Learning all positions when younger?

L

Lou789

SILVER
I have 3 boys that plays soccer at the same club. My two older play on the top teams at this club. My youngest played AYSO for a few seasons and he scored all the goals, was bored, didn’t want to go, and kept asking to move to club since he has grew up in that environment. So at U7 we put him in a club team this year at the same club. it’s the youngest team the club has.

the team practiced all year with their coach who is like director level at this club and things seemed to be going well. Then summer tournaments. The team started losing games playing up 2017 which obviously makes sense playing with older kids. Then some of the parents started to complain about the losing and saying it’s because their kids are not always up front. And now the coach has put all the kids in 1 position. still losing games. But the kids don’t change positions.

My 6 year old is playing defense and I have zero problem with him playing defense. now after a few games he is asking why he doesn't learn and play other positions (like he did during the summer tournaments). So we casually asked the coach his view on development and he said our son is getting more touches in defense. And we asked if the kids will all be learning different positions. He said no because the game falls apart when he starts moving kids. We said we wanted our son at such a young age to learn all different positions. He said nothing is holding our kid back from taking the all up top. but the positions will not change.

This was not my experience with our younger kids. To me it sounds crazy that at this age they are being pigeonholed in one position. And this same coach has plans to keep these kids for a few years at least.

I don’t know what to do. Stay? Leave? Do I use my older two as leverage just to get my younger one to learn other positions and if not take all 3 to another club? Is it better to just take him if we left or all 3 kids? What would you do if this was your 6 year old?
 
Lou789 said:
I have 3 boys that plays soccer at the same club. My two older play on the top teams at this club. My youngest played AYSO for a few seasons and he scored all the goals, was bored, didn’t want to go, and kept asking to move to club since he has grew up in that environment. So at U7 we put him in a club team this year at the same club. it’s the youngest team the club has.

the team practiced all year with their coach who is like director level at this club and things seemed to be going well. Then summer tournaments. The team started losing games playing up 2017 which obviously makes sense playing with older kids. Then some of the parents started to complain about the losing and saying it’s because their kids are not always up front. And now the coach has put all the kids in 1 position. still losing games. But the kids don’t change positions.

My 6 year old is playing defense and I have zero problem with him playing defense. now after a few games he is asking why he doesn't learn and play other positions (like he did during the summer tournaments). So we casually asked the coach his view on development and he said our son is getting more touches in defense. And we asked if the kids will all be learning different positions. He said no because the game falls apart when he starts moving kids. We said we wanted our son at such a young age to learn all different positions. He said nothing is holding our kid back from taking the all up top. but the positions will not change.

This was not my experience with our younger kids. To me it sounds crazy that at this age they are being pigeonholed in one position. And this same coach has plans to keep these kids for a few years at least.

I don’t know what to do. Stay? Leave? Do I use my older two as leverage just to get my younger one to learn other positions and if not take all 3 to another club? Is it better to just take him if we left or all 3 kids? What would you do if this was your 6 year old?
Click to expand...
Talk to your coaches boss (the DOC). Let them know what you said and your sons coach's response. Ask if this is a normal club coaches response.

Depending on their response you'll have your answer.
 
Lou789 said:
I have 3 boys that plays soccer at the same club. My two older play on the top teams at this club. My youngest played AYSO for a few seasons and he scored all the goals, was bored, didn’t want to go, and kept asking to move to club since he has grew up in that environment. So at U7 we put him in a club team this year at the same club. it’s the youngest team the club has.

the team practiced all year with their coach who is like director level at this club and things seemed to be going well. Then summer tournaments. The team started losing games playing up 2017 which obviously makes sense playing with older kids. Then some of the parents started to complain about the losing and saying it’s because their kids are not always up front. And now the coach has put all the kids in 1 position. still losing games. But the kids don’t change positions.

My 6 year old is playing defense and I have zero problem with him playing defense. now after a few games he is asking why he doesn't learn and play other positions (like he did during the summer tournaments). So we casually asked the coach his view on development and he said our son is getting more touches in defense. And we asked if the kids will all be learning different positions. He said no because the game falls apart when he starts moving kids. We said we wanted our son at such a young age to learn all different positions. He said nothing is holding our kid back from taking the all up top. but the positions will not change.

This was not my experience with our younger kids. To me it sounds crazy that at this age they are being pigeonholed in one position. And this same coach has plans to keep these kids for a few years at least.

I don’t know what to do. Stay? Leave? Do I use my older two as leverage just to get my younger one to learn other positions and if not take all 3 to another club? Is it better to just take him if we left or all 3 kids? What would you do if this was your 6 year old?
Click to expand...
Another victim of we must win at all costs because otherwise the parents will complain and leave. It’s all too common…another shortcut taken so the team can win (or at least not lose by too much).

Yes it’s important for kids to learn all positions. At this age ideally they should be rotating through all the positions and there shouldn’t even be a goalkeeper since the goalkeeper can’t do anything but block shots with his body and pick up loose balls. But you need the wins, so they can’t rotate, and unless your kid is the star (and he isn’t or he’d be playing up top) your demands won’t do jack since the demands are coming from the other parents (and now you’ve become the problem one). And the coach has a point: if you move them they’ll lose because they’ll make mistakes because they haven’t played the other positions.

