U14 Boys Soccer Concepts
U14 Boys Soccer Concepts
The U14 age group is very different from U12 in many ways. The most obvious difference is there are fewer teams which are more skilled and competitive. At U14 many of the truly recreational players have dropped out to pursue other interests and the number of players on the field has increases from 8 to 11.
The end result of this consolidation of teams is that teams, which were competitive in the bottom of Division 2 at U12 in the Spring, will find themselves very competitive when placed near the top of Division 3 at U14 in this Fall season.
The ECYSA U14 competition will be very skilled, tough and possibly overpowering at times. At each practice your coaches will build on the skills learned at the previous practice, so it's important that every player makes most of the weekly practices.
Compared to other sports like softball or basketball, soccer is a very simple game with very few rules. During your U12 practices and games, you have been working on mastering the following basic soccer foundation concepts:
At U14 we will be expanding on the foundation concepts by focusing on more tactical skills and advanced technical skills:
The term "Ball Possession" generally refers to the amount of time each team has control of the ball, that is the time a team controls the ball without a player from the opposing team having possession of the ball.
Generally, the team with the most minutes of ball possession is considered to have an advantage. Advantage doesn't always translate to a win, given other factors such as: shots on goal, Defensive Awareness, and overall level of play.
It's pretty obvious here that the X team is much more spread out that the O team. In fact the X team has players no both the near and far touch lines. On the other hand, the O team seems to be following the ball as a group and not maintaining a more ideal shapr.
During the our practices this coming year, we will be working on being more spread out like the X team and avoiding situations where we are too compact and just following the ball.
Because the X team is so spread out, it is very easy for the X player with the ball to turn and use the passback to move the ball "around the horn" with 5 easy passes to the opposite side of the field and generate a 2 v 1 attack in less than 8 seconds! Notice how only 2 players, highlighted in yellow, were needed to move forward to support the attack.
Let's take this concept a step further. Let's assume our best striker has a strong left foot and likes playing center forward. Let's also assume that the opposing team likes to follow the ball when it is in their own half of the field.
How can we use the passback to force the other team into following the ball enough to give our best striker a great opportunity at putting one in the net?
The first requirement is that our team moves the ball followers toward the center right forward (X) who will use a pass back to the right defender. The defender holds the ball just long enough to allow the center right forward (X) and the right forward (X) enough time to exploded toward the goal area. The right defender will create the scoring opportunity by quickly passing the ball toward the corner of the 18 yard box so that it arrives just in front of the sprinting attacker, as illustrated below.
It sounds complicated, but it's really just 2 extra passes and a well timed run!
Heading is one of the many tools a skilled soccer player has in their bag of tricks!
The primary focus will be on heading safety - how to head the ball without getting hurt.
Being able to properly trap the ball using you chest is a critical skill that will serve you well, game after game.
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The boundaries of a soccer field are marked by the sidelines on either side of the field (also referred to as "touchlines"), and the goal lines on either end of the field. An out of bounds occurs when the ball goes completely over the bounds line either by the direct action of a player, such as: a player on Team B kicked it out of bounds, or because it was deflected out of bounds off a player, such as: a player on Team A kicked the ball into the feet of a player on Team B and the ball went out of bounds. In either case, Team B was responsible for the ball having gone out of bounds. |
When the ball goes out of bounds on the sidelines, the team responsible for the out of bounds loses possession of the ball. The other team is awarded a Throw In.
When the ball goes out of bound over the goal line, either a Goal Kick or a Corner Kick results, depending whether the out of bounds was caused by the offending team (goal kick) or the defending team (corner kick). This can be very confusing for new players and their parents, so a couple of examples are needed:
Substitution rules are determined by each league and can vary quite a bit. In professional soccer, substitutions are limited and players are usually expected to play the entire game without a break.
Because Youth Soccer is developmental, every eligible player in uniform at a game is expected to play, therefore substitutions are unlimited. In the U-14 Essex County travel league, coaches can make substitutions only at the following stoppages in play:
In accordance with proper soccer etiquette, substitute players are expected to be ready on the sideline at mid-field waiting for the signal from the referee to enter the field of play. After one of the stoppages in play listed above, the coach should verbally signal to the referee that substitutions are to be made. Players may enter the field of play only after the referee has given the signal. At the youth level, departing players can go directly to their team's bench.
When the ball goes out of bounds on the sidelines, the team responsible for the out of bounds loses possession of the ball. The other team is awarded a throw in. The ball is put back into play at the same point where it originally went out of bounds on the sidelines.
The
following rules apply to a legal throw in: ( At the U-12 and above, there
are no second chances to do it correctly.)
The ball must come into the field of play. If the ball fails to make it into the field of play for any reason (strong wind, bad aim, etc.), the player will get another chance until it does.
When the ball is kicked out of bounds, over the goal line, by a player on the team trying to score, then the defensive team is awarded a goal kick.
The ball can be placed anywhere within the small goalie box - usually at the left or right corner. Before anyone else can come in contact with the ball, the ball must completely cross the 18 yard line.
When the ball is kicked out of bounds, over the goal line, by a player on the team in its own defensive end, then the other team is awarded a corner kick from corner of the field nearest to where the ball went out over the goal line. The team awarded the corner kick will try to create some sort of an offense opportunity by kicking the ball into the air, toward the goal, hoping that one of their players will get be able to deflect the ball into the net.
Starting at the U12 age level players are beginning to develop the skills needed to produce a scoring threat with a corner kick using a "set piece", which is a rehearsed play learned in practice. A typical "set piece" could be a "short kick", whereby the player in the corner just passes the ball out to a player in the field, who may have a better chance of getting a decent shot on net, or the more common "long kick" into the crowd in from of the net.
We will spend time rehearsing both types of corner kicks. The important thing for players of this age is learning how to defend a corner kick, by tightly marking open players.
Simple stated, a player is considered to be offside, if the player is nearer to the opponent's goal line than the ball, when the ball is kicked, with the following exceptions:
The whole purpose of the offside rule is to prevent a player from "cherry picking" - getting an easy goal by standing around in front of the other team's goal keeper and not really participating in the active play.
Soccer is considered a non-contact sport, with the exception of shoulder to shoulder contact while going for the ball. Going for the ball is important, because it's illegal to shoulder a player who doesn't have possession of the ball.
Any illegal contact , such as a push off with the hands, use of the elbow, hip check, tripping, coming from behind a player, etc is considered an infraction, which results in the opposing team being awarded an indirect (outside the 18 yard box) kick at the spot on the field where the infraction occurred, or a penalty shot, if the infraction occurred within the 18 yard box.
Tackles from behind, whether you touch the ball or not, are generally considered dangerous at the youth level and are generally considered an infraction by most referees.
Marking players in soccer is the very important defensive concept of player to player coverage, just like "man to man" coverage in basketball.
To mark players tight means that the defender is literally shoulder to shoulder with their mark at all times, while the ball is their own defensive end, usually within your defensive third of the field. The whole purpose of marking players is to deny space to your mark and prevent them from: turning, passing, shooting, or receiving a pass.
Regardless of a player's speed or enthusiasm, in order to make it all happen, the successful player will need to be able to do the following:
These skills don't come without a lot of practice and patience. The majority of time this season will be spent of developing these skills for the future.
Time of Possession (the number of minutes a team controls the ball, as compared to their opponents) is generally considered an in important measure during a game. In general, the team that possesses the ball the most has a better chance of controlling the game and hopefully winning. We will work very hard on maintaining possession, as opposed to just kicking the ball away.
One of the key tools we will learn and use this season is the 3 Touch Ball technique, which is:
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