Club playing style?
- Thread starter Jamisfoes
- Start date
Messi>CR7
GOLD
For my daughter's age group, Beach plays the possession style more consistently than others. Over the years we have played Beach/LA Galaxy South Bay's A, B, and C teams, and you could easily see they all follow the same style. Again, I can only speak for one age group. Not sure if the same style is being followed religiously across the entire club.
Playing possession style is much more typical (and necessary) for boys. My boy's team started playing back to the goalie regularly at U8. IIRC my daughter's team did not do that until U12.
Personally I've slowly come to the conclusion that aggression is more important than possession in girls' game. We played an out-of-state ECNL team at the last Surf Cup. At one time the other team connected 20 passes in a row. We won 5-0.
Playing possession style is much more typical (and necessary) for boys. My boy's team started playing back to the goalie regularly at U8. IIRC my daughter's team did not do that until U12.
Personally I've slowly come to the conclusion that aggression is more important than possession in girls' game. We played an out-of-state ECNL team at the last Surf Cup. At one time the other team connected 20 passes in a row. We won 5-0.
B
Beach SB has inherited many of the coaching staff from LAGSB/LAG DA in its ranks. Therefore you will see a similiar style in many age groups with possession. At the Beach ECNL level it is very consitent as well.
We had two defenders. One dribbles too much. The coach was always yelling at him to pass up the field. The other defender kicks the ball to the air as soon as he gets the ball almost as if he is afraid to hold on to the ball. Man, if the two would just balance out, we could start play possession. Kids just need time to figure it out.
The best teams can play both as the situation dictates or, even better, direct possession.
Where, geographically, are you looking to train?
futboldad1
PREMIER
For Youngers across all leagues and areas in the Southwest I'd say these are the main more possession based clubs..... SD Surf, Rebels, SD Force, Real, Beach, Breakers, Tudela, Rising.... but at the highest levels as they get older just like in the EPL possession and direct are both used by the best teams, coaches and players often switching styles in the same game as the situation dictates....
As I pose this question, I am thinking about my kid's development. Would I want him to be on a team that tries to lob passes to forwards all the time? Even though he is a forward. Or do I find him a team that teaches possession? I guess what I'm really asking is who is coaching the team. Is he a win now coach or a coach that is given time to develope his players? It's a club culture question as well.
Even within a club there is going to be differences. Best thing you can do is watch the end of a practice when the team is scrimmaging...what is the style of play.
Paul Spacey
SILVER ELITE
This is basically it; we all know that.
Go and watch the team(s) and coach(es) in both practice and games; you’ll get your answer within 10 minutes.
futboldad1
PREMIER
This is subjective but I'd argue you want a team that look to get the ball to your kid up top but not by just booting it up there every time....patient movement of ball up the field with some long passes in there as well....development is key, your kid needs to be targeted but he shouldn't be battling versus three defenders they is on the ball
This is totally true for training.....one caveat for games is the level of the team and especial their opponent....if you are playing against the top teams from SD Surf or Slammers it is going to be harder to control possession than in games versus their second or third teams.......
Messi>CR7
GOLD
There is a distinction between playing direct and just booting it forward. What @futboldad1 described above is what I would consider "direct". What you described with your second defender is just bad soccer. Unfortunately I have seen too many center backs do exactly just that.
There is nothing wrong if a team chooses to play more direct. Possession style, when not done properly, can be equally ugly. Lots of passing and possession without creating shots in the final 1/3. Unfortunately 2021 FC Barcelona is one of such examples.
justneededaname
SILVER ELITE
I am not sure what age group you are at, but, if you are looking for a team that teaches possession, make sure they are talking about possessing the ball across the entire field. If the coach talks only about "building out of the back" and you have a 5th-7th grader who plays in the front 3, they will find practices extremely boring and games frustrating and they will want to leave the team or quit the sport. At least that was my boy's experience. Most possession teams that I see are great at moving the ball most of the way up the field, but have absolutely no idea what to do once they get into the final third.
Also, you don't want a club that is too strict in a club-wide approach and does not allow the coach flexibility to tweak the style to the roster. So many people want to see all of the kids playing a Messi-era Barcelona style of soccer and they forget that team had some of the most elite players on the planet at the time. Your coach is dealing with average to above-average players most likely and that style may be out of reach for most of them.
To me, the single-most important trait to develop is confidence. And nothing kills confidence more than losing over and over with a coach that keeps telling you that they don't care about winning and they are going to keep doing the same thing over and over regardless of the results.
Tudela is all girls, so take us off the list. But the key to any player's development is developing not just their technical ability but their soccer brain: teaching them to process space and time on a field and make good decisions quickly. So watch training and see if it's just kids lines up running patterns; that's useful later but they need the other stuff first. Are they playing small sided games? Are they being encouraged to take people on, even if they lose the ball? Are they getting lots of touches every session? Your forward may end up a midfielder, or an outside back; better that they're developed wholly and not just used for goals and trophies because they're good at scoring now.
You're asking great questions, and it'll be hard to get answers because everyone says they're technical and possession-based, etc. But I'd be willing to look past won-loss records because there are clubs who put a premium on winning for youngers that may help recruiting but can come at the expense of development.
Great insights! Thanks for sharing.