I am shocked to see that coaches do not use a Soccer field diagram to teach the kids various soccer formations. Or else when they do, they don’t succeed in making the kids realize the importance of 4 key positions. These include Forwards, Midfielders, Defenders, and Goalie. We’ll chat about these one by one.

Forwards: These are the players who place themselves by the opponent’s goal. Their role is to convert the passes into goals which they get from their fellow players on different positions. As these players make the majority of efforts to shoot goals, they’ve got to be very sturdy. This is important even if they do not have other skills of great quality.

Nonetheless, the other players shall apparently keep shifting from one position to a different position. Forward players when playing in the middle are known as strikers and when playing close to the touch lines, they are called wings. However, in accordance with their chief job as forwards, they need to have a tough body and strong shooting toes.

Mid-fielders: As the name suggests, these are players who play in the middle of the field. Their task is to get the ball, then pass it to the forward players so that they can move them into goalposts for scoring. There are either normally 5 or 6 mid-fielders. In the soccer field diagram, make sure their position is clearly defined.

The coach should focus on polishing the tackling and dribbling abilities of the players. This is really instrumental in stealing the ball from the opposition and attacking the opposition. Also, they should be accurate in passing the ball. These are vital soccer positions on the field diagram.

Defenders: These players guard the goal from attacks and so are called defenders. As you can visualize, their position is crucial. They are about 3 to 5 in number and remain close to the goal to protect it.

Soccer field diagram

In addition, their task is also to take the ball from the goalie and pass it to the players. A skill that is very critical to them is to shoot the ball to the midfielders and so the coach should concentrate on this a lot.

Goalie: The all important person who takes charge of goal post and has to make every effort to save the ball from crossing over to the goalpost. When the defenders are unable to stop the charge towards the goal, it is the goalie who has to take the charge.

Taking into consideration the fact that only the goalie can use his or her hands, the coach should get imaginative and use special soccer tactics, drills and exercises to help the goalie leverage this advantage.

Now that you know this, create a soccer field diagram and help your players understand it. This will let them understand the significance of the various positions. Our youth soccer coaching community has several useful newsletters, articles, and videos. Register today and use them to your advantage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Andre Botelho is the author of "The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide" and he's a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players' skills and make training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Training