Florida Youth Soccer Association Player GuidelinesFlorida Youth Soccer Association Player Guidelines Michael Strickler FYSA Director of Coaching Characteristics of U8 Children l Short attention span l Individual play to partner play l Always in motion l Very sensitive (dislikes personal criticism in front of peers) l Beginning to develop physical coordination l Still into running, jumping, climbing, and rolling l More into the real game through imitation of big guys l Still lack sense of pace Characteristics of U10 Players l Lengthened attention span l Pace factor more developed (think ahead) l More self-responsibility l Start to recognize tactical components of the game but not sure why l Positive reinforcement needed l May initiate play on their own l Become more serious about their play l Greater diversity in playing ability and physical maturity l Group play begins to emerge Characteristics of U12 Player l Age of Tactical Awareness l Beginning of puberty l Overuse injuries, burnout and high attrition rate associated with high-intensity children’s programs l Begin to develop and sustain complex coordinated skill sequences l Increased ability to acquire and apply knowledge l Can think in abstract terms l The game of soccer must present the ability to think creatively and solve problems while moving Advantages to Playing Small Sided Games l More practical space with the ball l Increased number of contacts with the ball l More actual playing time l Energetic workouts due to playing both offense and defense and also player will understand roles more readily l Required to make more decisions l Experience repeating game situations more frequently Issues in Small Sided Games l Not enough coaches l Not enough fields l Loss of players l Many clubs who have implemented small sided games have found it easier to recruit coaches l Fields are smaller and can be fit in existing facilities l Many clubs have found for every player lost they gain more players Change l People are not always comfortable with change l A phasing in process allows parents to become comfortable with the change l In reality we are not changing but implementing what we have done in our practices for years l Our practices have been geared to start small and build our practice to progress into larger numbers l We use smaller numbers to teach technique and concepts in a progressive manner l This is what we are doing on a larger scale with our entire program l START SMALL AND BUILD UP TO LARGER NUMBERS Phasing in of FYSA Guidelines These guidelines are for FYSA sponsored events (i.e. DC Cup, Regional Cup, Presidents Cup) 2001-2002 Under 8 2002-2003 Under 9 2003-2004 Under 10 and 11 2004-2005 Under 12 (to be determined) Playing Numbers l Under 8 4v4 l Under 9 6v6 l Under 10 6v6 l Under 11 8v8 l Under 12 8v8? Goalkeepers l Under 8 – no goalkeepers would be used in this format. l Under 9 & 10 - 5 field players and a GK l Under 11 &12 -7 field players and a GK Format for Competitions l For players under 10 and below their would be no result based competitions. l All events for under 10 players would be in a festival format. l Under 11 and above would be result based with progressions and championships l A game by its nature is competitive but we do not want to put external goals above player development Small Sided Game Field Size Recommendations 4 v 4 (no goalkeepers) l Length 40 to 50 yards l Width 20 to 30 yards l Goal Area 3 yard arc l Penalty Area not needed l Goal 4 ft. high by 6 ft. long l Center Circle 5 yard radius l Corner Arc 1 yard radius (optional) l Corner Flags cones can be used 6 v 6 (including goalkeepers) l Length 40 to 50 yards l Width 35 to 40 yards l Goal Area 6 yards out from post and 6 yards forward l Penalty Area 12 yards out from post and 12 yards forward l Goal 6 ft. high by 18 ft. long l Penalty Spot 10 yards out from center of the goal l Center Circle 8 yard radius l Corner Arc 1 yard radius l Penalty Arc 8 yard radius l Corner Flags cones may be used 8 v 8 (including goalkeepers) l Length 70 to 90 yards l Width 45 to 60 yards l Goal Area 6 yards out from the post and 6 yards forward l Penalty Area 14 yards out from the post and 14 yards forward l Goal 7 ft. high by 21 ft. long l Penalty Spot 12 yards from the center of the goal l Center Circle 10 yard radius l Corner Arc 1 yard radius l Penalty Arc 10 yard radius l Corner Flags standard Summary l Play must be appropriate to the level of the players l More contacts with the ball l More decisions are made by the players in an appropriate atmosphere l A phasing in process eases the fear of change l The game must be FUN for the players in a learning environment Small Sided Games is for Our Players Resources You may contact these organizations for local and national coaching courses and other pertinent information concerning player development. l Florida Youth Soccer Association- www.fysa.com, mstrickler@fysa.com, or virgils@fysa.com l United States Youth Soccer Association- www.usysa.org l United States Soccer Federation- www.ussoccer.org