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Positions and Play Time at U11/12

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    Positions and Play Time at U11/12

    New to club BU11 and had our first 3 games this past weekend.

    While it's still early in the season, I'm wondering what most clubs do regarding positions and play time at this age.

    My son played D and net and was rarely subbed.

    Another kid on our team only played 1/2 of one of the games and was subbed a lot.

    We only had 2-3 subs all weekend so I thought all the kids would get a lot of playing time.

    In regards to positions, he/I don't mind D. I just don't want him stuck there all season as I believe you should be playing all the positions at this age.

    So, on your kids team - do they sub evenly and do the kids have set positions at the U11/12?

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    New to club BU11 and had our first 3 games this past weekend.

    While it's still early in the season, I'm wondering what most clubs do regarding positions and play time at this age.

    My son played D and net and was rarely subbed.

    Another kid on our team only played 1/2 of one of the games and was subbed a lot.

    We only had 2-3 subs all weekend so I thought all the kids would get a lot of playing time.

    In regards to positions, he/I don't mind D. I just don't want him stuck there all season as I believe you should be playing all the positions at this age.

    So, on your kids team - do they sub evenly and do the kids have set positions at the U11/12?

    Equal playtime can be found in town soccer and in the NEP at the U10 and U11 age groups. After that, welcome to club soccer. If a kid plays half of the game then that is not too bad. Wait until next year and thereafter when kids get about 5-10 minutes per game. That is the way the coaches lets you know that you are not likely to be on the team next year.

    Otherwise, your description of your coach's handling of the game seems to be against development.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      Equal playtime can be found in town soccer and in the NEP at the U10 and U11 age groups. After that, welcome to club soccer. If a kid plays half of the game then that is not too bad. Wait until next year and thereafter when kids get about 5-10 minutes per game. That is the way the coaches lets you know that you are not likely to be on the team next year.

      Otherwise, your description of your coach's handling of the game seems to be against development.
      Agree they are too young still to be stuck in one spot. Could be the way that one coach works and not necessarily a clubs philosophy. Some coaches may have a parent meeting at some point and that is a good time to bring up the question. But if that's how most other coaches are and it continues that way start thinking about moving next year.

      Other poster is correct - at a good club you earn your playing time in practices and performing on the field.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        New to club BU11 and had our first 3 games this past weekend.

        While it's still early in the season, I'm wondering what most clubs do regarding positions and play time at this age.

        My son played D and net and was rarely subbed.

        Another kid on our team only played 1/2 of one of the games and was subbed a lot.

        We only had 2-3 subs all weekend so I thought all the kids would get a lot of playing time.

        In regards to positions, he/I don't mind D. I just don't want him stuck there all season as I believe you should be playing all the positions at this age.

        So, on your kids team - do they sub evenly and do the kids have set positions at the U11/12?
        Re playing time - 1/2 of the game isn't too bad, but surprisingly little considering the team only had 2-3 subs. I'd worry about what happens when the team has more kids available. You need to play in games to develop. Any coach/club that doesn't give every kid substantial playing time is not interested in developing kids, at least not all the kids they are taking money from.

        Comment


          #5
          My D is a U 12 player at a top club. The kids are definitely rotating positions less than they did last year at U11. But there are still some changes being made, mostly because we have added more midfield positions. I think this is the year they will really start to 'specialize' in their positions. At U11 they start to play one position more frequently than others but should still have chances to play in other spots. With regards to playing time, if that child had three games and only played 1/2 of one game at U11/12, that isn't enough time with only a couple of subs. Even at a top club, at that age group playing time should be more equally divided, for player development purposes. At U 12/13 on top teams at top clubs you start to see more playing time for better players. For example, Our starters for the week are determined by multiple factors which are explained at the beginning of the season. Attitude and attendance at practice including being late, how you perform in practice, those are the big ones. But if you start and are playing poorly you will be subbed and may not start for the second game of the day if someone else in your position is playing better.

