coach, this would not have happened. There’s a lot of arguing on this board about this club vs that but it comes down to the coach.

I agree.

Anonymous wrote:My son is really good at defense so he plays there half the time, maybe a bit more. The rest of the time he plays midfield. Instead of the hijinks you suggested, maybe just have your player talk to the coach?

Player has talked to coach. Coach says he can’t trust anyone else back there. TD promised he would get play elsewhere. No dice.

He does play entire game, but not happy about being in the back. Other teams always played him up.

I don’t mind having him play backnif he at least got some opportunity to play elsewhere because it’s taking the live out of it a bit.

My son is really good at defense so he plays there half the time, maybe a bit more. The rest of the time he plays midfield. Instead of the hijinks you suggested, maybe just have your player talk to the coach?

Wondering... whats your future as a FPYC parent? Im sure you don't want to keep your DD at that club. Whats the next option DA WSVA? I noticed fairfax city doesn't have many good clubs (CCL VPL) only 1 DA?/

FPYCparent wrote:I don't know that I can speak for the entire club, but the FPYC 2008/U11 girls coach attempts to play everyone at multiple field positions. For better or for worse, he subs at a set time intervals, so we end up with some hockey line changes. (With only one girls team in the age group, we probably have a roster that's larger than most. Therefore, the groups of subs are more noticeable.)

We've currently got four or five or so girls who regularly participate in goalkeeper training, so the coach rotates those players in goal (typically, two per half).

FPYC as a whole has really gone downhill (and that's probably an understatement), but you've lucked out with Glenn. He's a really good coach.

My son is stuck as goal keeper at u11. He loves the position and is pretty strong there so that’s how the coach justifies it. I see now that his development has clearly suffered this year, yet he’s loved every minute so I’m torn. We chose convenience, fun and friendship over development which as the parent of a 10 year old seemed logical. Yet I think we will regret our decision at tryout time.

We’re at a club that has a different philosophy from our coach. If we had any other coach, this would not have happened. There’s a lot of arguing on this board about this club vs that but it comes down to the coach.

They should be developed in multiple positions.

The truly versatile kids end up suffering because they get slated as the center back or defender because most kids are solely one dimensional and only can play forward. It’s riskier in coach’s mind to play a weak player in the back. Coaches always say “we can’t trust anyone else”. It is stifling creativity.

What’s the kid need to do- let goals in/players get by them like all the kids that were moved out of back and now stuck on outside wing/mid?

What’s frustrating is also the emphasis on holding/not conceding vs scoring— they would score a whole lot more if they moved 2-3 of their backs up. Then, feel free to move them back there to hold the lead.

I am missing “attack-minded” soccer.

Name some Clubs at this age that develop kids in multiple positions please. Thanks!