| FAO: Football Youth Coaches 10:20 - Jun 26 with 1854 views | giant_stow |
Just a little question: at what age would you expect kids to stop being selfish with the ball / pass more / realise its a team game?
I guess some of this is down to how they've been coached, but at what point would you make a thing of it?
Asking as volunteer assistant oik ball-carrier 'coach'... I watched one of our gobby ones (they're 10ish) tackle the quietest little dude who was through on goal and it maddened me! (Edit, just to be clear they were on the same side!) or another one decide that the only way to play was to pick the ball up in his own half, not pass and charge through to try and shoot from range each and every single time - i mean, PASS THE F'CKING BALL!!!!
...but am I being unreasonable?
Not sure whether to create a fuss, as an underling...
[Post edited 26 Jun 2023 10:23]
|  |
| |  |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:30 - Jun 26 with 1782 views | homer_123 |
It varies.
Having coached from U8s to U16s, I would say, generally, once your get to 'competitive' football then the majority realise quickly that you need to be more a team player.
The big change came from 7 aside to 9 a side, bigger pitch - no longer able to run the length with the ball, too many players to now beat - so, we saw two things happen.
Players became less selfish or they couldn't adapt and some drifted away from football.
The change again - came from 9 a side to 11 a side, either development pitched or full sized and then - it becomes very clear what you need to do. That said, nothing wrong with being selfish in the final third or in front of goal, you need that as well.
All the above being said, certainly at grassroots, you will still find some are way more selfish than others. |  |
| |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:35 - Jun 26 with 1738 views | giant_stow |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:30 - Jun 26 by homer_123 |
It varies.
Having coached from U8s to U16s, I would say, generally, once your get to 'competitive' football then the majority realise quickly that you need to be more a team player.
The big change came from 7 aside to 9 a side, bigger pitch - no longer able to run the length with the ball, too many players to now beat - so, we saw two things happen.
Players became less selfish or they couldn't adapt and some drifted away from football.
The change again - came from 9 a side to 11 a side, either development pitched or full sized and then - it becomes very clear what you need to do. That said, nothing wrong with being selfish in the final third or in front of goal, you need that as well.
All the above being said, certainly at grassroots, you will still find some are way more selfish than others. |
Thanks loads for your thoughts Homer. Sounds like it'll come out in the wash to some degree, so maybe not to interfere too much. We're definately a grass toots team - inclusive ethos (donations system to play, only friendly games and no selection based on ability), so maybe I ought to just keep quiet. It's just painful to watch sometimes - the little guys involved would be so much better if they passed sometimes, but maybe thats their lesson to learn independently.
Edit: they move to a 9 aside sized pitch this coming season, so perhaps another reason to stay quiet for now. [Post edited 26 Jun 2023 10:37]
| |
| |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:43 - Jun 26 with 1690 views | Keno |
are you sure you arent David Wagner? |  |
| |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:52 - Jun 26 with 1656 views | xrayspecs |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:35 - Jun 26 by giant_stow |
Thanks loads for your thoughts Homer. Sounds like it'll come out in the wash to some degree, so maybe not to interfere too much. We're definately a grass toots team - inclusive ethos (donations system to play, only friendly games and no selection based on ability), so maybe I ought to just keep quiet. It's just painful to watch sometimes - the little guys involved would be so much better if they passed sometimes, but maybe thats their lesson to learn independently.
Edit: they move to a 9 aside sized pitch this coming season, so perhaps another reason to stay quiet for now. [Post edited 26 Jun 2023 10:37]
|
Agree with Homer.
I have been an assistant football coach, and managed/coached cricket through to U16s.
A couple of additional comments.
A frighteningly small number of youth footballers will be good enough to get paid from playing sport, so promoting inclusivity, participation and the team is key for me. There is likely to be only one or two player in each junior age group in Suffolk who goes on to play professionally at aged 21.
Ultimately, all kids need to get good game time and enjoy what they are doing or they will lose interest.
