What formation?

timbuck

timbuck

Don't give away any trade secrets here.
I'm curious to hear what most of the 04 teams play.
We played a 3-5-2 most of last year (u11), with a sprinkle of 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 (depending on available personnel and game situation)
The 3-5-2 helped us adjust to the big field by giving us some additional depth.
We are looking at using a 4-3-3 as our base this year.
 
Last year, the team played mostly 4-4-2 (diamond). This year, I want to say I've seen a bit of 3-5-2 with a deep playing sweeper. I certainly haven't seen anything remotely close to a flat or diamond 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
 
Our coach plays (or at least tries to play) our keeper as a sweeper, since U10. Lots of screaming by opposing team parents: "Goalie's out!" Lately it's been 4-4-2, diamond & square.
 
Kiddos team plays 4-3-3. We have some our fastest girls playing D and the two outside defenders double as outside mid a lot. They are still learning to not focus so much on marking players and instead play the area, its a learning curve for sure.
 
4-4-2 has got to be the most common at this age. My DD's team played mostly 4-4-2 last year and kind of switched to a variation of a 3-2-4-1 after the women's World Cup last year. I have to say at this age it looked a lot like a 4-4-2 though. Spacing isn't always that great.
 
mommato2girls said:
Kiddos team plays 4-3-3. We have some our fastest girls playing D and the two outside defenders double as outside mid a lot. They are still learning to not focus so much on marking players and instead play the area, its a learning curve for sure.
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Are you saying your outside defenders will switch to a midfield position? or that on the attack, they push up and play higher up the field?
 
timbuck said:
Are you saying your outside defenders will switch to a midfield position? or that on the attack, they push up and play higher up the field?
Click to expand...

It is fairly common these days for outside defenders to patrol most of the sideline from their own goal line up to where they are taking shots on goal. The best I ever saw at this was Marvell Wynne when he was playing right d for his high school team. If he got possession of the ball deep in his end, he could make a quick run up the side, turn in, and take a shot or crossing pass. By the time the other team recovered the ball, he was fast enough to be back in defensive position.
 
Yes. With 4 in the back, the outside players should be pushing up high. An overlapping run is a killer.
In our 4-3-3-
Back 4- central defenders are our switch point when she are attacking.
The 2 outside defenders are pushed up and out wide. Should look like a smiley face when we are in the attacking third.
3 central mid- trying to get them to play a bit narrower and control/combine with each other. We want them playing aggressive in the attacking end.
2 wide wingers- we want them wide and looking to make runs.
Central forward- either played up high as a target player or withdrawn a bit.

But - we are still figuring it out. Last game we left way too much space in the middle and got caught on the counter.
 
timbuck said:
Yes. With 4 in the back, the outside players should be pushing up high. An overlapping run is a killer.
In our 4-3-3-
Back 4- central defenders are our switch point when she are attacking.
The 2 outside defenders are pushed up and out wide. Should look like a smiley face when we are in the attacking third.
3 central mid- trying to get them to play a bit narrower and control/combine with each other. We want them playing aggressive in the attacking end.
2 wide wingers- we want them wide and looking to make runs.
Central forward- either played up high as a target player or withdrawn a bit.

But - we are still figuring it out. Last game we left way too much space in the middle and got caught on the counter.
Click to expand...

The year my son switched from left mid to left defender in college, he got several awards as "offensive player of the week".
 
timbuck said:
Are you saying your outside defenders will switch to a midfield position? or that on the attack, they push up and play higher up the field?
Click to expand...
They definitely push up and play high. Our left D is one of the top scorers on our team. Defensive attack is what coach calls it. Our center d hangs back for the most part. The outside pushes up. It's definitely a work in progress. Works well in the beginning of games, then the other team figures it out or our D gets tired and doesn't can't sustain the constant runs up. The girls are still trying to figure out spacing and trying to get to the top of the box for a cross at the right moment is challenging bc of the different abilities of the girls. It's fun to watch anyway and it was successful today at their friendly.
 
Hopefully at the 2004 age the players are learning multiple formations and flex from one to another during games. By the time they hit high school age they will be expected to know the different formations and quickly change during games and also recognize what formation the other team is playing. Just playing a single formation all the time will not help the players development.
 
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timbuck said:
A deep playing sweeper? I haven't seen much of that lately.
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I haven't seen it since my DD was a U-little and the other team had a sweeper that stayed exclusively in the defensive zone. Our deployment looks, and feels, very odd. My DD plays in the deep half - usually as 5 or 6 - and sometimes gets up to the 10. When she plays the 5, she is accustomed to having someone play next to her (which is typical in pressure, cover, balance). With someone playing behind her - deeper - she has said she sometimes feels exposed and less confident.
 
I was in Florida (hotter than hell) this past weekend and saw a lot of teams (GU16 and above) playing 4-3-3 primarily but flexing to 4-5-1 and occasionally to 4-4-2. Since most teams were top level the 4-3-3 made for a very fast game. Was a blast to referee and watch.
 
Our team doesn't seem to have enough speed to play a 4-3-3. We played a friendly this past weekend and looked strong in a 3-5-2 in the first half. Moved to a 4-3-3 in the 2nd half and had big gaps in the middle.
Wrapped up the final 10 minutes in a 4-1-3-2. We really need at least 1 player in the holding/defensive mid role.
 
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