Soccer formation selection-how to choose a soccer formation that best fits your soccer team.
SoccerHelp has over 20 soccer formation descriptions for 11v11, 9v9, 8v8, 7v7 and 6v6 and 150 pages of soccer formations, soccer positions and styles of play for soccer teams U-8 to Adult are in SoccerHelp and SoccerHelp Premium.
The soccer formation you choose can have a huge impact on how well your team plays.
A soccer formation is also called a "System of Play".
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We don't show diagrams of formations because the specifics depend on coaching preferences and the ability of the players -- anything we showed would apply to some teams but not to others, and would do more harm than good. Also, where players should be depends on where the ball is, whether they are on offense or defense, and whether the Fullbacks "Push Up" on the attack or "Defend Deep". The important concepts are “Shift and Sag”, “First Defender/Second Defender”, “First Attacker/Second Attacker”, and that positions are “relative” to each other and generally when on Defense, the "left" side players should stay on the left side of the field, the "right" side players on the right side of the field (left and right are as you face the opposing Goalie), Fullbacks should be closer to their Goalie than their Midfielders are, and Midfielders should be closer to their Goalie than their Forwards are. (These guidelines also apply when a team is on offense, but not as strictly. Offense is more creative than defense and players may "overlap" in order to advance the attack; this is particularly true with Midfielders and Forwards, because most coaches may want their Fullbacks to be conservative and stay in a defensive position in case there is a counterattack by the opponent).
Related Topics: See Below For Soccer Formations Basics
Preview Advanced Soccer Tactics (about 40 free pages)
How To Teach Soccer Formations
Click here for an excellent letter about the 2-1-2-2 Formation, the importance of a Stopper and Assigning Positions
Soccer Formations and Soccer Tips For 6 v 6
More Soccer Formations & Letters From Soccer Coaches
Soccer Formations and Soccer Tips For 7 v 7
Assigning Soccer Positions
Soccer Attacking Plan
Should You Push Up Your Fullbacks When You Attack?
Soccer Positions Basics & Soccer Kick-Offs
How To Teach Soccer Positions
Does your team give up goals on breakaways, have trouble playing good offense or defense in the midfield, or not score enough goals? The problem may be that you are trying to make your team fit a formation and style of play instead of using a formation and style of play that fits your team. The formations that work for Select or Travel teams usually don't work well for Rec teams. Rec coaches usually don't have the time to teach complex systems of play, and complex formations and styles of play can cause players to become hesitant and frustrated. The easiest thing you can do to cause a huge improvement in your team's play is to change to a simplified, easy-to-teach formation and style of play that gives your team the best chance of being successful. SoccerHelp Premium explains how to choose and teach simplified Formations that are easy to teach and really work for Recreational teams. The formations and style of play explained in "Attacking Plan", "Scoring More Goals", "Quick Team Improvement Program" and "Formations" on Soccerhelp Premium will not only result in your Rec team winning more games, but your team will play better, have more fun, and players and coaches will gain a better understanding of the game. For example, Coach Scott, a Texas USA U-13 Boys coach, had only won 1 game of the past 20, but switched to a 3-2-2-3 formation and style of play as explained in Premium and went 6-2-2 (6 wins with basically the same team) and finished in second place. And Coach Lisa's U-11 Girls team (also of Texas USA) switched to a 3-2-2-3, and doubled their goal production (from an average of 2 to 4 per game). The great thing about both these cases is that it only took a few practices to see the results. (NOTE: For most Rec teams playing 11v11 a 3-2-3-2 formation will be better than a 3-2-2-3 because the 3-2-3-2 allows you to hide weak players at LMF or RMF while keeping a strong CMF to help control the support", "depth", "width" & field coverage on both offense & defense. Players are assigned a position & with it comes responsibilities. For example, a right side player (whether a RF, RMF or RFB) should not be way over on the left side of the field. (Right and left are as you face the other team's goal). If he is, then he has left a hole that is not covered. Each player must do his job and trust his teammates to do theirs; that is what makes a good "team". There are many different formations, but in all (unless you are playing 3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4) you will have F's, MF's, FB's & a goalkeeper. You may hear about a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3, or a 1-3-3-3 formation. These numbers never include the goalkeeper but always start with the player closest to the goalkeeper. Thus, a 4-4-2 would be 4 FB's, 4 MF's & 2 F's, a 1-3-3-3 would be a "Sweeper", 3 FB's, 3 MF's & 3 F's, and a 3-1-3-3 would be 3 FB's, a "Stopper", 3 MF's and 3 F's. (These assume 11 players on the team. For smaller sized teams adjust accordingly).
The formation you choose should be based on:
(If you play fewer than 11 on the field, the same principles still apply, but you will need to reduce the numbers accordingly).
