Most people would answer this question with a simple, “yes.” Of course soccer is a team sport, right? It is played by a group of players working together to try to win a game. Naturally, it is a team sport. On the outside looking in, this is very true and it is hard to argue with that logic. Since we have this view that soccer is a team sport, coaches of young players will focus more on teaching “team” concepts and spend less time working on each player’s individual skill. Practice time is spent on team tactics, roles and responsibilities of different positions, set plays (corners/free kicks), etc… all areas that will help a team win. Being a team sport, these are critical for a coach to focus on with their players as it gives them the best chance of winning, right? Well, yes this will help youth teams win games NOW, but will hurt each individual player’s ability to play on a team that wins games later, when they are older, when it matters a little more.
Until U13 soccer should be coached as an individual sport. Coaches should be more concerned about each player’s individual development versus how the team does as a whole. Coaches who work with players in this age group have the awesome responsibility to make sure each player has all the tools necessary to compete in an 11v11 match when they are older. This requires players to be a master of the soccer ball, be in great physical condition, and have a strong will to compete. In addition, the player needs to have great awareness of the game in relation to their positioning/spacing on the field, when to dribble or pass, and be able to apply their technical abilities to the game. This is developed through the player being put in different situations in games and training that require the player to find solutions to all the different problems the game presents.
Before anyone calls me "anti-team," I want it to be clear that this focus is as "pro-team" as a coach can get. By focusing on individual development and learning, the coach helps the ENTIRE TEAM GET BETTER. All the players have the opportunity to improve and learn the game, and as a result, the team as a whole will continue to improve. Although immediate game results may not be easy to get because of how a coach is asking their kids to play, overtime the kids will continue to get better and results will be earned later on. Is not that a key part of sports too? Learning how to work hard, learn a new skill, apply that skill, and EARN success over a body of hard work? When success comes easy, when it is handed to the players by the coaches through "quick fixes" and "short cuts", we are just teaching the kids how to cut corners and to find immediate satisfaction.
A coach should teach players how to be a part of a team, work hard for one another, trust one another, play for one another, support one another, and improve for one another. These life skills should still be taught to players because these skills are part of each player's individual development. The kids will need these skills to play on their current team, and have success on any "team" they "play" for throughout the rest of their lives. When coaches do not try to coach each player to help them improve, give them opportunities to learn, or create an environment where the team success relies on only a few players, in my opinion, there is nothing more "anti-team" than that approach.
If youth coaches are working on tactics to help the players win games instead of teaching critical skill areas in training or are not giving the players opportunities to work on their individual ability with the ball in games (no matter what the result), the players will not develop the skills, confidence, or awareness necessary to compete at higher levels of competition. Simply, they will not be able to execute actual team tactics when they are older, and will not have the tools to play the game. By focusing on their individual ability on the ball, the ability to dribble, receive, pass, and finish, the ability to move off the ball, support the ball, and how to defend correctly, the players will transition with less issues into the larger, faster, and more complicated game of 11v11.
With younger teams, it is not uncommon to have defenders sitting in their own 18 yard box the entire game with instructions not to go forward and to just clear it, or the biggest and strongest players with the strongest leg to always go to goal and shoot all the time. This type of coaching will definitely help a team win a U9 game, but will do very little in terms of helping the players develop the skills needed to continue to play the game in the future. The coach is coaching the game to win, not coaching the game to help the players improve. Sadly, this happens as soon as kids begin playing soccer in recreational leagues when it should be all about the player, all the time.
As strange as it may seem, although the game is a team sport, the coach needs to approach everything from an individual player standpoint (which will help the team). The coach’s job is not to win games. The coach's job is to teach the game. The coach’s job is to create an environment conducive to player development and focus primarily on this area. Training sessions and games need to be approached with the goal to give each player the opportunity to improve their individual skill level and understanding of the game. This includes players getting fair playing time and opportunities in different positions each game, and spending most of their time in practice moving and playing with the soccer ball, with less time standing around.
Areas of focus for these age groups in training:
- Control – In every aspect of the game with the soccer ball. If a player cannot control the ball, the player cannot play the game. The ability to dribble, pass, and receive the ball is critical area of development of this age group. This is the age where players need to work tirelessly to make the ball become an extension of the body, and little thought goes into the basic and most often used skills of the game when they are older. For this to happen, players need to be encouraged to control the ball when it comes to them and always try to do something with the soccer ball (dribble or pass). Players tend to “just kick” the ball when it comes to them to avoid losing the ball or because it is simply easier (and are often praised for it). Coaches must reinforce that players take multiple touches on the ball and try to dribble, pass to a teammate, or try to score after bringing the ball under control.
