Development

At Force SC, we want to stress player development over winning. It’s a cliché, for sure, but we want to follow it, especially at the younger ages. If that means a player who isn’t as developed needs to get as much playing time as the more developed players at the cost of a game, that’s what it means. As players continue to develop, winning will become a byproduct of the development.

Our club is NOT about the coaches, their egos, and padding their resumes. It is about players first. This philosophy will result in more successful teams in the long run.

With that said, as players get older, playing time should be earned by the player. Coaches can evaluate players on competitive teams and play to win games at the higher levels. It is at the younger ages that playing time should be divided up as evenly as possible to promote a steady developmental process.

For more information on playing time, please see the “Playing Time” section under “best practices.”

Please see the following to see what you should be focusing on when it comes to player development.

Academy

Players should be learning the laws of the game and having fun. Basic rules should be explained, such as how to score. General understanding should be the focus for academy players.

U9 through U12

Coaches should continue to develop individual player strengths. At these ages, players should understand formations and individual roles. When attacking, they should understand what to do as opposed to how they play when defending. At the U10 age, players should start getting the concept of playing as a team, and start to familiarize themselves with basics of attacking, defending, and transitioning (4 phases of the game). At U11/12, players will start to understand their roles on a team.

U13 and Older

The primary focus for these players is the team dynamic. Players should now understand their roles in the team, and now they can understand how parts of the team work together, as well as how the team works as a whole.This is where they want to learn about specific qualities to each position, and how the qualities of each position help to create a team.

How Development is Measured

Development is a tough thing to measure. But there are ways as coaches that we can see tangible results.

One way is to collect objective data. For example, if your goal is passing, then count the number of successful passes versus unsuccessful passes in the first game of the season. As the season goes on, have activities at trainings that focus on passing. And finally, in the last game of the season, count again how many successful passes your team makes versus unsuccessful passes. Hopefully the percentage is significantly better. If it is, there is a proof of development.

Another way to really see if a group of players is developing is by seeing how much space is needed when running a practice activity. If you find that your players aren’t having enough success in an activity, the space should be made larger. As they have more and more success in a larger grid, slowly make it smaller over time. If they have the same amount of success in a smaller grid, the players have developed.

Development

Academy

U9 through U12

U13 and Older

How Development is Measured

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