Coming up with the right formation in youth soccer is tricky
As a youth soccer coach, one of the most difficult things is trying to figure out which formation is the best for your team.
I currently coach in a rec league that is made up of 11-14 year-old boys and girls that play a game of 11-no-11 soccer on a full size field. When I first started in this league I had to figure which formation I would use.
I was advised to use a 4-4-2 because of it’s simplicity, but I quickly realized that it would not be a good formation. The reason it wasn’t is because there was too much of a gap between my defenders and midfielders and my younger players had a hard time passing the ball because they don’t have the leg strength.
In order to close that gap, while also strengthening my defense, I decided to go with a 4-1-3-2 formation (as shown below).
The reason I love this formation is that it helps my younger players get the ball up the field because the defensive midfielder (DMF) can act as a relay between the defenders and the midfielders.
In this formation, or any formation that I use, I always put my strongest players down the middle.
So my forwards are strong on the ball and have the composure to finish in front of the goal. While my central midfielder is my best all-around player. He or she is a great at dribbling and passer and while not having a bad shot as well. My outside midfielders would ideally be fast and good on the ball.
When it comes to my central defenders, I want bigger kids who can clear the ball, but also aren’t afraid to be aggressive. I typically put my weaker players on the outside as my right back and left backs because it enables them to get involved and work on their dribbling and passing without having too much of a negative affect on the rest of the team.
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