Playing the ball back

S

Soccerlife

BRONZE
Looking for thoughts on playing the ball back at younger ages- U8/U9. During a game, my daughter was reprimanded by her coach for playing the ball back to her defense (she was playing midfield) when she had a man on her back, was shielding the ball and facing towards her own goal. She was near the sideline at about midfield and her team retained possession, so I'm having trouble understanding this correction. It raised a bit of a red flag for me. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Am I missing something? Thanks!
 
Soccerlife said:
Looking for thoughts on playing the ball back at younger ages- U8/U9. During a game, my daughter was reprimanded by her coach for playing the ball back to her defense (she was playing midfield) when she had a man on her back, was shielding the ball and facing towards her own goal. She was near the sideline at about midfield and her team retained possession, so I'm having trouble understanding this correction. It raised a bit of a red flag for me. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Am I missing something? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes, you are missing the right coach for your DD
 
Soccerlife said:
Looking for thoughts on playing the ball back at younger ages- U8/U9. During a game, my daughter was reprimanded by her coach for playing the ball back to her defense (she was playing midfield) when she had a man on her back, was shielding the ball and facing towards her own goal. She was near the sideline at about midfield and her team retained possession, so I'm having trouble understanding this correction. It raised a bit of a red flag for me. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Am I missing something? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Find a new coach as soon as possible.
"Play the way you face!"
 
As long as she did it purposefully.
Meaning- if she knew there was an option behind her to receive the pass. And if she was aware that all other options weren't available.
That age is a bit young, but you want players to be aware. And not panic and boot it away (forward or backward).
After she passed, what did she do? Again, a bit young. But you want kids to start using movement off the ball to become a support option.
How was she reprimanded? At these ages, coaches might get a kid to do certain things out of fear. But I'm not sure that's the best way.
 
timbuck said:
As long as she did it purposefully.
Meaning- if she knew there was an option behind her to receive the pass. And if she was aware that all other options weren't available.
That age is a bit young, but you want players to be aware. And not panic and boot it away (forward or backward).
After she passed, what did she do? Again, a bit young. But you want kids to start using movement off the ball to become a support option.
How was she reprimanded? At these ages, coaches might get a kid to do certain things out of fear. But I'm not sure that's the best way.
Click to expand...

You raise good points. It was a purposeful pass to the open defender on her team. They haven't worked on movement off the ball much, so she didn't really do anything after she passed. The defender passed the ball to another open teammate (they were in a triangle). The reprimand was a yell across the field, "____, pass forward!!!"

I had a hard time reconciling the coach's critique with everything she has been taught. I ended up telling her that there are absolutely times to play back to her defenders but it seems like coach would like her to try to make more passes up the field or try to take on the player to move the ball forward. As for next year, we may be looking to make a move. It's still early yet.
 
I would agree that this is a potential red flag.

However, I would also look at the big picture-- what is your overall impression of the coach? My only comment that sometimes the coach may be working on specific things or have given the player(s) a specific focus. My own child's coach actually sent us an email before a game a few months back-- as a warning of sorts-- not to become concerned if kids weren't passing the ball as much. He basically wanted them to try and work on 1v1 dribbling. The team was very passive (soft, even) and was giving the ball up at the first sign of pressure. With the group of players on the team, he really wanted to work on their courage to take on defenders 1v1, become more confident handling the ball, and not make the immediate pass.

I think the good coach is willing to explain if you pose a question in a non-threatening way. How they handle this is also a useful metric.
 
That is how to play, but you need someone to play it to. Maybe coach knew/could not teach teamwork at that age. It may have been a team thing over a individual player correction thing.
 
To be fair, there has been an emphasis to move away from possession for the sake of possession. Many connected with the game began to understand that one of the most overrated stats in all of football is possession percentage - especially if no scoring chances are created from it. This strategy first took hold in the professional game (even Barca goes forward much quicker than they used to) and is making its way down to the youth. Gone are the days of just playing keep away and we are starting to see a greater emphasis on getting forward and creating chances - hopefully without just "sending it long."

It is tough to know exactly what happened, but your coach is not the first person I have heard coach this way.
 
Trying to teach any style of play with the typical 2-4 hours/week a coach would have a team of 7-8 year olds sounds like futility.

The best coaches I saw at this age focused on ball touches and games with the ball, the latter and footwork.
 
"They" say not to teach tactics at this age. The focus should be on ball skills (according to "them"). But that doesn't mean you should actively steer them away from tactical decision making.
 
timbuck said:
"They" say not to teach tactics at this age. The focus should be on ball skills (according to "them"). But that doesn't mean you should actively steer them away from tactical decision making.
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That is an interesting comment. I think some experienced ~U9 players can pass the ball quite well and demonstrate depth in tactical decision-making. I think how well they do this depends on how they have been trained/coached and the philosophy behind the way the coach designs practice sessions. Are they taught to think and problem-solve in a dynamic setting, or are they taught skills largely by rote repetition? I sense a lot of coaches focus on skills and then move on to the other stuff. As an example, all the kids on my daughter's current team raised in the current club are technically very skilled, but they don't have great field vision and aren't particularly effective passers. The two kids on the team from outside the club (both from the same outside team/coaching-- one being my own kid) are stronger tactically. The whole philosophy around training sessions was different. Interesting stuff to ponder- at least to me....
 
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