In addition to control of the soccer ball, players need to learn how to control their body. The better coordination, balance, and body awareness a player the more success the player will have with the soccer ball and without the soccer ball in a game. This is another key area for coaches to focus on with young players.
- Creativity/Confidence - Players need to be put in a lot of 1v1 situations where they cannot hide and must take players on with the soccer ball or defend against a player with the soccer ball. Players who feel confident in 1v1 situations will be stronger players as the game is many 1v1 situations when broken down to the simplest form. In these situations, players need to be encouraged to be creative and try skills with the soccer ball to solve the problem presented to them. At the younger ages the touches on the ball in these situations are invaluable to development. As the numbers on the field increase, the players get fewer touches on the ball on a consistent basis giving them fewer opportunities in these situations. This is why US Soccer and other organization push for small sided games when kids are younger (3v3, 4v4). This maximizes touches on the ball and opportunities to make decisions while being involved in the game.
- Competition/Fun – If players are having fun, they will compete. By competing, players will have fun. This does not mean putting an emphasis on winning, but putting an emphasis on working hard, doing their best, with a big smile. It is required to want to compete in sports and a player must develop a competitive attitude, but a coach cannot take short cuts with players to help them win games thinking that is what helps kids become competitive. Instead, the players need to be challenged to improve their skills and develop the tools that will help them be competitive in games and find individual success. As soon as a player equates hard work and improving their skills to success, it will be a lifelong lesson that will stick. Coaches should make it appoint to recognize and reward a player’s effort and progress during training sessions and in games.
- Awareness/Problem Solving – Biggest mistake coaches of youth players make is giving them all of the answers to all of the problems on the field. Coaches do not give players time to figure out skills and situations in games on their own. When coaches are quick to step in and TELL kids what they SHOULD do, it gives little opportunity for the player to figure that out. Moreover, the kids understanding of the game will never be broader than the understanding of the coaches. A big responsibility of the coach is to give the kids the tools and opportunity to solve problems on the field and make up their own mind (right or wrong) and learn from it. When they are older, the game requires players to think for themselves on the field and cannot rely on the coach for play by play instructions. Coaches should let the design of an activity do a lot of the “coaching” and step in to ask the players questions at the right time to promote critical thinking to make an appropriate coaching point. This allows the players to come to their own conclusions and will develop into smart, aware, and problem solving players who will have much more success in the future.
- Technique – Coaches often miss the opportunities to teach technique. When teaching dribbling, passing, or other skills of the games, coaches tend to make general comments like, “keep the ball close” or “play an accurate pass.” Both comments are good advice, but do very little to help the player execute the skill. Modeling is one of the best ways to teach technique. All players do things differently, but by being able to watch an older player or a coach perform a skill, the player can try to mimic what they observe. To assist with modeling, give the players concrete coaching points which they can implement. For example, is “lock your ankle” as effective as “pull your toes up through the top of your shoe and show the ball the inside of your foot”. Yes, a little longer of a comment, but the coach is giving the player information they can physically implement to help perform the skill. A player pulling their toes up to the top of their shoe naturally locks the ankle to pass the ball. The coach is explaining not just what the player should do but, more importantly, how to do it. Technique should be taught all the time in the context of the game, and then allow the kids to take those principles to figure out how they will implement the skills in the game.
As you can see, these areas have very little to do with the team concepts, BUT all of these areas will help the players be able to focus on team concepts and tactical game plans when they are older. Simply put, these are the primary tools the players need to play the game, and a player who still needs to focus on these areas when they are older, will not be able to focus on the game going on around them. These skills need to become automatic and move to a subconscious level for the player. If a player is still focusing on what is going on at their feet with the soccer ball, they will not be able to concentrate on the game as it becomes faster and more complex in the older age groups. Players, who focus on these areas as a child do the smaller technical things right all the time This allows them to concentrate on the tactical areas of the game that are important to team success at the older levels.
So, yes, soccer is a team sport (obviously), but at the younger age groups, the development of the individual player is more important than the development of the team. As the players get older, this should slowly begin to change and the team becomes more of the focus. Coaches should teach important principles like cooperation, unity, trust, and accountability that are important to being part of a team, but at the same time, the coach should teach and focus on the individual skills needed to play the game over other areas of the game that are focused on helping the team win now. The team tactics become more of the focus in training and in games at the older age groups, but at that time, it will be necessary for the player to already have developed most of the fundamental skills needed to play the game. If they have not, then it will be too late to go back…
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