Playing Positions

Thank you all for this great advice. My son actually doesn’t like to play striker. He prefers mid or wing. And like I mentioned he doesn’t hate defense but just not the entire game.

I’m going to see how the year goes. And see what happens if we see ahead if he gets moved. We also have a large bench. So when we are ahead they play as opposed to kids being moved around.
 
lulu9155 said:
Thank you all for this great advice. My son actually doesn’t like to play striker. He prefers mid or wing. And like I mentioned he doesn’t hate defense but just not the entire game.

I’m going to see how the year goes. And see what happens if we see ahead if he gets moved. We also have a large bench. So when we are ahead they play as opposed to kids being moved around.
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In case you haven't found out, a "large bench" at the younger ages also isn't a great sign (though it's early and not everyone who is there may survive the year). It's justifiable at the older, higher level ages (because kids are just desperate to get on those teams and on older MLS Next levels there are kids on teams who don't even get to dress). But it causes problems at the youngers for this very reason (harms development by locking kids in positions and locking kids out of play time). $10 says it's a "pre-MLS Next" team or other competing for a high placement before moving into letter league, hence why parents would be willing to put up with the large bench. If so, you don't have a lot of bargaining power, so you are left with pursue the "pre" dream and swallow it (and he should just simply be happy at the amount of playtime he is getting), or look for a lower performing or lower flight team more focusing on developing the players and where he can be the star. What are you looking for? To have fun, to chase the pre honors or to develop the player (you usually have to just pick 2 at most).
 
Carlsbad7 said:
In my experience the best way to not play defense is the same way you not get picked to play in goal. Just be terrible at it. Coaches will take you out of defense because they don't trust you and put you somewhere on top because you can't "hurt the team" up there and then boom you're a forward.

Obviously this tactic won't work on teams where coaches can pick and choose all their players. However it does work when players are younger and when teams are locked because of pay to play.
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Had a great laugh at this one..... 😂 Coaching in one 9v9 AYSO game, my centerback was offside twice in a span of 5 minutes. As in, "I don't care what position you put me in, I'll be up here waiting for the other suckers to pass it up to me so I can score." He clearly knew the Carlsbad theory of how to get your coach to not play you in D!
 
Like others have said, don't worry too much about the position your kid is playing (although it sounds like your son is the one that bothered the most). Yes, at 9 the coach should have the players playing all positions, but its probably not going to impact his overall development. Sounds like he is getting quality training and touches in practice. Just FYI to all parents, kids don't get to pick their position, but, at least until they're in they're early teens, they should be getting time at various positions. It's rare that I see a kid get pigeon-holed in a particular position for the life of a kids youth career (unless a player chooses to play keeper).

A coach may, or may not, have a kid playing in the "correct" position, but chasing a specific position on another team is usually a bad idea. More important than the actual position is what the coach's philosophy is on positions. If the coach is rigid on the role of each position and doesn't allow some free movement (push up, drop back, switch, etc) that is far more harmful to a kid's development. It limits the decision making opportunities of a player.

All this being said, it can't hurt to tactfully talk to coach about you son getting some time at another position. The coach will either 1) not a give a shit, or 2) consider give your kid some time at other positions.
 
lulu9155 said:
The training sessions are fantastic. The coach runs them well with great drills. Much better than any training sessions I saw for 4-5 other clubs we went to. And that’s what is holding me back from moving him. Because I see how good the training is.

I’m just concerned if he is playing center back now the entire game every game, how would he learn the other positions for later?
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If the training is good. Stay. It's not always the case, even at good teams, and at that age kids learn much more from training than they do from games. Which is why I don't think it's that important where kids play at that age as long as they develop all their skills in training.

My son's journey positionally: 9, 10 8 6 cb (see a trend there?, but then) 6 8 10 and now is a true pure 9 (though some college coaches have suggested he try the wing the first few years before he's fully mature because those college boys are men...!)
 
My son will age out in 2 years. Most of his younger years were spent out on the wing or outside defender. Recently, due to injuries, he has played striker. Occasionally, he will play in the midfield or as an outside defender. Depends on the needs of the team.
In high school, he will play anywhere the team needs him. I asked him if he was ok being moved around on his teams, and his answer was gold. "I don't care where I play, as long as I play."

I wouldn't pigeonhole your son at a young age. A versatile player is valuable to any team, especially at the older ages, where injuries can come in waves.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
In my experience the best way to not play defense is the same way you not get picked to play in goal. Just be terrible at it. Coaches will take you out of defense because they don't trust you and put you somewhere on top because you can't "hurt the team" up there and then boom you're a forward.