          However, different coaches in our club approach that differently, and it also depends on the game they are playing-easy, hard, tournament final, etc. This started at the end of the U11 year.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            My D is a U 12 player at a top club. The kids are definitely rotating positions less than they did last year at U11. But there are still some changes being made, mostly because we have added more midfield positions. I think this is the year they will really start to 'specialize' in their positions. At U11 they start to play one position more frequently than others but should still have chances to play in other spots. With regards to playing time, if that child had three games and only played 1/2 of one game at U11/12, that isn't enough time with only a couple of subs. Even at a top club, at that age group playing time should be more equally divided, for player development purposes. At U 12/13 on top teams at top clubs you start to see more playing time for better players. For example, Our starters for the week are determined by multiple factors which are explained at the beginning of the season. Attitude and attendance at practice including being late, how you perform in practice, those are the big ones. But if you start and are playing poorly you will be subbed and may not start for the second game of the day if someone else in your position is playing better.

            However, different coaches in our club approach that differently, and it also depends on the game they are playing-easy, hard, tournament final, etc. This started at the end of the U11 year.
            Positioning at tournaments is different than league games. Get used to it. Also, tell your son to work on his offensive skills.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              After that, welcome to club soccer. If a kid plays half of the game then that is not too bad. Wait until next year and thereafter when kids get about 5-10 minutes per game.
              I disagree slightly. If the parent isn't a nightmare and the team doesn't have a better kid show up at tryouts, they might WANT a replacement, but let's face it, they'll keep the kid as long as mom or dad writes that check.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                New to club BU11 and had our first 3 games this past weekend.

                While it's still early in the season, I'm wondering what most clubs do regarding positions and play time at this age.

                My son played D and net and was rarely subbed.

                Another kid on our team only played 1/2 of one of the games and was subbed a lot.

                We only had 2-3 subs all weekend so I thought all the kids would get a lot of playing time.

                In regards to positions, he/I don't mind D. I just don't want him stuck there all season as I believe you should be playing all the positions at this age.

                So, on your kids team - do they sub evenly and do the kids have set positions at the U11/12?
                In my opinion, if before (and maybe including) U12 your club isn't rotating positions as part of their approach to player development, then they have no player development. Kids not playing back, mid, forward (and even at keeper) is entirely about the team's results, not the player developing. Good luck with that when they're older, trying out for their high school team, wanting to play on a competitive club team (i.e., actually better than their town team), etc.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  In my opinion, if before (and maybe including) U12 your club isn't rotating positions as part of their approach to player development, then they have no player development. Kids not playing back, mid, forward (and even at keeper) is entirely about the team's results, not the player developing. Good luck with that when they're older, trying out for their high school team, wanting to play on a competitive club team (i.e., actually better than their town team), etc.
                  Thanks everyone for the responses.

                  I agree with the above, but wanted to see if that actually happens at any of the clubs.

                  It was the 1st set of games and tourn games at that. I'll give it another game or two before I speak up.

                  I know the coach asked the kids what they want to play and my son said he could play anywhere. So it's possible that he was trying to accomodate the kids. I'm just not sure that's the best for player development and at this age kids don't know what's best for them either.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Different strokes for different folks. Some parents absolutely love watching their kid trot out to the same spot, maybe even not a lot of minutes, but if the team dominates, all is good.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      Thanks everyone for the responses.

                      I agree with the above, but wanted to see if that actually happens at any of the clubs.

                      It was the 1st set of games and tourn games at that. I'll give it another game or two before I speak up.

                      I know the coach asked the kids what they want to play and my son said he could play anywhere. So it's possible that he was trying to accomodate the kids. I'm just not sure that's the best for player development and at this age kids don't know what's best for them either.
                      It depends on the coach... I will tell you that my son went to one of the larger clubs and from day 1 his coach pegged him as a defensive player (despite the fact that he had never specialized in D previously... In fact, played mainly offense previous to that). With the larger clubs, in my experience - son referenced above is my third child to go through club soccer programs - they specialize in positions at u11. So, if you are unhappy with your son playing D all the time, you may have an issue. Again, this was our experience. Also, generally speaking, the bigger the club, the less likely it is that you're opinion will matter to them (ie you can speak up to your coach, but he likely won't care).