You should use a formation that gives your players the best chance of being successful. For example, if you have a great goalkeeper, a fast, tough and skillful player who can play Sweeper, and either Fullbacks with lots of endurance or lots of subs, or play on a short field, you can play a 1-3-3-3 and push your Fullbacks up to the halfway line when you attack. (See "Push Up" for details). However, if you play on a long field, don't have many subs, and have Fullbacks who aren't fast and who lack stamina, your players can't be successful if you ask them to push up to the halfway line on your attack and you will be better off to use a 3-2-2-3 formation (3 FB's, 2 Defensive Midfielders, 2 Offensive MF's & 3 Forwards). This formation allows you to leave your FB's deep so they won't get tired and won't give up goals on fastbreaks. (This is called "Defending Deep"). It gives you 3 Forwards who can stay pushed up so you can get fastbreaks and it gives you strength in the center of the field. In a 3-2-2-3, the FB's primary job is to slow down the attack until the 2 Defensive Midfielders can drop back to help on defense, which will give you 5 defenders plus the goalkeeper, with 2 Offensive Midfielders to still be a link back to the Forwards. When the other team is attacking your goal, the Offensive MF's should stay a long pass out from your Penalty Box (where your FB's and Defensive MF's are defending your goal) and the Forwards should stay at the halfway line or a long pass from the Offensive MF's. Running is reduced because you have 4 layers of players instead of 3. The Defensive MF's can participate in the attack if they have the speed and endurance to recover, but generally they should stop at the top of the circle on the other teams side of the field. In this formation it is important to have tough and skillful players with endurance at the 2 Defensive Midfielder positions. You can build a good recreational team around two good Defensive MF's and a good Center Forward. You should sub the Mid-Fielders the most, if possible. I have used this formation for the past 2 seasons with 2 different teams and our record was 15-1 with an average score of 6-2. In our league the players are assigned to try to balance the teams (i.e., coaches don't select the players) and I believe this formation (and the attacking plan described at "Attacking Plan") had a great deal to do with our success. Because all the other teams pushed their FB's up when they attacked, we scored many goals on fastbreak counterattacks and in the second half my FB's weren't tired and I didn't have to substitute them, which gave me more subs for MF and Forwards. If you play this formation, tell your Fullbacks to give up the outside and avoid getting drawn away from the center. The greatest danger is getting pulled away from the goal front. (The other team won't score from the sidelines; 90% of the goals will be scored from the center). A variation is to play a 3-2-2-2-1 for even more depth. The main difference here is that you leave only one Forward (your fastest) pushed up all the time for breakaways. In this formation you give up width in the attack to gain more depth. (NOTE: For most Rec teams playing 11v11 a 3-2-3-2 formation will be better than a 3-2-2-3 because the 3-2-3-2 allows you to hide weak players at LMF or RMF while keeping a strong CMF to help control the Center of the Field ).
Keep in mind that in any formation your players will need to shift with the ball, sag when on defense and push forward some on the attack. I find it helpful to give my players some clear rules to follow so they understand their responsibilities. For example, in a 3-2-2-3 formation:
For more information about how to coach this formation see "Attacking Plan" and the section titled Formations in SoccerHelp Premium. Don't be afraid to experiment & don't forget that youth soccer is supposed to be fun & to teach the players how to play. Try new things &, if they wish, let players try new positions. It won't always work but you will learn something every time & have more fun. (On Premium see "Attacking", "Attacking Plan", "Defending Deep", "10 Defense Tips & Tactics For Rec Teams" no. 7 & 9", "Flat Defense", "Goalkeeper", "Mark The Ball", "Positions", "Push Up", "Quick Team Improvement Program" no. 3 & 4, "Shift & Sag", "Small Sided", "Stopper", "Styles of Play", "Sweeper", & "Zone Defense". See also the Section titled "Scoring More Goals" and "How To Teach Soccer Formations").
The concepts of "Positions", "Support" and "Shift & Sag" teach teamwork and, when combined with a "Formation" and "Style Of Play", they provide the organization for your team's play, and collectively are called your "System of Play". Starting at U-8, you should teach your players the concepts of "Positions" (i.e., that there are "Forwards", "Midfielders", "Fullbacks" and a "Goalie"), "Support" (i.e., "First Defender/Second Defender" and "First Attacker/Second Attacker/Third Attacker") and to "Shift & Sag". These concepts are easily taught and, in essence, teach teamwork. They can make a huge difference in your team's play. How to teach "Positions" is explained in SoccerHelp Premium at "How To Teach Soccer Positions". How to teach "First Defender/Second Defender" is explained at "Quick Team Improvement Program" section no. 3, at "10 Defense Tips & Tactics" section no. 7 and at "Support" in the Dictionary. How to teach "First Attacker/Second Attacker/Third Attacker" is explained at "First Attacker" in the Dictionary, and In Premium at "Scoring More Goals" and "Attacking Plan". How to teach "Shift & Sag" is explained in Premium at "Quick Team Improvement Program" section no. 4 and at "Shift & Sag" in the Dictionary. On Premium, also see "How To Teach Soccer Formations", "Formations" and see "Styles of Play" in the Dictionary.
Copyright 1999-2008, David and Kay Huddleston
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