By the time they reach the U14 level,players should possess a good groundingin technical training as well as individualand small group tactics. With the adventof the 11 v. 11 game, adult standards andformalized rules start to shape players’soccer development. Skill acquisition isreinforced as training demands increase,provoking improvement in mental tough-ness, concentration and diligence.The U14s are at a critical stage. There is ahuge dropout rate in a great many youthsports at the 12- and 13-year-old agebracket. Therefore, practice activities haveto be thought out well and constructed inan age-appropriate manner. Take the careas well as the time to understand yourcraft, so that more quality players are pro-duced by design and more players end upstaying in this wonderful game over alonger period of time.In this article, we present useful coachinginformation, techniques and specifictraining exercises designed for improvingthe qualities and characteristics of playersin the U14 age group.

Characteristics and training ofthe U14 playerAt the U14 age level, players are growing tall-er and filling out. As muscle and bonegrowth accelerates, players must adjust andadapt to the changes. As a result, their motorability deteriorates at first. Players tend toovercompensate, they temporarily lose preci-

sion and economy of movement, and theybecome more susceptible to injury. Trainingmust be well-rounded, and practice sessionsshould be scheduled at least three times aweek as players’ endurance increases.Strength training can be integrated into theprogram, but the overall emphasis shouldstill be on fun.The youngsters have not yet matured intoadults, yet they are playing the adult versionof the game. Coaches often make the mistakeof thinking that since the game has gottenlarger, practice should reflect that fact withincreased numbers and larger practice fields.However, nothing could be further from thetruth. Even though the players are enteringthe unknown and somewhat unfamiliarworld of 11 v. 11, practice sessions shouldconsist largely of technical training (at thisage the French train more than 75% of thetime on technique) and small-sided tacticaltraining activities. The aim is for players tocontinue to develop their mastery of the balland learn to make effective decisions aboutindividual and small group tactics. By focus-ing on these aspects, team-tactical situationswill become much easier. Small-sided exer-cises, activities with repetitions, varying con-ditions, targets and encouragement, as wellas specific, immediate feedback, are all es-sential for success at this level.In order to understand what the playersshould be doing in practice, we should firstunder-stand what they are capable of from apsychological standpoint. We must compre-hend who we are coaching, how they viewthemselves and what is going on inside theirheads. If we don’t consider who our audi-ence is and what their capabilities are, thenwe will never be able to effectively coachthem and relay quality information.

Mentality: Cognition, motiva-tion and emotionU14 players are in varying stages of pubertyand maturation. At this stage of their mentalde-ve-lopment, they begin to display inde-pendence and are becoming self-critical.They be-come more aware of praise, statusand recognition. They are in a time of self-discovery and have a sense of belonging, ac-complishment and achievement.The coach at the U14 level plays a critical roleand has a profound ability to either acceler-ate or hinder a child’s development. The im-portant decision of coach selection shouldnot be left up to a parental committee thathas little or no soccer knowledge. Most ofthe time, parents will select a coach on thebasis of his or her past record of wins andlosses. Instead, the club’s technical direc-torshould select the person with the skill setthat is best suited for the gender and agegroup in question. Let the professional setthe training priorities and establish theteam’s direction. It’s the long-term develop-ment of the players that should set the focus,not the short-term results.A coach should possess the following charac-teristics:� integrity and honesty�a strong personality�a great wealth of soccer knowledgethrough education�enthusiasm and terrific passion for thegame� the ability to demonstrate proficiently�quality communication skills�a genuine liking for and understanding ofchildren.These qualities enable a coach to have a pos-itive influence on young players’ mentality.

YOUTH TRAINING

20 SUCCESS IN SOCCER September 2004

U14: The beginning

phase of 11 v. 11

by Gordon Miller, Technical Director, Virginia Youth Soccer Association.This article is part of the US Youth Soccer youth coaching education series.

Condition: Flexibility is essentialFlexibility exercises before and after trainingare essential for preventing injuries, and theyhave also been proven to increase athleticperformance. Training should includestretching and mobility exercises, followedby strength training and dynamic speed-oriented exercises.Pay particular attention (especially withboys) to the hamstrings, hip flexors and groinmuscles, to ensure maximum stride lengthand range of motion. Physical preparation iscritical for optimizing the execution of an en-tire range of techniques. Agility, speed,strength and endurance are also necessarycomponents at this age. All physical trainingshould be done with the ball.

Technique: Encourage creativityTechnique training must still comprise a ma-jor portion of the practice session. Playersmust be able to control a ball efficiently andpass or shoot with the various surfaces ofboth feet: In the end, there is no tactic orsystem of play that will effectively cover upthat deficiency. Most technique trainingshould be done at speed and under pressure.Isolating techniques without pressure is im-portant for understanding and acquisition,but technique training as it is commonlypracticed, without opponents or decision-making, is unrealistic.

