Small Sided Games

There is plenty of information out there from all the top experts from around the world and the US in regards to the benefits of youth players playing small sided soccer games (4v4). If you search the internet for “small sided soccer games” and “youth soccer” you will find a plethora of information talking about the benefits of small sided games for developing players. Especially at the youngest age groups, small sided games give players more touches on the soccer ball, more opportunities to try skills, more involvement in the game, and puts players in a game environment that is cognitively appropriate for their age. Outside of all of benefits for player development, is there another argument to be made for the use of small sided games in youth soccer? Believe it or not, the use of small sided games also benefits the parents!

What would the benefits be to the parents if teams played small sided games each weekend (festivals) versus playing in leagues and in tournaments? Below, I have outlined just some of the benefits to the parents (some also benefit the kids as well). Mainly, playing small sided games eliminates many of parents’ biggest frustrations with youth soccer. If players up to U9 played in these types of formats, youth soccer at the youngest age groups would not only become more about the kids again, but create an environment that is beneficial for the parents as well.

Playing Time
For parents paying “X” amount of dollars every season for their kids to play soccer, it is normal for those parents to have the expectation that their kid gets time to play in games (especially at the young age groups). Those games should be about development and the kids having fun, right? Even if a coach divided time up evenly for a team of 10 players, playing 6v6, in a 50 minute game, almost every player would play less than 50% of the game. I will go out on a limb and say most parents probably want to spend their time on the sideline of the soccer field watching their kid get to play, not their kid watching the game from the other sideline.

If you take the same 10 players on that team and break up into two 4v4 games against another team with 10 players, the two teams could play two smaller 4v4 games and each team has one sub. In this scenario, the kids would get a drastic increase of time on the field playing (which is needed to improve). For a parent, the games would be more enjoyable to watch if you got to watch your child playing the majority of the time.

Could you just have fewer kids on a team playing 6v6? Yes, of course and playing time for all would increase. Although, still with larger numbers and field at the younger age groups, how often would a parent’s child be involved in the game?

Positions
Another issue parents tend have is kids getting stuck in certain positions. Maybe their child plays defender every single game because it gives the team the best chance of winning, despite not being developmentally beneficial for the player. In a small sided game, positions are fluid; you really do not have forwards, midfielders, or defenders. Everyone does everything! Every player gets to attack and defend all the time. The players just need to make sure they are not crowding each other and finding space on the field. For the parents, again, it would be nice to get to see your child get the same opportunities on the field as every other player and not have a “position” labeled too early keeping your child from getting to do learn different aspects of the game.

Cost/Travel
What if parents did not have to pay to cover league fees, tournament fees, or for hotels in different cities when kids are 9 years old or younger? One of the arguments for small sided, “festival” format games is that it eliminates tournament formats and leagues that often produce an environment that is counterproductive to player development at the younger age groups when scores/results become a focus. If teams and clubs could agree on playing in small sided formats in local festivals, they should be able to reduce the cost to the parents as league and tournament fees would not be necessary. This should eliminate on travel time and costs as well since the parents are not traveling far to play games. The games should be within their community or neighboring communities. I am sure parents would not mind spending more weekends at home through the Fall and Spring, and at the same time, saving money each year on gas, food, hotel rooms and other fees.

Schedule
The Fall and Spring can be a hectic time for parents. Multiple games during the week, different days and times for games each week, and a never changing schedule can make youth soccer a headache for parents. Trying to keep a schedule and coordinate between different events and activities for multiple kids, or just one kid, can be more complicated when game schedules change each week. When teams play in multiple leagues and need to schedule around tournaments things can become even more complicated. What if each week your child played on the same day and relatively the same time? For example, each Saturday the kids could come together and play for two hours around the same time each week. For 8 to 10 weeks in the Fall and the Spring, parents will know that they need to be available on Saturday before noon (just an example) for their kid’s game. Would that not be an easier arrangement to schedule and plan for?

If two or more clubs or teams could agree that they will play each Saturday morning in these small sided games, everyone could plan accordingly throughout the season with a more consistent and concrete schedule. This is beneficial from a parent standpoint in terms of scheduling, but also would allow kids to participate in other sports and activities. With a set schedule, it would be much easier for a child to schedule around other sports as the soccer schedule would be more concrete and not different week to week. There is no reason at the youngest age groups soccer needs to be as hectic as it currently is for parents. Using small sided games and these types of festival days would allow for a more consistent schedule week to week.

Happy Kid
Kids enjoy small sided games. They get more touches on the ball and more opportunities to have success. If a child only gets to touch the ball one time during their time on the soccer field, and a mistake was made, they probably will not enjoy themselves. If the player has a number of opportunities on the ball, some successful and some not, they are more likely to enjoy the game. In addition, small sided games create a “community” or “culture” around the game. If all the players in an age group are together playing on the same day and same time, an EVENT can take place that the kids look forward to each week. They know all of their friends will be there and other kids and families. Everyone comes together and gets to play and watch other teams play. Instead of a single team, going to a park and then go home, all the teams within a community can be there together and support each other. Again, it creates an environment that is more about the kids and them enjoying themselves with their friends and family versus just showing up, playing a game, and going home.

Parents want their kids to enjoy what they do. That does not mean every second they are smiling or every moment goes as planned. In sports, there are good and bad moments and kids need to learn how to deal with them. But kids tend to leave a sport once the bad moments significantly outnumber the good moments. With small sided games, players may enjoy the experience more than in larger game formats where they do not get to play as much, score as much, or always be part of the game.

Playing small sided games has a lot of benefits for players. That is well documented. Obviously, there are benefits for the parents as well to change to this type of format. This requires a departure from old ideas about what youth soccer should or needs to look like for young kids, but with the increase of research and data it is becoming easier to accept. So, if there is an opportunity to improve the overall experience and development of young players, and make things a little easier for parents, what are we waiting for?