Highline Premier Football Club

 

A big part of soccer’s appeal to such enormous numbers of players and spectators is that it is a team sport. The substantial numbers of players involved and the endless possibilities for offensive and defensive maneuvers enable the players to make the greatest use of their imaginations. The spectators are constantly witness to new and surprising combinations of plays.

The complicated cooperation necessary to a team’s success is the result of individual effort, effective interaction between two or more players, and actions involving the entire team as a unit.

Because of the many different types of maneuvers in which player are collectively involved, the effectiveness of a team is always more then the sum of performances of 11 individual players. The game of a well-coached team often exhibits very special qualities. Often they are influenced by a certain tradition that a club holds. In other words, a certain way of playing the game has been passed down from one generation to the next. In addition, some teams bear the very specific stamp of a successful coach who has a strong personality. The coach’s idea of the most successful way of playing soccer becomes the hallmark of the team’s play. The character of a team will be influenced by:

·         The particular system being played.

·         The particular style of offense and defense being played.

·         The Tactics used routinely by the members of the team.

·         The personalities of the different members of the team and their understanding of the game.

In psychological terms, the players of a team belong to a subgroup. A subgroup has specific characteristics, structures, and processes that exists among its members, and which distinguish them from those people on the outside. The coach occupies a position somewhat in between. The structure of a subgroup is a hierarchy established among its members, as determine by the relationships’ between them and their individual performance levels and actions.

A clearly defined hierarchy that is accepted by all members is essential to a team’s success. It eliminates jealousy and fighting for position and imparts the security of having an acknowledged place. A recognized leader can inspire the team in critical situations and raise the teams enthusiasm and overall level of performance.

It is an art to mold 16-18 individual people into a cohesive and powerful team. It is the job of the coach to establish a line-up based on the talents and strengths of each player. This process starts at the beginning of a season and can often extend of the course of several seasons; creating a solid unit from many individuals is the work of time.

Whether putting together a line-up or working on a team’s development over the long run, a coach must consider his players technical levels, tactical skills and physical fitness. A coach also needs to evaluate his player’s temperaments and changing motivations. His player’s relative creativity and intuitiveness are other important criteria a coach should consider when he makes decisions.

And so it is soccer; the various strengths and talents of each player are essential to the whole. The tactician needs the fighters and a good offensive player needs some they can count on for protection.

When determining the line-up for a particular match a coach also needs to consider the following:

·         In general, a team successful in previous games should not be changed. The proverb is- don’t fix it if it isn’t broke. This becomes difficult to enforce in youth soccer when players miss training sessions.

·         Players in performance slumps should be given a breather. On the other had a player should not be taken out simply because they are not playing well on a given day. Ruthless substitutions erode morale over the long haul and remove the opportunity of making up for a weak performance.

·         The line-up for a given day depends on the team’s tactics to be used against a given opponent.

·         The degree of participation and level of performance during training will influence a line-up. A player who is indifferent during training should be given a swift awakening by the coach so that the whole moral of the whole isn’t undermined.

·         Finally, injury and illness may dictate changes in the line-up.

In the final analysis, only the coach can objectively evaluate all the factors that go into putting together a line-up. He should be the one to make the final decision.