Switching Positions?

[mirage]

You have obviously never met Julie Ertz, Abby Dahlkemper or Hallie Mace, all of whom could safely be classified as "really good forwards" through HS and club, and Mace and Ertz in college.

I think the moral of this story is to stop telling girls what they can and can't do.

You're right. I have no idea who those women are. And if they are exceptional, good for them. That's would be the exception and not the norm. I don't follow women soccer at all and the game is different but I also know human responses and sports as sports regardless of the gender.

Both of my kids are boys. One currently playing in college and another still in HS.

No I am not telling anyone what to do or not to do (go back and read my posts). All I said was pros and cons as well as what I have observed over time.

 

[End of the Line]

You're right. I have no idea who those women are. And if they are exceptional, good for them. That's would be the exception and not the norm. I don't follow women soccer at all and the game is different but I also know human responses and sports as sports regardless of the gender.

Both of my kids are boys. One currently playing in college and another still in HS.

No I am not telling anyone what to do or not to do (go back and read my posts). All I said was pros and cons as well as what I have observed over time.

Girls apparently have better natural tendencies and a better understanding of the intricacy of each position than the boys....

 

[outside!]

I don't follow women soccer at all

WWC coming up in France next summer, perfect time to start following women's soccer! USWNT has some great players that are fun to watch. Hoping they all stay healthy, since the competition will be intense. France is looking to match their men's team. Canada, Australia, Germany, Brazil are looking good also.

 

[Simisoccerfan]

Without a doubt being able to play multiple positions at a high level is exactly what college coaches want.

 

[espola]

Without a doubt being able to play multiple positions at a high level is exactly what college coaches want.

And if a club/team claims to be supporting a "development" model, one might think that they would work to improve player weaknesses. Otherwise it's just a recruiting sham.

 

[Multi Sport]

You have obviously never met Julie Ertz, Abby Dahlkemper or Hallie Mace, all of whom could safely be classified as "really good forwards" through HS and club, and Mace and Ertz in college.

Hallie was more then really good as an attacker.

I was watching my DD play this past weekend and for about 10 minutes the coach moved her to left back. She now can say that she has played Striker, Mid and Defender in College.

 

[Papa's Fritas]

Hey OP here. Thanks for feedback and thoughts. I will try to give some clarification.
I was hoping that there would be someone who's kid changed positions when everything looked pretty good,
but maybe it wasn't and turned out to be the right choice. Mouthful, I know.

Higher ups mean TD and DOC types, which is odd and big flag. She was a ODP starter in this position, so
she knows to play it very well. We have had other coaches and trainers telling us for couple years
that she should be playing the new role, but never was in the cards or easier for status quo by everyone.
So, this isn't a total surprise, but just really odd how this is turning out.
It's her technical skills and first touch that stands out, so says the higher ups.

Maybe she isn't as good in her current position and this is a wake up call to try something new.
Frankly, I am glad that she is being given an opportunity. Easier to keep on doing what's
currently working and put her on the bench when it isn't. Comments welcomed. Thanks.

 

[Mystery Train]

Hey OP here. Thanks for feedback and thoughts. I will try to give some clarification.
I was hoping that there would be someone who's kid changed positions when everything looked pretty good,
but maybe it wasn't and turned out to be the right choice. Mouthful, I know.

Higher ups mean TD and DOC types, which is odd and big flag. She was a ODP starter in this position, so
she knows to play it very well. We have had other coaches and trainers telling us for couple years
that she should be playing the new role, but never was in the cards or easier for status quo by everyone.
So, this isn't a total surprise, but just really odd how this is turning out.
It's her technical skills and first touch that stands out, so says the higher ups.

Maybe she isn't as good in her current position and this is a wake up call to try something new.
Frankly, I am glad that she is being given an opportunity. Easier to keep on doing what's
currently working and put her on the bench when it isn't. Comments welcomed. Thanks.

This depends a little bit on how old your kid is. You said that recruiting was going to start soon, so I'll just guess that she's under 15. The younger they are, the easier it is to move around and the better for their long-term development. If your kid is a "beast" at one position, I wouldn't worry too much about a switch. At the youngers levels, it is rare to see players who are beasts in just one position only, because dominating at that age is more about physical superiority and mentality. The older the kids get, the more the technical aspects of the positions make the difference. So in general, I would tell you to embrace the chance to see her learn a new place on the field. It should help her in the long run.