In each age group, kids will go through their growth spurt up to four years apart. In early teen years, strength, aggression, pace and physicality will create a very uneven playing field. Keeping all of the players involved at this stage does become a challenge but is worthwhile if you can achieve it.
I had an U12 cricketer who was a lovely kid but was small and could hardly get the ball off the square. We managed to keep him involved in the team all the way through to U16s and he really enjoyed being able to play with his mates. He is now 6 foot 4, he was a late developer.
Good luck. [Post edited 26 Jun 2023 10:54]
|  | | |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:59 - Jun 26 with 1620 views | giant_stow |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:52 - Jun 26 by xrayspecs |
Agree with Homer.
I have been an assistant football coach, and managed/coached cricket through to U16s.
A couple of additional comments.
A frighteningly small number of youth footballers will be good enough to get paid from playing sport, so promoting inclusivity, participation and the team is key for me. There is likely to be only one or two player in each junior age group in Suffolk who goes on to play professionally at aged 21.
Ultimately, all kids need to get good game time and enjoy what they are doing or they will lose interest.
In each age group, kids will go through their growth spurt up to four years apart. In early teen years, strength, aggression, pace and physicality will create a very uneven playing field. Keeping all of the players involved at this stage does become a challenge but is worthwhile if you can achieve it.
I had an U12 cricketer who was a lovely kid but was small and could hardly get the ball off the square. We managed to keep him involved in the team all the way through to U16s and he really enjoyed being able to play with his mates. He is now 6 foot 4, he was a late developer.
Good luck. [Post edited 26 Jun 2023 10:54]
|
Thanks - very interesting and well done on keeping the ex-little fella involved in the cricket - exactly what it should be about.
Re making it to pro, I couldn't agree more - its about fun and to a lesser degree fitness (certainly for my Xbox obsessed little guy, at least).
So what you're both saying, I think, is to not to worry about improving playing ability too much and just make sure they all enjoy it. Fair dos, although this does come at a cost to the ones who do pass but never get passed to... Still, I think I'm being a worry-wort (!) and will settle down. | |
| |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 11:44 - Jun 26 with 1501 views | xrayspecs |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 10:59 - Jun 26 by giant_stow |
Thanks - very interesting and well done on keeping the ex-little fella involved in the cricket - exactly what it should be about.
Re making it to pro, I couldn't agree more - its about fun and to a lesser degree fitness (certainly for my Xbox obsessed little guy, at least).
So what you're both saying, I think, is to not to worry about improving playing ability too much and just make sure they all enjoy it. Fair dos, although this does come at a cost to the ones who do pass but never get passed to... Still, I think I'm being a worry-wort (!) and will settle down. |
Keeping everyone involved is key. We designed training sessions to ensure each player got as much practice time as possible with little or no down time watching others.
Simple things, like every player had a ball so could practice close control. If we were working on passing drills in a small area, we would have 4 2x2 boxes with a coach supervising one or two boxes. If we had a large turnout, we may play 2 5x5 matches rather than have teams on the side watching others play. Or if we had three teams, then the team on the side did a drill with a different coach. It took a bit of thinking to begin with but then become second nature.
I have a friend who coaches young golfers and all his sessions are based on small groups practicing different skills. The kids get one hour of practice, with no standing around. I did similar with winter cricket training, we would run 3 or 4 different stations in the gym so that the boys worked solidly for the 90 minutes.
The other thing I was taught when doing my coaching badges was to make every drill/session fun with an element of competition. Kids love games and it is a good way to develop players rather than simply focusing on technique.
On your last question, you can still coach players what good looks like. Passing and moving, playing in players who have a better chance of scoring. You could make that a game. three by three game with little goals, you can only score a goal after three passes, or a player can only touch the ball three times before they have to pass. Lots of ways to encourage what you want to see on the pitch, especially if you make it the focus of the game. [Post edited 26 Jun 2023 11:51]
| | | |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:09 - Jun 26 with 1440 views | Illinoisblue |
For my U13s this season we had one kid who on numerous occasions would selfishly shoot from impossible positions or try and beat four defenders. Turns out he was on an incentive scheme from his parents and would get rewarded for scoring a goal. Had to politely point out to the kid and his mum that creating a goal is just as important as scoring a goal. We’ll see what happens this coming season…. |  |
| |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:26 - Jun 26 with 1406 views | giant_stow |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 11:44 - Jun 26 by xrayspecs |
Keeping everyone involved is key. We designed training sessions to ensure each player got as much practice time as possible with little or no down time watching others.
