A question that we often get asked is how can I keep my best players on the pitch and still effectively give everyone a game and keep the majority happy?

This is a dilemma that most coaches and managers experience in the course of a season but with a little planning, in terms of starting line up and substitutions you can achieve this tough balancing act.

You can make the process of keeping everyone happy with a little forward planning. But, before you name you starting side its important to manage the expectations of all players.

Reminding your players and the parents, that it doesn't matter too much what the starting line up is, because those players that you've selected for the game will play a part in the fixture. How long they play is entirely down to your judgement, we have a couple of "weaker" players in my squad, so at the beginning of the season, I was quite clear that they might not get much time in the tougher fixtures.

So when I look at the fixture list, I can pick out the games where I want my strongest team possible on the pitch and manage expectations well in advance.

However, where I think we have a far greater chance of winning the game, then I will include the "weaker" players in the starting line up. All parents, no matter what ability level their child is at, wants to see their child in the starting line up from time to time. So be selective in your starting line ups. Make sure you know what fixtures you've got coming up and ensure that you mix and match appropriately.

But how can you manage the whole squad and ensure that the team isn't weakened by whole sale rotations during the fixture?

Well, lets work on the premise that your squad is made up of mixed abilities, you want to keep the best team on the pitch but you want to make sure that you aren't under fire from the sidelines because of your selections.

Over time, you and more importantly the parents will know who the best players are in the team. Ideally, when you name your starting line up you need to keep three or four strong players on the pitch. This rule of thumb also applies to substitutions as well.

In other words... don't take off the spine of the team all at the same time and have your best players warming the bench, while the rest of the team are struggling. To prevent this from happening, you must have a game plan in mind.

Where possible I like to start with the strongest possible team and set them the challenge of putting some early scores on the board in the first period. By having a 2 or 3 goal lead at the end of the first period, I can then change the team more freely and not worry too much about the changes in personnel and positions.

However, one thing I never do is weaken the team by making a substitution. You can avoid this by shuffling your team around and making sure that you have strength in the area's where you think you maybe weak. For example, I will tend to put weaker players up front and then shuffle stronger players into midfield or into defense.

If you think a player will struggle in a position and put your team in danger, then don't put them in that position.

So in summary, always make sure that you...

• keep key players in key positions
• keep a strong spine to your team
• don't weaken your team through substitutions
• plan your substitutions, and
• manage parent and player expectations.

Don't forget to scroll further down the page to see what articles and video that we've added this week to the main pages of Junior Soccer Coach. For only £5.95 you'll have a unrestricted access to the whole of the Junior Soccer Coach site and if you don't like it then you can cancel your subscription at any time, not that you'll want to when you see what's on the inside.

Have a great weekend and may your best team win...

Neil

Defensive Heading Video

Here is a simple soccer drill to practice the technique of heading the soccer ball. This exercise is ideal when you want to organise a technical practice in a small or restricted area.

This is an ideal warm up exercise if you want to develop your practice into a back four training session, where you could use drills such as attacking from wide positions requires your defensive players to practice heading the ball out of the box.

View Defensive Heading Video Now...

How To Define & Nuture Your Soccer Teams Culture

Developing a purpose, creating a vision and building a plan for achievement are all key components of soccer team management. Once you have your season plan its important then to put the plan to action, bring it to life and make it a daily reality for players that starts the process of creating and building a solid team culture. In this article we are going to discuss soccer team culture, what it is and how you can effectively build a positive culture in your team.

Continue Reading...Developing Your Soccer Teams Culture

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