Unlike some other sports, (baseball, for instance), soccer does not really have positions. Soccer, although it is played with a ball, is really a game of space and movement without the ball. Let’s talk a little bit about teaching tactics. Having said that, teaching tactics to this age player is not appropriate. They are just not developmentally ready for this lesson yet.
However, they will be much slower to learn the tactical concepts of the game. They will more slowly learn that they cannot touch the ball with their hands, become more proficient at the skills you have tried to teach them, and run around the field with great enthusiasm. Six and seven year old children will quickly understand that soccer is a game played with a ball. In the article below, Curt Brand describes why it is usually unreasonable to expect children below the age of about ten to properly understand the concept of space and movement on the soccer field, never mind positions or ‘tactics’.īy Curt Brand – “D” Licensed U10 Coach, WAM United Willington, Ashford and Mansfield, Connecticut (USA) Even worse, some young soccer players are labelled as not fit or quick enough to play in outfield positions and are stuck in goal for whole matches – even whole seasons! Similarly, I’ve heard children as young as 5 or 6 described as “a natural defender” or “a striker”. The same coaches can often be heard shouting ‘spread out!’ or ‘stop chasing the ball!’ and, no doubt, wondering why their players are taking absolutely no notice. It never ceases to amaze me how many youth soccer coaches expect 6, 7 and 8 year old children to be able to play in (and hold) a particular position on the field.
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