You’ll have to move. If you move it may be just as bad elsewhere. If the other 2 are happy where they are and getting what they need don’t rock the boat for them (it’s not their fault the younger one got unlucky). It unfortunately means you’ll have to commute two places. Club soccer sucks sometimes.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
Talk to your coaches boss (the DOC). Let them know what you said and your sons coach's response. Ask if this is a normal club coaches response.

Depending on their response you'll have your answer.
Click to expand...
So I found out today the coach is the DOC. I thought someone was above him and there is not. He is it.
 
Lou789 said:
So I found out today the coach is the DOC. I thought someone was above him and there is not. He is it.
Click to expand...
Well then you have your answer.

Your coach who is also the DOC represtenititve of your club believes that 6 year olds should be specializing in positions.

It sounds like this isn't what you believe. It also doesn't sound like your club values a parent with multiple children participating in their program.

A gentle word of advice is to always be looking around at other clubs so you have options. Another bit of advice is that EVERY parent thinks that their kid should be playing forward. Sometimes coaches get a little deaf to the constant requests by parents. I bet if you asked if your kid could rotate in as keeper they'd move mountains to make it happen.

I think you're coach is wrong. At 6 all players on the team should be rotating positions. At the very least is helps players to understand the challenges of every role on the field. This allows them to play better as a team.
 
My kid learned to play all positions during school recess and playing pickup games with his friends. If his team was weak, he stayed back and played defense. Kids who play multiple positions already know how to play multiple positions before the coach rotate them into those positions. If your kid can only play one position, this just means he doesn’t play enough pickup games.
 
In
Carlsbad7 said:
I bet if you asked if your kid could rotate in as keeper they'd move mountains to make it happen.
Click to expand...
Of course they would because any parent that does this is a sucker. And unless the other gk is fat and unable to run he’ll dance away from the position very fast.

. I’ve only ever seen 1 kid (Ollie in the uk on instagram) at age 7 that can execute the basic skills of a goalkeeper. Up until about 5-10 years ago reputable gk coaches did not take on players until age 9 or 10. Even now reputable gk coaches like Tackett at that age will be teaching safety not effectiveness as a first priority. The only thing the kids can do at that age is scoop up loose balls and block shots with their bodies. Their bodies can’t even execute the mechanics of a catch which is the first skill a keeper coach should spend no less than a year on. It’s insane that any coach would lock a kid into keeper at age 6 unless that player absolutely cannot play the field.

Ayso had it right. No keepers until u8. But in the category of how stupid Americans (and Mexican too btw) are with their emphasis on winning, saw a u6 game over the weekend where a coach parked a big kid right in front of the tiny goal all game and just had him block all the shots with feet and body…so stupid and this was ayso.
 
I have to challenge the OP on why they want to have their kid play other positions. If your kid was playing only forward would you complain to the coach about it? If the true reason is that you want your kid to develop then your coach is correct for the most part...a defender will get the most touches on the ball. With modern day football a defender is expected to attack from the wings.

You also have to consider that playing a year up presents physical challenges. Perhaps a one year younger kid at U8 does not have the speed or physical edge to beat defenders one year older. Probably best to just wait out the season and then next season join same age team.
 
At 6 isn't your kid playing 4X4? When my kids played at that age, the coaches operated on the clock principle, i.e. "formation" was 1-2-1, and the coach would say "clock", and the kids knew to move, i.e. D moves to right mid, right mid moves to forward, forward moves to left mid, left mid moves to D. All the kids knew to do this. It happened multiple times in every game.

None of that is to say the held positions ... they were 6/7, so everyone moved and then they all chased the ball again ... good times!
 
whatithink said:
At 6 isn't your kid playing 4X4? When my kids played at that age, the coaches operated on the clock principle, i.e. "formation" was 1-2-1, and the coach would say "clock", and the kids knew to move, i.e. D moves to right mid, right mid moves to forward, forward moves to left mid, left mid moves to D. All the kids knew to do this. It happened multiple times in every game.

None of that is to say the held positions ... they were 6/7, so everyone moved and then they all chased the ball again ... good times!
Click to expand...
Clubs that have a 2018 team play full 7v7. My youngest is that age (and playing Rec) and our team is playing 7v7 with full size goals. It's silly but good prep for the next 3 years.
 
Lou789 said:
I have 3 boys that plays soccer at the same club. My two older play on the top teams at this club. My youngest played AYSO for a few seasons and he scored all the goals, was bored, didn’t want to go, and kept asking to move to club since he has grew up in that environment. So at U7 we put him in a club team this year at the same club. it’s the youngest team the club has.

the team practiced all year with their coach who is like director level at this club and things seemed to be going well. Then summer tournaments. The team started losing games playing up 2017 which obviously makes sense playing with older kids. Then some of the parents started to complain about the losing and saying it’s because their kids are not always up front. And now the coach has put all the kids in 1 position. still losing games. But the kids don’t change positions.

