By Tom Mura
Question - This high school girls’ soccer season has just begun where I live, and I coach a local JV team. As the JV coach, I view my job as one with two parts, soccer development and confidence building. Normally, I have the girls play a 4-1-2-1-2, partly because it's a simple enough formation for inexperienced players to understand (we are a no cut program), and also because the tactical knowledge translates well to the varsity system, so it feels helpful for swing players and girls who will play there next season. This year, however, I have been blessed with a large group of freshmen who are technically and tactically superior to groups I've coached in the past. The problem is, they all think they play outside back or up front (there are some egos involved). And, after watching a few scrimmages and trying different setups, I think that they will have the most success in their natural positions.
So, my question is, should I change my system to say, a 4-1-2-3, to get all the players in what seem to be their natural positions, or should I stick to my old system and have the players learn something totally new? If this were a U12 group, I wouldn't have this issue, as I am a massive proponent of having players experience the game from different positions. It just feels like at this level, there might be value in adjusting my system to the players' strengths. My first soccer objective, nonetheless, is to have the girls develop as soccer players, not just as goal scorers.
I would really appreciate any advice you could give me.
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I would change the formation to fit the players. If you try to force the players into a formation that doesn’t suit their strengths and abilities not only will the team may struggle to perform, you also risk losing the player's enthusiasm and confidence.
I would look for games during the season that give you the opportunity to introduce your usual system since it's one that they'll see when the move to varsity. When you have a game that you have control of at halftime I would consider changing the formation. Be sure that it's a no-risk situation where you can teach the concepts of your usual system without the players worrying about the result.
After using your usual system a couple of times you'll see how the players are able to adapt to playing in different positions and they may find that they are able to use their abilities in different ways. You may also have the option of using wither one of the systems later in the season depending on the situation.
This will allow the players to start off in positions that they’re comfortable with while later introducing a new system that will prepare them to make the transition to the varsity system.
I hope this is helpful. Please let us know how it goes.
By Tom Mura
