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Should strong players form the basis of the match squad?

Stefanie Bramley

Ethical question - If you know that you have 4 strong players in a squad of 8 that you take to 5-aside matches (U7s), would you reduce the squad size to give those players more match time and the team a greater chance of winning? Is winning really that important? (And if not, any tips on how can I get this across to my fellow coaches?!)

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    It is all about balance at that age for me. Rotating the team throughout the game to enable your stronger players to work with your weaker players. If the balance isn’t right the stronger players will naturally take over, leaving less involvement for the weaker players. Try to look at adding players to the teams to maybe get 2 equally balanced teams. It is ALL about development at this age the results are to a certain degree irrelevant. I get more enjoyment from a play that we have worked on in training coming off throughout the game rather than the result. It is more the parents you find you are trying to please with results the kids forget by the time they get home. Again as they progress through age groups into competitive football the balance will shift from development to results. 

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    It is all about balance at that age for me. Rotating the team throughout the game to enable your stronger players to work with your weaker players. If the balance isn’t right the stronger players will naturally take over, leaving less involvement for the weaker players. Try to look at adding players to the teams to maybe get 2 equally balanced teams. It is ALL about development at this age the results are to a certain degree irrelevant. I get more enjoyment from a play that we have worked on in training coming off throughout the game rather than the result. It is more the parents you find you are trying to please with results the kids forget by the time they get home. Again as they progress through age groups into competitive football the balance will shift from development to results. 

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