A soccer coach needs a plan for how his team
will play. Hopefully
every team will have players with strong soccer skills and the fitness
to execute the plan. But really with younger players with no skills,
you still need a plan.
A soccer system describes where the players
are placed. You decide
on how many defenders (D), midfielders (M), and forwards (F) your team
will have. Many youngsters start with a 4D-3M-3F set-up. Part of the
coach's job is to put each player in the best spot, depending on
individual skills and strengths. Defenders should be aggressive but
don't need the best ball skills. Forwards need better ball skills to
beat defenders. Midfielders need the best endurance plus good ball
skills for a lot of passing and receiving.
Once you decide on the position of the
players, you choose soccer
tactics. Soccer tactics define where each player ranges on the field.
For recreational play, players usually stay in an assigned area. The
team moves forward and backward depending on the position of the ball.
Related to tactics is the style of play. Style can aim for fewer ball
touches and longer shots or more ball touches, more control and shorter
shots.
Strategy is how the system, tactics, and
style come together in a
game. How do your players react to an opponent with the ball? Can the
players shift from covering one person to challenging another? Players
thrive on encouragement from the sidelines. If a player needs
individual instructions, call the player to the sideline. Review the
game at the next practice and work on improvements.
A soccer coach must perform many functions.
One of the tasks is
planning how the team will play a game. The game plan includes where
the players will be and how much area each will cover. Also each coach
will teach a style of moving the ball. At game time all the plans go
together as a strategy. The game is the final test for team skills and
plans. Do it right and you'll get more balls in the net.
