Thursday, April 8, 2010

Soccer Field Diagram: How To Decide Soccer Positions



Do you remember any occasion where you felt totally confused in selecting soccer positions for your players because of not having a suitable soccer field diagram? You are not alone. Each one of us gets in a situation like this one time or the other in our careers no matter how experienced we may be.

Nevertheless, this is an even more regular incidence at a time when you’ve just started teaching a new team. After a while, it becomes easier as you get to know the strengths and weaknesses of various players. In contemporary soccer, there is nothing more significant than educating the players regarding different positions and their importance.

A lot of players would insist on playing as forwards or strikers but then some have to take up the role of midfielders and goalkeeper too. One thing is for sure. You cannot decide what position suits which player the most till the time you have experimented a little with rotating players across them.

There is a short description of each position with it’s importance in the game in the passage given below. This will allow you to make up you mind on various soccer formations and choosing the players best suited to the key positions. I drawing a soccer field diagram take all these things into consideration.

Sweeper: Any player with a good familiarity of the game who has the ability to lead a team should become a sweeper. His duty is to see that defense of the team is strong at any point in time.

Center fullback: The player is required to spot the forwards and midfielders in the opponent’s team. He also has the responsibility of alternating the ball between the midfielders.

Defensive midfielder: This player is required to stay forward of the defense line. This is the area where many attacks will be made so the player must be well-built.

Central midfielder: This player must be equipped with good passing skills and tough ball handling skills. This position requires the evading of the opponents with the intention of keeping them outside the last line of defense.

Winger: This player must be a sprinter since he or she will need to cover a lot of ground, at times passing the ball or making crosses.

Striker: This position is the most important one and the most taxing also. The only benchmark for this position is the player’s ability of scoring goals. In case this skill is absent in the player, he or she is not suitable for this position. As is obvious, it requires dribbling skills, shooting skills, great power and intelligence to think quickly.

I hope this has given you a good deal of tips to help in allocating various positions between the players. One of the most successful tactics is that of continually rotating the players to find out who fits where. This is a time consuming process but one that is foolproof.

Start using this in your drills today. Make the kids play in several positions by drawing up a soccer field diagram. In no time you’ll identify which player fits where. For more on such powerful tips and tricks, join our youth soccer coaching community that has an abundance of articles, newsletters, and videos on coaching youth soccer.


Andre Botelho is the author of "The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide" and he's an expert in the subject of Soccer field diagram. Tp explode your players' skills and make coaching fun in less than 29 days, download your free Soccer Formations guide at: Soccer field diagram.


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