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        It depends on the coach... I will tell you that my son went to one of the larger clubs and from day 1 his coach pegged him as a defensive player (despite the fact that he had never specialized in D previously... In fact, played mainly offense previous to that). With the larger clubs, in my experience - son referenced above is my third child to go through club soccer programs - they specialize in positions at u11. So, if you are unhappy with your son playing D all the time, you may have an issue. Again, this was our experience. Also, generally speaking, the bigger the club, the less likely it is that you're opinion will matter to them (ie you can speak up to your coach, but he likely won't care).

                        There are two important endpoints and other secondary ones. The latter deals with whether or not your son ultimately wants to play college (or greater) soccer and whether or not it needs to be divison 1,2,or 3. The important endpoints are development and playtime.

                        There is no kid that wants to sit on the bench no matter how good the team might be. They want to be on the field. This is, in my kids' opinion, the top priority. Development and enjoyment is the other top priority. My personal opinion is that ball handling is best learned by the attack and midfielders. Obviously this depends on how well the coach incorporates the lines of the team, but most top defenders learned their ball handling skills when they were playing offense. From a 'fun' point of view, 'the offense almost always gets the credit for the win, while the defense gets blamed for the loss'.

                        Your kid is too young to play defense only!!!.....in my opinion

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          There are two important endpoints and other secondary ones. The latter deals with whether or not your son ultimately wants to play college (or greater) soccer and whether or not it needs to be divison 1,2,or 3. The important endpoints are development and playtime.

                          There is no kid that wants to sit on the bench no matter how good the team might be. They want to be on the field. This is, in my kids' opinion, the top priority. Development and enjoyment is the other top priority. My personal opinion is that ball handling is best learned by the attack and midfielders. Obviously this depends on how well the coach incorporates the lines of the team, but most top defenders learned their ball handling skills when they were playing offense. From a 'fun' point of view, 'the offense almost always gets the credit for the win, while the defense gets blamed for the loss'.

                          Your kid is too young to play defense only!!!.....in my opinion
                          Thank you and agree.

                          Ironically - like the prior poster above your response, my son played mostly MF last year for town/travel and his foot skills improved tremendously.

                          I'm thinking he was originally pegged for D for club bc of his size (tallest one on the team) and willingness to play anywhere.

                          His fave position is keeper, and he's good at it. But I don't want him to specialize there either.

                          I'll give it a game or two and see what happens before I speak up.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Just reading "offense" and "defense" as positions makes my head explode. Yeah, I get that a striker and center back have different roles, but attacking and defending are principles of play, not positions. If your kid's coach doesn't clearly offer this distinction in his instruction or his style of play, where all of the kids on the field are attacking together and defending together based on possession, and instead leans heavily toward this so-called "specialization" then I'd be seriously about player development. The team might play great soccer, win a lot, but any number of kids might be getting short changed in terms of having a well-rounded set of skills and understanding of the game.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              As a club elite team club coach I think this is a no brainer. I play players at all positions at U11 and under to include keeper if I do not have a player that is interested in it full-time. I am creating soccer players, not position players. I play all players at least half the game if they come to 80% or more of trainings and games and give 100% effort also. I do not have favorites and I do not put winning ahead of development at this age. I also do not take players out for making mistakes. I think this kills a players confidence and they are less willling to try something new in the future. I do play the players that are playing well that day more than others because they earned the extra playing time. All my players have noticed so they all work hard and want to do well in training and games. This is all I can ask for as a coach, kids want to work hard and get better. I feel that coaches that play players less than half a game or play players only at one position is doing so for their ego and not for the development of their players.

                              Comment

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