To answer your question specifically, my DD hasn't gone through this herself, but I've seen several of her teammates go through it. I can think of two players in particular that she played with at U13 who were great forwards/strikers. Together, they were the top goal scorers for her team, which was a "b" team at the club. Today, one is a starting right back for a DA team and the other is committed to a D1 school as a defender. Back in the youngers ages, I never would have guessed they would become so good as defenders. Both players are extremely fast, and both have great attitudes and dedication to constant improvement, so they take to coaching well and are adaptable people in general. On the other hand, I know a kid who was "better" than them at that age. This girl was the starting striker and top goal scorer at the same club on the "A" team. She was even faster than the other two, and was absolutely 100% committed to being a goal scorer. One coach tried to move her around to mid-fielder and defender, but she hated it. You could tell when she played those positions, she was unhappy and frustrated. She just loved to outrun people and finish. Today she's still very good, but her game never developed beyond being a straight line speedster. Last I heard, she's looking at playing as a walk-on at a small DIII school. Not that these stories mean anything to your DD, because everyone's path is unique. Just to give you some assurance that switching positions can work out and sometimes staying in place can hurt your game.

Also note, although you didn't specify positions, if she's going from attacking to defending, it will help her in the recruitment process. I had a national team coach tell me that they (and college coaches) are ALWAYS short on great defenders.

 

[Grace T.]

Also note, although you didn't specify positions, if she's going from attacking to defending, it will help her in the recruitment process. I had a national team coach tell me that they (and college coaches) are ALWAYS short on great defenders.

Soccer positions are like a rock band. Everyone wants to be the lead singer...they take all the glory and money, but the competition is fierce. No one wants to be the bass player....but they'll always work, and have to work hard to produce. And the drummers, they are just weirdos.

 

[Simisoccerfan]

Unless you see another girl on the team that is better than her in her old position or she has been told specifically she is not good enough and needs to move don't assume that this move is about her no longer being good enough in this position. Most likely the coaches just see that she has the skills to be amazing at her new position. This is exactly what happened to my daughter at the start of U15 when she was converted from outside mid to outside back. It was hard to understand the move at first since she was so good at her position but it's actually been a blessing and in retrospect it was this move that led to all of the amazing things that have happened for her since then.

 

[davin]

Ummm, I'm raising the BS flag here.

Really good players can fill in in a pinch but to say "can play any position" is an over generalization. I have never met any really good forward that can play CB effectively or holding mid position. Their natural tendency to attack takes them out of position and cannot recover. Also they have no idea the intricacy of each position brings.

Also what is "at this age of the game"? We have no idea what age the player is. For all we know, the player is in the last year of youth soccer or U12 - who knows.

While versatility is good, it can also land the player into a role of an utility player. I see so many youth games where the coach takes the most athletic and talented kids and play them everywhere. The consequence is that the player never learns how to properly play the position best suits them, or develop sufficient soccer IQ unique to the position.

The only context in which your generalization is valid is for younger players. For older, its not always a good advice to give - to play every position....

Lauren Holiday(Cheney) played forward for UCLA and set the career record for points and goals. She was the starting(and very effective) holding mid for the USWNT for many years. There are other examples of forwards transitioning to other positions effectively, as mentioned above.

 

[full90]

Directly from a college coach's mouth on an official visit when asked about position: "we don't care where your club coach plays you. we are looking to see where your skill set fits for us and how and where we can use you. It may be in the position you've played your whole life or it may be somewhere else. Or we may get you here thinking you will fit at one spot and we see you develop into something else we need."

 

[mirage]

Directly from a college coach's ......."we don't care where your club coach plays you. we are looking to see where your skill set fits for us and how and where we can use you. It may be in the position you've played your whole life or it may be somewhere else. Or we may get you here thinking you will fit at one spot and we see you develop into something else we need."

Completely agree. Any coach will deploy any player as he/she see it appropriate. You see in every team sports.

The whole point of this thread, I thought, was that OP was concerned about his kid being placed onto a different position than what she excels at. Its not to say that that doesn't happen. It happens all the time. So the question then becomes what is the probability of success once it occurs.

 

[MakeAPlay]

My player mainly played a different position her whole career until U14 at the old Manchester Cup at Nike headquarters in Oregon early in the first half when Madison Haley scored a goal off them in under 30 seconds. She was switched to central defender, they came back to win that game 2-1 and win their group and she rarely played forward again and has started every game of her college career at her “new” position. She was an ODP player originally as a forward.

Position changes are oftentimes the best thing that can ever happen to a player. Also very good attacking players are fairly common. Great defenders are rare and worth their weight in gold. Good luck to you and your player.

 

[Papa's Fritas]

Hey OP here.
I wanted to give an update. Nice long talk with DD and she is very happy what is happening.
She totally embraced this new role and the coaches were happy to see the positive attitude.
Funny, that a little thing like saying "yes, coach, I will do my best" can bring positive changes
on both sides.

As a parent, I was worried what all parents could be worried about. But at the end, if
you can't trust your coach, td, or doc, then there are bigger issues at play here.

It was scary for her. She was told that she is great at X, then someone says
you need to try this because you will be better. She had some bad days, but overall
pretty positive experience.

Is this a good fit? She says that she would rather play this new position than the old.
Something clicked with her. Hard to describe, but gotta believe the player.
Well, she will be tested very soon if she gets to play this position.
Thanks for the comments! Best soccer advice site.