The following posts have been tagged with "soccer formations"...
Soccer Strategy
See “Formations“, “Creating Space“, “Attacking” & “Defense“.
Soccer Stopper
(abbreviation is “ST”) A center fullback or a player who plays between the FB’s & MF’s who is good at stopping attacks up the center. Also can refer to a defender who marks the opponents’ most dangerous striker. Often a strong, tough, brave player. Similar to defensive midfielders. See “Tips” for more about how & when to play a Stopper. (See “Formations” and “Tips“).
Soccer Small Sided
Most youth leagues play with less than 11 players per side until U-12 or U-14. This is called playing “Small Sided”. At U-6, there may be as few as 3 per side; at U-8 4 or 5 per side; at U-10 6 to 8 per side, etc. At young ages it is much better to play small sided; the players get many more “touches” on the ball & it is much easier to teach them the important concepts such as “support”, “First Defender”, to “shift & sag”, and to spread out & get open for passes. In small sided games with 5 or less players per side, you shouldn’t worry about “formations” or “positions” but should teach basic concepts, teamwork, passing, dribbling & basic tactics such as “shifting & sagging” & to mark up behind a man when the other team has a throw-in or is near our goal. To quote Bobby Howe, Director of Coaching Education for the U.S. Soccer Federation & author with Tony Waiters of 2 excellent books (see “Recommended References” in Chapter 3 for the titles):
Fewer players on the field
Reduces the size of the “swarm;”
Creates more touches;
Does not allow players to “hide” or be excluded from the activity;
Presents realistic but simple soccer challenges;
Requires players to make simple but realistic soccer decisions.
Realistic Experience + Fun = Improvement In Play.
Some coaches incorporate small sided play (e.g., 4 vs 4) into practices. However, this can be difficult to administer and is not a substitute for practicing specific skills.
(See “Number of Players“, “Formations“, “The Game Is The Best Teacher“, “Small Sided Games & Formations” which is No. 11 in the Section of Chapter 3 titled Basic Information & Tips for Beginning Coaches and the Comments at “Small Sided Scrimmage Without A Goalkeeper” in the Practice GamesTM).
Soccer Shift & Sag
A convenient term for describing what you want your soccer players to do on defense. It has 2 meanings:
- First, as attackers move the soccer ball around the field, defenders should be constantly shifting to maintain good defensive coverage and the soccer players farthest from the ball should “sag” back so they are in position to stop an attack on goal (this provides additional “depth” & concentration of defenders between the soccer ball & the goal). This creates “multiple layers” of defenders in a position to stop an attack on goal. For example, if the soccer ball is on the left side & the LF is the First Defender, then the LMF should be a Second Defender, the CF should also be a Second Defender, & the LFB should be the Third Defender. The CF should shift so he is within 5 – 7 steps of the soccer ball & “sag” back a little so if the onball attacker tries to go to the left of the LF the CF is there to stop the penetration. The CMF should also “shift & sag” so he is between the CF & the goal (i.e., 10 – 15 steps behind the CF), & the CFB should do the same behind the CMF. On the right side, the RF should sag behind the CF, but not go past the center of the field (i.e., the imaginary line between the goals), etc. These relationships are shown in the diagram below. If the soccer ball were on the right side, it would be reversed. Note that all defenders don’t try to stay precisely between the soccer ball & the goal (if they did you would have no “width” & your field “coverage” would be poor); however, they are in position to “recover” in time to stop an attack on goal.
(See “Defense“, “Depth“, “Support“, “Support Distance & Relative Position” “Formations“, “Zone Defense“, “First Defender“, “Recover“, “Funnel” “Mark” & “Pressure“).
Soccer ROMF
Right Offensive Midfielder. (See “Formations“).
Soccer RDMF
Right Defensive Midfielder. (See “Formations“). Right is as you face the other soccer team’s goal.
Soccer Possession Style
An “indirect” style of play that emphasizes soccer ball control and many short passes, as opposed to long airballs. The argument in favor of this style is that it teaches soccer players to control the soccer ball. The argument against overemphasis on this style is that soccer players can lose sight of the real objective, which is to score, and not to just see how many consecutive passes can be made (i.e, a team should possess the soccer ball in order to score, but the objective is to score and not to just possess the soccer ball). Most Recreational soccer teams cannot be successful trying to play a possession style because they aren’t capable of making 7-10 consecutive passes under pressure. Some people think “Possession Soccer” cannot be combined with “Attacking Soccer” (meaning a more direct style that uses long passes and long “over-the-top” airballs), but that is not true. In fact, the two styles can be effectively combined. For example, the Amsterdam professional soccer team Ajax (pronounced “eye’ ax”) does so, often playing a series of short passes in the “middle third” (in order to lull the opponent and to give their Forwards time to go forward) and then suddenly sending a long airball into the Penalty Box. See “Styles of Play”, “Formations” and “Attacking Plan” for more information and attacking styles more suitable for recreational teams.
Soccer Positions
See “Forwards” (F), “Fullbacks” (FB), “Midfielders” (MF), “Goalkeeper” (GK), and “Stopper” (S) & “Sweeper” (SW). LF is Left F, CF is Center F, RF is Right F, etc. In designating soccer positions, as you face the other team’s goal, Right (e.g., RMF) is to your right. (See “Formations“, “Small Sided“, “Number of Players” & “Zone Defense“).
Soccer Players
The soccer rules, which are called the “Laws of the Game,” call for 11 soccer players per side, although a soccer team can play with as few as 7. However, most youth soccer leagues play with fewer than 11 until age 12 or 14. Contact your soccer association to discuss their rules or go to “Laws of the Game” at www.fifa.com. (See “Formations“, “Positions” and “Small Sided“).
Soccer Pass To Space
Teach players to “pass to space” (i.e., to “open space”) & teach receivers to anticipate passes to space, as opposed to “passing to feet”. These passes are sometimes called “leading passes” (if they are made to space in front of a receiver) or “through passes” (if they are through the defense into the open space behind the defense). This is a very important soccer concept to teach & one that I think should be introduced by U-8 & definitely by U-10. It becomes increasingly important, as soccer players become older, & is very important by U-12. An advantage of this style of play (as opposed to “passing to feet”) is that soccer players learn they must be alert and must go to the ball and not wait for the ball to come to them. Passing to space also encourages “movement off the ball”. (See “Creating Space“, “Leading Pass“, “Through Ball“, “Wall Pass“, “Formations“, “Attacking Plan“, “Styles of Play“, “Pass To Yourself“, “Open Space“, “Pass To Feet“. Also see the Section titled “Scoring More Goals”). I strongly recommend you teach “Passing to Space” and “Aggressive Receiving” — Passing to Space is easier for beginning soccer players and will result in much better soccer ball movement, better soccer ball possession, use of Open Space and “field vision”. Aggressive Receiving” is a better way to teach receiving and will result in a big improvement in your soccer players and their ability to retain the soccer ball.