Obviously this tactic won't work on teams where coaches can pick and choose all their players. However it does work when players are younger and when teams are locked because of pay to play.
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Is this serious comment? I can’t tell since it’s
1st. It very well may be serious.
 
lulu9155 said:
Is this serious comment? I can’t tell since it’s
1st. It very well may be serious.
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It kind of is and kind of isn't.

Now that you know the "secret" about how to not play defense watch forwards and see how much effort they put into playing defense vs playing offense. Especially at the younger ages.

"Defensive" players are often the ones that try their hardest at all times. This is because you can't make a mistake playing defense or the opponent will take advantage and potentially score.

Is it fair that players are playing games that force coaches to put them on top while others who aren't playing games get forced into playing defense? No its not but you see it all the time when players are younger. Unfortunately once the die is cast players get typecast into specific roles.

As players get older they'll start to specialize in specific roles. Ideally this is occurring because it's what they like to do. I don't know if that's always the case.
 
My experience with my youngest. She started U8-U9 as a midfielder. Our coaches played possession soccer. They put my DD as a D at the #3. She didn’t like it either, because it was new. Now at U18 she loves it and can also play as wingback/winger when called upon. It paid off.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
Is it fair that players are playing games that force coaches to put them on top while others who aren't playing games get forced into playing defense? No its not but you see it all the time when players are younger. Unfortunately once the die is cast players get typecast into specific roles.
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This is why it can be valuable, at least imho, to have a conversation with the coach/team about your child's development and opportunities. In my case, I was up-front that I wanted my child to get experience in other roles/positions (ie: not just cb/keeper). I was respectful about it, though: I told the coach I understood that my son might still play the majority of the time in those roles; I just wanted him to have some time in mid also (in my case). He was understanding and accommodating (as I would expect a good coach to be), and it has worked out fine in my case.

I feel like the best chance to get what you want (as a general life thing) is to understand where other people are coming from, express what you want and why in a respectful manner, and see what can be done to make all parties happy. Too many people approach situations with a "I must get my way" approach, where "what can we do" works much better.
 
Just wondering what about the 6? I know they are still young (very young) but, maybe talk about moving to the 6 because they can still move down in-between the backs but can also create more than playing cb by making more runs getting more shots creating through balls but I'm not sure since they are still very young.
 
watfly said:
IMHO, the 3 is the best position in soccer (assuming the coach allows the 3 to attack).
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First of all, I find that the demagoguery of the position numbering system promulgated by USSF is weak in that it assumes all teams and/or coaches are the same. It also completely breaks down in describing player actions during set pieces -- kickoffs, corners, free kicks within striking distance of the goal, etc.

However, getting past that, I agree, especially in modern soccer tactics. The 3 (or symmetrically the 2) can advance up his assigned side as far as the tactics of the moment allow and his team can either go with the risk of his going forward, or roll the formation to cover his attack.
 
Youth_Soccer_Nerd said:
Just wondering what about the 6? I know they are still young (very young) but, maybe talk about moving to the 6 because they can still move down in-between the backs but can also create more than playing cb by making more runs getting more shots creating through balls but I'm not sure since they are still very young.
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If the OP is right and his/her son is one of the stronger but not one of the strongest players, particularly if the coach is playing a 3-2-3 formation, the DM is expendable and the coach is probably using it to rotate the "large bench" the OP pointed out. The CB at this age (and in the 3-2-3 there's only 1) is critical. Two easiest ways for boys to score at this age is the big legged boot over the GK from the top of the center of the PA or the breakaway. Gks can do very little to really stop these at this age, which means its almost always a goal if it happens. GK may also not have learned to sweep yet (it's not one of the early techniques they learn and the field isn't big enough to justify it) so the coach may be using the CB in the sweeper role too. Coach as a result can't put in a weaker player (assuming he is chasing a trophy and/or trying to prevent the team from dipping into a losing record) at cb but can afford to put them in at dm. The top players are likely in the striker, CAM and CB slots.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
"Defensive" players are often the ones that try their hardest at all times. This is because you can't make a mistake playing defense or the opponent will take advantage and potentially score.
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This is why my son played 6 for so many years. He was one of the few kids who could pass and was responsible enough to defend. The best attacking players had no interest in defending. The ones responsible to enough to defend weren't the best passers.

But... as the kids got older and the level higher, he felt more comfortable letting others handle the defending and so moved further up the field. Also, as my high school coach used to say, the first defender is the striker.
 
focomoso said:
This is why my son played 6 for so many years. He was one of the few kids who could pass and was responsible enough to defend. The best attacking players had no interest in defending. The ones responsible to enough to defend weren't the best passers.

But... as the kids got older and the level higher, he felt more comfortable letting others handle the defending and so moved further up the field. Also, as my high school coach used to say, the first defender is the striker.
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