By: Nigel Reed
Submitted: 2008-09-25 11:43:26 | Word Count: 495
There are many youth soccer formation as you will no doubt know, and generally formations are used to exploit and utilise the relative strengths of your players to their best advantage. Small sided soccer games are no different, whether it is 5 a side or futsal that you are playing, the game is always face paced, and all players are involved in the action nearly all the time. 5 a side is particularly good for younger players as they will get far greater involvement in the game and get a lot more ball touches than compared with a larger scale game such as 11 a side. However as there are only 5 players in a team, which consists of one goalkeeper and four outfield players, the number of formations that are possible are limited, particularly given the fast paced nature of 5 a side and that generally all players are involved at any one time.
It is always good to play to a plan or tactic, and with 5 a side competitions, including Futsal and indoor soccer, there are generally 2 formations that used, one for attack and one for defense. Both formations confirm to the principles of play, something that you probably should look up at some point.
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Attacking Formation in 5 a side game
When attacking the best formation is a diamond, or a 1 2 1 formation. That is
* One central defender
* Two wide midfielders
* One central striker
The object is to play the ball to the central strikers feet who lays the ball off to either of the wide midfielders, who will have a shot on goal towards the far post.
The non receiving midfielder makes a run to the far post to pick up the scraps from the shot on goal.
Defending Formation in 5 a side game
When defending the best formation is a 3 1 formation. That is
* Three defenders , where one is central and two are positioned wider.
* A central striker
The central defender is generally used to mark the oppositions central striker and the wide defenders give the central defender support when needed and also and provide cover for any balls that are played wide to the oppositions wide midfielders.
The central striker should remain forward to ensure that the opposition keep a defender back
The characteristics of the players are:
Central Defender – strong defensive skills, good tackler and technically capable
Midfielders – very fit and fast players with good ball control.. The midfielders should be very creative players with good foot skills, good vision and shooting capability.
Striker – able to shield and hold the ball with good layoff skills to the midfielders
It is important to get your team to follow a strategy, and 5 a side or futsal is no exception, despite the small numbers of players per team and the fact that players are involved almost evry momeent of the game.By following the simple guidelines above will help your players and team play better, so good luck with your team and stick to the plan, it will work.
Author Resource:-
Nigel Reed has been involved in soccer during the 60's, 70's and 80's as a player and has been coaching youth soccer in Australia since 2000. Nigels main soccer webite has detailed information on youth soccer formations, so visit http://www.coaching-youth-soccer-for-success.com
