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Weston Soccer Club
Formations and Tactics
A Basic Guide to Organizing Your Youth Soccer Team
Goals of a Formation
- Pose problems for the opposition
And…..
Remember, we count from the BACK when discussion formations!
6v6 Formations
2-1-2:
+ More natural passing options
+ 3 layers of players links forwards and backs more effectively
6v6 Formations
2-3:
+ 3 forwards can make a triangle; teach the center forward to drop back a bit
- 2 defenders outnumbered if opposition attacks with 3; try to teach the center forward to help defensively
6v6 Formations
Anything But 1-1-3!!!!
Violates most know principles of balance
No width in midfield or at the back
Few youth coaches coach the sweeper knowledgeably
Tends to leave one player out of the game, fails to teach moving up and back as a unit
8v8 Formations
3-2-2:
+ Solid at the back
+ Good depth
Tough to get width in attack
Have your midfield pair play centrally and your forwards play as wings
8v8 Formations
2-3-2:
+ Dominant in midfield
+ Lots of attacking firepower in the middle
- Looks a bit thin at the back
Have your 2 backs stay central when possible; if they need to slide wide, have the off wing cover
8v8 Formations
3-3-1 or 2-4-1
We're reluctant to suggest formations that play a single forward; young players need to learn to work with other players in attack, and isolating a player up top makes it much more difficult to teach this skill.
11v11 Formations
4-4-2:
+ good balance between attacking and defense
+ good depth
- might have to choose between width and controlling the midfield; the middle of the park can be a lot of ground to cover for young players!
Issue: play central midfielders next to each other or attacking/holding (up and back, in a diamond)?
11v11 Formations
4-3-3:
Midfielders play in a central triangle (2 holding and 1 attacking or 2 attacking and 1 holding); 2 wings and 1 striker up front
+ midfield triangle helps dominate the middle
+ wings give width
- wings must track back to help defend where wide midfielders would normally be
11v11 Formations
3-5-2 and 3-4-3:
+ strong in midfield and attack
+ good width
- 3 at the back requires good coordination
3 backs must stay compact together; clog the center of the field and force attackers wide. Weakside midfielder provides help when necessary.
Tactics - Keep it Simple
There's a temptation to try to overcomplicate the game tactically for our young players. Limit your tactical thoughts to these 3 simple ideas that young minds can handle.
Offense
- Get Wide - as soon as your team wins the ball, your wide midfielders and/or wingers (aw well as your wide backs) should head for the sideline where there is space (there's ALWAYS space there, as players are sucked into the middle of the field). In space you have time; with time, you have options. Establishing width will enable you to get around and behind the defense, and when they come out to cover you wide, they leave space in the middle.
- 1 Back Supports the Ball - don't have your backs stay in a flat line behind the midfielders when you have the ball. When the ball goes wide to your midfielders or wingers, have the back step up on that side and present him/herself as a passing option to the wide player. Then, you won't have to force the ball forward into pressure if there's no opening. You'll have a nearby option to play it back to, and all kinds of options open up from there. So if you're playing 2 at the back in 6v6, you teach "1 up, 1 back". With 3 at the back (usually in 8v8), your motto is "1 up, 2 back". You get the picture...
Defense
- Clog the Middle - this one's simple. Nobody ever scores from over by the sideline! So take away "Route 1" by telling your team to clog the middle and force the ball wide. With 6v6 teams, tell your 2 backs that they should never be more than the width of the center circle apart. As they get older, continue to stress the value of staying compact in the middle. Never give the opposition an easy path up the middle to your goal.
Requiem for the Sweeper
We strongly recommend that WSC coaches avoid playing a sweeper system, as this too often results in a young player lagging far behind his/her teammates, out of the play. This is not a good way to develop skills in our young players.
A bit of history:
- The sweeper was invented as part of a maniacally defensive Italian system - the dreaded “catenaccio”
- The avowed purpose was to play 90 minutes negating attacking soccer and hoping to score on the counterattack
- This is NOT the philosophy of the WSC
- This is NOT fun for young players!
Today:
- Almost NONE of the world’s best teams play sweepers anymore
Teach your players to attack and defend as a TEAM - your backs should be available as part of the attack (but a deep sweeper is out of the play), and your midfielders and forwards should help protect your backs. This is a much better way to develop players, and you still won't concede many goals!
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