Match this weekend. other coach didn't back off up 5 and kept his top scorers in. However, he played with 9 vs 11.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the responses. We were a brand new team in the bottom division. They just had a lot to learn, which is why we got slaughtered. According to many on this board, we shouldnt have existed...and just gone and played rec. But they learned so much and it is coming together.

You have to start somewhere! All the kids, and especially the players on the bottom club team, improve so much after just 1 year. I have seen new kids at U11 leapfrog past other kids (who have been playing for 3 years) up from the bottom team to the top team in just 1 year. Even the new Coaches improve after a full year. Nothing stays the same in youth soccer for more than a year or two. Keep having fun!

Coming from a coach, it is very normal to have high scoring games at 7v7. The field is small, kids are improving dramatically, they are still learning positions and marking, goalkeepers are not set yet, kids are short and the goal is big, etc.

If you care about winning, you have to be really careful taking your foot off the gas even up by 4 goals, because it can swing in a heartbeat. We had games we won this season 14-8.

Things I do when winning big.

- Play with 3 defenders instead of 2.
- Rest my best players and give more minutes to the other kids.
- Put my best players at center mid, and my worst players up front.
- Concentrate on building out of the back and short passes only.
- Encourage playing the ball backwards on offense, and switching fields frequently.

Anonymous wrote:My kid just finished his U9 season. We had multiple games where we were up 6-7 goals at half. Our coach would make them keep the ball on our half and on pass. No one was allowed to cross midfield and try to score.

This isn't unusual at that age because leagues do not know where to place teams or clubs, and often clubs and teams do not know where placement is appropriate.

Anonymous wrote:I am just curious - if the team is up by a bunch (5 or 6) and its pretty clear the other team isn't going to make a huge comeback, has your coach or have you encountered a coach that tells the team to back off in the second half? Have everyone touch the ball before trying to score again? Stuff like that. If so, how do you feel about it?

Strongly. Absolutely back off and play players in different positions.

My kid just finished his U9 season. We had multiple games where we were up 6-7 goals at half. Our coach would make them keep the ball on our half and on pass. No one was allowed to cross midfield and try to score.

Thanks for the responses. We were a brand new team in the bottom division. They just had a lot to learn, which is why we got slaughtered. According to many on this board, we shouldnt have existed...and just gone and played rec. But they learned so much and it is coming together.

Anonymous wrote:Good coaches know there’s no need to keep scoring. A coach’s job is to challenge the players and if scoring goals are too easy then you have to challenge them in other areas.
I.E. only scoring from crosses, one touch finishing, everyone must touch the ball before scoring. I don’t like taking players off as it doesn’t help build an understanding of shape/positional understanding.

I’ve instituted “levels”
I’d say level 1 and players wouldn’t already know that meant 5 passes before scoring. And have several levels prepared ahead of time so I’m not yelling it/ discouraging the other team. In short challenging the players is the goal and that doesn’t mean just scoring.

Oh I really like calling it "levels". I believe our coach was doing this more or less but didn't have the word "levels" associated. But that meant our kids were yelling/reminding each other that they all hadn't passed it yet. Which I feel is demoralizing to the other team.

So what I am getting from this thread is - its responible and respectful for the coach to challenge/train the players rather than run up the score.

Our kids hadn't been in this position before so this approach might not have been executed as sophisticated as it could have been. It is a delicate balance to turn it into a training exercise without demoralizing the other team.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At U10, the coaches should take the opportunity to try to practice body shape and positioning with passes more. Build confidence with building the ball out of the back and develop weaker players.

There is no point in running up the score more than 4-0 in the second half. But there is great value in getting a cornier kick play in or working on switching the play.

Why would these things not be emphasized in EVERY possible scoreline scenario?

Because if most coaches exercised a philosophy of playing out of the back and mistakes caused turnovers and goals/losses, most parents are leaving the team.

The best coach my kids ever had taught them to pass back to the keeper at U9. They weren’t always successful, and parents had heart failure, but it was awesome!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At U10, the coaches should take the opportunity to try to practice body shape and positioning with passes more. Build confidence with building the ball out of the back and develop weaker players.

There is no point in running up the score more than 4-0 in the second half. But there is great value in getting a cornier kick play in or working on switching the play.

Why would these things not be emphasized in EVERY possible scoreline scenario?

Because if most coaches exercised a philosophy of playing out of the back and mistakes caused turnovers and goals/losses, most parents are leaving the team.

My U10 player (U11 next year) has been on a team that emphasized lots of passing, building out of the back, and switching the field. It has certainly led to some losses, especially against stronger and more aggressive teams. But no one left over it. There were some struggles and yes some frustration early on as the kids figured it out, but it’s been pretty cool to watch it come together. The team won several games by 4-6 goals this past season. The coach probably could have done more to back off, but because the team already passes so much he would have had to do things like take players off the field which could maybe feel insulting to the opponent.