Soccer Positions: Practice #3
I’ve been wanting to write down what I do for soccer practices as I do them since every year I forget what I did the year before; I kick myself; say “This year I’m going to write things down”; and then I don’t. I’m pretty sure this is my 6th year coaching soccer. This season I’m coaching my one daughter’s U 7 Girls team, and coaching my other daughter’s U4 Girls team.
This practice I taught the girls about the “mid-field man’s” position, which quickly became the “mid-field woman’s” position.
We have 6 girls on the field now, including the goalie, which is new this year. Other coaches do a 3-2 setup (3 forwards, 2 defense, plus a goalie). I think that is a mistake. I think a 3-1-1 setup is better; and actually, I think a 1-2-1-1 setup is actually the best.
We have the goalie. Then, we have the person who “saves the day”—defense. Just one girl. It’s easier that way. Having two girls on defense, hoping they’ll figure out how to cover both sides, just means that you leave the midfield wide open and just two dazed girls watching someone run at them very fast with a soccer ball. Much better to have one defense person to “save the day” who is not allowed to go past a certain line. Kids have a hard time remembering if they’re on the left or right and understanding that their team-mate will cover the other side of the field. But all kids understand “don’t go past that line”. With one girl to “save to day”, she knows she can go anywhere as long as she doesn’t cross the line. Last year, the line was the center line; but this year, with the fields being so much bigger, the line is at the defensive side of the center circle.
Incidentally, telling one kid they are there to “save the day” is much more effective than telling them to play “defense.” “Saving the day” came into existence because the girls could understand, even when they were 5 years old, that “who is going to save the day when the other team gets past all the other girls… who will be there to stop them from getting a goal” “ME!” “That’s right! you’re going to save the day.” And then the kid goes and plays a great game of defense.
So:
(1) goalie
(1) girl to save the day
(1) girl to cover the mid-field
(2) girls to run around wherever they want to go and “go for goals”
(1) girl who is the “striker” and is not allowed to go past the center line on the defensive side (U7 doesn’t have offsides yet)
That way there is always a girl to stop the ball. We don’t give up the midfield, which typically happens in a 3-2 setup. Every girl feels free to move all over the field, shadowing the ball, but stays within their general zone. And two girls are allowed to run anywhere they want, which there are always a couple of girls who just want to do that. And one girl is always there to get the breakaway ball and go for a goal.
We blasted another team that we scrimmaged against tonight who played a 3-2 pattern. And my girls were much more organized, even with learning about the mid-field position and the striker position tonight. It was all based on the foundation of “saving the day”.
This was practice #3.
It was a great night.