Players must be encouraged to actively en-gage their opponents, with an emphasis onspeed, a variety of moves, shielding and spinturns. Fostering creative risk-takers is alsocritical for long-term success. In order tobreak into soccer’s upper echelons and staythere, we must produce players capable ofindividual brilliance and flair, who can turnthe balance of a game, or at least influence itsoutcome. The creative player must be soughtout, nurtured and allowed to blossom: aneasy statement to make, but a difficult one toput into practice.

Tactics: Decision-makingThe continued use of individual and smallgroup tactics is warranted at U14. Increasethe tactical speed and the decision-makingprocess, but remain patient with the applica-tions. Exercises must allow players to makedecisions and teach them that there are con-sequences for making the wrong ones.The quality of team tactics depends to a largeextent on how well players understand andexecute individual and small group tactics.For example, we can keep possession of theball for the purpose of eventually going for-ward in an attempt to score. Or we can keeppossession of the ball for the purpose of kill-ing off a game and running out the clock.The skills are similar, but the applications aredifferent.

An individual’s ability to dribble, shield, con-trol and pass is paramount to the success ofany tactic. However, the group’s ability tosupport each other in combination plays,movement into space, and penetration ofballs and timing of runs must also be under-stood and executed well.

Sample exercisesOn the next few pages, we present a series ofexercises designed to systematically prepareplayers for playing 11 v. 11 matches in a3–4–3 formation with a strong, attack-oriented playing style.

YOUTH TRAINING

SUCCESS IN SOCCER September 2004 21

PRACTICE SESSION

20y

30y

1Setup

• Mark out a 20 x 30-yard grid.• Players form three teams of three and play 6 v. 3.

Sequence

• Attackers keep possession of the ball for one minute, then switch.• Defenders score by winning the ball, attackers by completing six passes.

Coaching points

• Attackers must create short support around the ball, middle support inthe heart of the three defenders and long support on the opposite side ofthe grid.• Also focus on passing angles, first touch, ball movement and communica-tion.

Variations

• Attackers immediately switch to defense whenever they lose the ball.• The player who lost the ball runs around a far cone before rejoining thegame.• Limit touches to four, two or one (emphasize shielding).

3 v. 3 + 3 possession

YOUTH TRAINING

22 SUCCESS IN SOCCER September 2004

Setup

• Mark out a 25 x 35-yard grid with four goals, each three yards wide.• Players form two teams of four plus one neutral player.

Sequence

• Attackers score one point each time the ball is passed through a goal andreceived and controlled on the other side.

Coaching points

• Spread out to cover the grid, and switch play quickly to attack an opengoal.• Focus on communication, quick ball movement, seizing opportunities,quality and weight of passes, first touch, timing of runs, and reading thegame.

Variations

• Attackers score one point for six passes and two for passing through agoal.• Attackers score by dribbling through goals.• Attackers can only score once on each goal.

PRACTICE SESSION

25y

35y

3

41

2

2 4 v. 4 + 1 on four goals

3Setup

• Mark out a 20 x 40-yard grid.• form two teams of four, plus one neutral player in the grid and two targetplayers at each end.

Sequence

• Attackers score by passing to target players; ball then goes to the otherteam.• Target players pass back and forth until new team is ready for the ball.• Attackers may pass back to their own target players if necessary.• Teams switch roles and positions periodically.

Coaching points

• Create support behind, beside and ahead of the ball.• Think ahead and make eye contact before passing and receiving.

Variation

• Attackers keep the ball after scoring and attack the other end.

4 v. 4 + 1 with target players

YOUTH TRAINING

SUCCESS IN SOCCER September 2004 23

PRACTICE SESSION

20y

35 - 40y

4Setup

• Mark out a 20 x 40-yard grid.• Players form two teams of four with two neutral players outside the gridand one target player at each end.

Sequence

• Attackers score by passing to target players; ball then goes to the otherteam.• Neutral players support attackers and play wall passes (limited to onetouch).

Coaching points

• Focus on passing angles, deception, quality and speed of wall passes, eyecontact and passing technique.

Variations

• Attackers keep ball after scoring and immediately attack the other end.• Limit number of touches and/or playing time.• Players who pass to target players switch positions with them.• All players must be their own half before a target player can pass tothem.

4 v. 4 with wall players

Setup

• Mark out a 70 x 60-yard grid with two standard goals.• Players form two teams of eight plus goalkeepers.

Sequence

• Teams play 9 v. 9 to score on the goals.• Play begins with the attackers up 1:0. They must keep possession anddefend their lead for five minutes. They should try to kill the game in theopposition’s half. They cannot score until their opponents have tied thegame; after that, either team can score.• After five minutes, play starts over with the other team in possession.• At the very end, play a ten-minute game with no restrictions.

Coaching points

• Because players are making the transition to the 11 v. 11 game, theyshould work on using the entire width of the field (crossing etc.).

60y

70y

5 Final game