My 6 year old is playing defense and I have zero problem with him playing defense. now after a few games he is asking why he doesn't learn and play other positions (like he did during the summer tournaments). So we casually asked the coach his view on development and he said our son is getting more touches in defense. And we asked if the kids will all be learning different positions. He said no because the game falls apart when he starts moving kids. We said we wanted our son at such a young age to learn all different positions. He said nothing is holding our kid back from taking the all up top. but the positions will not change.

This was not my experience with our younger kids. To me it sounds crazy that at this age they are being pigeonholed in one position. And this same coach has plans to keep these kids for a few years at least.

I don’t know what to do. Stay? Leave? Do I use my older two as leverage just to get my younger one to learn other positions and if not take all 3 to another club? Is it better to just take him if we left or all 3 kids? What would you do if this was your 6 year old?
Click to expand...
Knowing what I do now, I'd leave the club and have my son primarily play futsal for at least the next 3 years. Have him guest in tournaments for other teams during the summer.
 
Lou789 said:
I have 3 boys that plays soccer at the same club. My two older play on the top teams at this club. My youngest played AYSO for a few seasons and he scored all the goals, was bored, didn’t want to go, and kept asking to move to club since he has grew up in that environment. So at U7 we put him in a club team this year at the same club. it’s the youngest team the club has.

the team practiced all year with their coach who is like director level at this club and things seemed to be going well. Then summer tournaments. The team started losing games playing up 2017 which obviously makes sense playing with older kids. Then some of the parents started to complain about the losing and saying it’s because their kids are not always up front. And now the coach has put all the kids in 1 position. still losing games. But the kids don’t change positions.

My 6 year old is playing defense and I have zero problem with him playing defense. now after a few games he is asking why he doesn't learn and play other positions (like he did during the summer tournaments). So we casually asked the coach his view on development and he said our son is getting more touches in defense. And we asked if the kids will all be learning different positions. He said no because the game falls apart when he starts moving kids. We said we wanted our son at such a young age to learn all different positions. He said nothing is holding our kid back from taking the all up top. but the positions will not change.

This was not my experience with our younger kids. To me it sounds crazy that at this age they are being pigeonholed in one position. And this same coach has plans to keep these kids for a few years at least.

I don’t know what to do. Stay? Leave? Do I use my older two as leverage just to get my younger one to learn other positions and if not take all 3 to another club? Is it better to just take him if we left or all 3 kids? What would you do if this was your 6 year old?
Click to expand...
If he's not going to be your coach every year, I wouldn't necessarily leave. Your kid is 6. You've got olders. You know the drill. There's usually a turnover at 2 years anyway but you may well lose enough players, after this year, your kid has to play somewhere else. Obviously your son has to be passionate about playing... that's 3/4 of the comp soccer battle, but I wouldn't panic.
 
If the idea came from your son and not from you, teach him to ask the coach himself about what he can do to earn a chance to try another position. Then at the end of the season you can decide whether to stay or go.
 
The primary goal for the coach of the A team at a top club is to develop the team (not each individual player) and win at any age. It took me a couple of years to realize this. To maximize wins, it does make sense for players to mostly play their strongest positions. The B teams have more flexibility with less pressure to win.

If your team is playing up, there are probably not too many players who can physically handle the CB position. I’m assuming your son gets lots of playing time, so it’s not the worst problem to have.

A reasonable thing to ask is to have your kid play a different position whenever the team is winning by a good margin. As Soccerfan2 mentioned above, it’s more effective and less confrontational if the kid asks the coach himself.
 
Jamisfoes said:
My kid learned to play all positions during school recess and playing pickup games with his friends. If his team was weak, he stayed back and played defense. Kids who play multiple positions already know how to play multiple positions before the coach rotate them into those positions. If your kid can only play one position, this just means he doesn’t play enough pickup games.
Click to expand...
At that age, at least half the kids (maybe more) hate to play anything except forward/striker. Even when you put them at defender, they run all the way up, and fail to get back to actually play defense. There's an art to letting kids play the positions they want, while not discouraging the kids (and yes, the parents) by getting killed by inferior teams. It's not as easy as it seems!
 
Larzby said:
At that age, at least half the kids (maybe more) hate to play anything except forward/striker. Even when you put them at defender, they run all the way up, and fail to get back to actually play defense. There's an art to letting kids play the positions they want, while not discouraging the kids (and yes, the parents) by getting killed by inferior teams. It's not as easy as it seems!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip, Coach🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
I have to challenge the OP on why they want to have their kid play other positions. If your kid was playing only forward would you complain to the coach about it? If the true reason is that you want your kid to develop then your coach is correct for the most part...a defender will get the most touches on the ball. With modern day football a defender is expected to attack from the wings.

You also have to consider that playing a year up presents physical challenges. Perhaps a one year younger kid at U8 does not have the speed or physical edge to beat defenders one year older. Probably best to just wait out the season and then next season join same age team.
Click to expand...
They are playing up because there are hardly any 2018 teams in our area. Those 2018 teams are all playing 2017. There is no 2018 bracket.

If my kid only played forward I would be equally upset. I want him to learn all the positions. He is only 5 now.
 
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