Posted by

Ian McClurg ,

December 11, 2014 Email

Ian McClurg



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There is little doubt that the modern game is going through a period of unprecedented tactical flexibility. Coaches at the top levels are frequently changing tactical structures multiple times during games. As a result, the modern player is expected to be capable of playing multiple roles - not only during the course of a season, but within each 90 minute game. Bayern Munich is a prime example of this. Pep Guardiola frequently requires that players such as Phillip Lahm play as many as three different positions during one game – defensive midfield pivot, attacking midfield and even full-back. This trend in the modern game has an impact on how youth coaches should be preparing younger players for the future. To be capable of succeeding at the higher levels of the game, young players will have to gain experience at playing multiple positions and to be mentally flexible to embrace change. One of the challenges we face in North America is our tendency to place young players in specific positions at young ages. Typically coaches will place children in positions based on physical size, level of aggression, speed and technical ability. Less skilled players are asked to play as defenders, aggressive players are asked to play midfield and fast and skillful players are selected as forwards. The problem with this is that coaches are typically making these decisions to win games, not to develop players. Rarely do youth coaches allow young players to change positions, and parents and the players themselves start to believe that they can only play, or are best suited to, a certain position only. My own personal experience shows that this approach has many flaws. As a young player I played every outfield position. This helped me to gain a good understanding of the game and an opportunity to practice many diverse skills. One week, I was able to try 1v1 moves against defenders and supply crosses for the forwards. The next week, I was playing central defense and using my defensive skills. On our team, we all had preferred positions but we never for one moment limited our thinking to only one specific spot on the field. We just wanted to play and quickly worked it out that the more willing we were to play in different positions the more likelihood that we would get on the field. Sometimes a team may be chasing a game and play with more forwards on the field or alternatively be trying to protect a lead and play with more defensive organization. With all that going on, young players need to be able to adapt and play in different positions. Many of today’s professional players started their careers in different positions. Lionel Messi, for example, was deployed as a wide player at Barcelona during his early years and considered too small to play centrally as a forward — and we have all seen since then what he can do in the middle. It is also important to note that all Barcelona youth players were exposed to multiple positions during their soccer learning at the famous La Masia academy. A young Lionel Messi played as sweeper, defender and midfield player - as well as a forward. One of our biggest challenges in North America is to get younger players to embrace the opportunities to play as defenders. They all think they are being “punished” and that is where we hide our less skilled players. (I’m not sure, but maybe this is something that’s commonly done in hockey and has been transported over to soccer in North America?) A few seasons ago, our academy played one our fastest and most skilled players at right back. At the beginning he was quite upset about it. However, after dominating one game when he spent the entire time marauding down the wing and being our main source of attack, he quickly realized the benefits. He was able to see all the play in front of him and arrive late in the opposition’s half unmarked. Watch any game at the top level and you will see fullbacks like Lahm (Bayern Munich), Sagna (Manchester City), Coleman (Everton), Alves (Barcelona), Debuchy (Arsenal) and Azpilicueta (Chelsea) spend more time in the opposition half attacking than in their own half defending. Good job too because the players that I mentioned are better at attacking than defending! When I travelled to the English Club Crewe Alexandra more than 10 years ago I was delighted to learn that their academy teams systematically rotated their young players through a different position each playing period. Academy games are typically broken into three periods so coaches can use the games as learning experiences, with one additional break to talk to players and re-set positions. At Crewe Alexandra if a young player started as a left fullback for the 1st period they would play central midfield for the 2nd period and then rotated to play as a left winger for the final period. After every three or four games they would have experienced playing in all positions. By contrast young North American players would typically play two or three seasons or even more playing in only one or two positions. In my opinion this places young North American players at a significant disadvantage. They do not learn all aspects of the game, nor are they exposed to the opportunities to solve different problems on the field. It can also limit their opportunities later on to join higher-level teams, as coaches may have established players in “their” positions. When I coached the U15 Ontario provincial women’s team to the National Championship in 2000, the team was captained by a young player who had successfully transitioned from a striker to a right fullback. She had played striker for as long as she could remember but I had several quality players in that position. She had many qualities that I admired and it was a case of finding a position for her in the team. She embraced the change and went on to captain her province to a national championship and secure a soccer scholarship to a college in the US. There are loads of examples like this, but the bottom line is that developing young players to play lots of different positions has many benefits — all of which will help players learn the game and progress to higher levels. Especially, as they prepare to be successful in the modern game. Ian McClurg is technical director of 1 v 1 FC, a soccer training academy based in Ancaster Ontario and author of the upcoming book, The 1v1Way: Soccer Tips from an Emerging Talent Centre. For more info, contact Ian at ian@1v1soccer.ca or visit www.1v1soccerfc.com