Simple things, like every player had a ball so could practice close control. If we were working on passing drills in a small area, we would have 4 2x2 boxes with a coach supervising one or two boxes. If we had a large turnout, we may play 2 5x5 matches rather than have teams on the side watching others play. Or if we had three teams, then the team on the side did a drill with a different coach. It took a bit of thinking to begin with but then become second nature.
I have a friend who coaches young golfers and all his sessions are based on small groups practicing different skills. The kids get one hour of practice, with no standing around. I did similar with winter cricket training, we would run 3 or 4 different stations in the gym so that the boys worked solidly for the 90 minutes.
The other thing I was taught when doing my coaching badges was to make every drill/session fun with an element of competition. Kids love games and it is a good way to develop players rather than simply focusing on technique.
On your last question, you can still coach players what good looks like. Passing and moving, playing in players who have a better chance of scoring. You could make that a game. three by three game with little goals, you can only score a goal after three passes, or a player can only touch the ball three times before they have to pass. Lots of ways to encourage what you want to see on the pitch, especially if you make it the focus of the game. [Post edited 26 Jun 2023 11:51]
|
Some lovely ideas in there - thanks again and you're dead right about how they love to compete. As I say, I'm just a grunt, but the proper coaches are very keen on feedback and new ideas, so I may borrow some of yours!
ta. | |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:26 - Jun 26 with 1403 views | giant_stow |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:09 - Jun 26 by Illinoisblue |
For my U13s this season we had one kid who on numerous occasions would selfishly shoot from impossible positions or try and beat four defenders. Turns out he was on an incentive scheme from his parents and would get rewarded for scoring a goal. Had to politely point out to the kid and his mum that creating a goal is just as important as scoring a goal. We’ll see what happens this coming season…. |
Its delicate stuff innit. Good luck with it. | |
| |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:45 - Jun 26 with 1372 views | SmithersJones |
When my son was playing junior football we came across a team who had this player who was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch, so would constantly try to dribble through everyone (often successfully). Our coach, who was also involved in a pro academy, took him to one side and said words to the effect of "scouts watch these games but if they don't see you passing then they won't know that you can". To be fair to the player he took it on board. | | | |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:53 - Jun 26 with 1345 views | xrayspecs |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:26 - Jun 26 by giant_stow |
Some lovely ideas in there - thanks again and you're dead right about how they love to compete. As I say, I'm just a grunt, but the proper coaches are very keen on feedback and new ideas, so I may borrow some of yours!
ta. |
I did level 2 ECB cricket badges, which taught the principles - squeezing as much practice out of the available time, creating game scenarios, making it fun/competitive etc. We were expected to develop session plans in advance, which covered the drills, the key coaching points, timings, how you would organise the space, kit you would need etc. We also set up the practice drills/areas before the boys arrived so you could get straight into it after a short warm-up.
Talking to coaches, these principles appear to be common to all sports.
If your coaches are doing their FA badges, then they should have access to this content. There is also a lot of online content and drills you can use, so worth having a search. | | | |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 13:02 - Jun 26 with 1312 views | Illinoisblue |
| FAO: Football Youth Coaches on 12:26 - Jun 26 by giant_stow |
Its delicate stuff innit. Good luck with it. |
Xrayspecs makes a great point below about kids developing and maturing at different times, and that applies mentally as well as physically.
The selfish kid i mentioned was, from U8 to U11 one of our best players because he’s so physical and tenacious despite being physically small. Now other kids have overtaken him physically he gets very frustrated that he can’t dominate like he used to… which in turn makes him more desperate to do well which leads to selfish decision making.
He’ll figure it out soon I hope. Or he’ll be on the bench more than he would like! | |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
