Giffnock SC Football Development

Why do we keep players in mixed ability teams?

 

It's a question I've been asked regularly by parents and coaches over the past couple of years- 'why does Giffnock SC not stream players into teams by abilities? Surely putting the best players together will benefit them, and putting the weakest players together will benefit them also?'

Personally, I think that the club's size and success shows that the current approach of keeping players in mixed ability groups at a young age is the right one for our club. With this in mind I decided to tackle this question in this week's blog. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the approach in the comments section at the bottom.

Giffnock SC has long held the belief that all teams at 4 and 7-a-side football should be of mixed ability; with players being 'streamed' into teams based on ability at final year of 7s in preparation for 11s.

Being in mixed ability teams ensures that players and coaches focus on training and player development and not just results. Many coaches and parents get carried away when their 6 year-old's team wins a couple of games, unfortunately what a child achieves at 6 is no indicator of what they will achieve at 16.

In fact, a situation where players win regularly at a young age is possibly detrimental; losing is part of the game and learning to handle the result is an important part of the game and also life. If all the 'best' players were grouped together and won every week they would not be learning all aspects of the game.

Furthermore, I've seen many talented players at 7s fall foul of 11s football, which is a very different game. At small-sided games (4/7s) players can succeed with their own skill, dribbling is often a very successful tactic. However, at 11s the game becomes more tactical and physical- players have to run further and harder, and passing the ball becomes ever more important. An 11s team requires players to understand their position and role in the team as much as they can demonstrate individual technique.

Back to coaching- the focus at children's level (4/7s) is on learning the game and focusing on technical development. It is not the coach's role to develop tactics and formations- anyone can pick the 4 or 7 best players and beat weaker teams but to take a group of kids, of all abilities, and teach them skills and attitudes is a much more challenging role; a role which our coaches relish. Although challenging, the coach should make sure that any drills or practices are layered so that players of different abilities can develop as required.
When I'm training my team I challenge players on an individual basis within a team session by giving them goals such as 'after 10 successful passes make the playing area smaller so that passes have to be even more accurate or I'll make small blue gates and larger red gates in a dribbling drill- I can then allow player to pick their own level or I can suggest which gates a player should use.

Finally, as a club it is important to develop an ethos: a way of playing, of coaching and behaving. The 'football for all' message at Giffnock SC, where we aim to give as many players as many opportunities to be as good as possible is working. We have Scotland's biggest and best club and we attract players of all abilities and backgrounds. 

Inevitably players will leave for other clubs and a coach might well ask themselves- what have I developed in a player who has now left? But in my experience of players arriving from other clubs, I'm regularly told that my players have sold them on how challenging training is and how much we do for our players; or they have seen how we speak to and coach our players in games and decide that the way our club plays is the right way for them. So, as a coach, we are not just developing the best players to be even better at the expense of others and by looking at the longview our approach, our ethos, works.

For further details on what players should be working on at each level of children's football see the Player Development Plan on the Soccer Centre webpage.