Soccer is one of those sports where all positions on the field need to play both
good offense and good defense. For example, I once had a t-shirt that said “Goalkeeper,
last line of Defense, first line of Offense.”
It is true that seldom in a game would a Sweeper position have a break away run
on goal, with a one on one against the Goalie. But, it would be great to see
that Sweeper make a good move to fake the Goalie and score.
In Reference to Coach Wright's advice on the “Tryouts page“ of the
web site, we need to find the strengths we have in our soccer abilities and skills,
and match those abilities and skills to the best position that fits. If we don't
have the best shot, we shouldn't insist on being in the Striker or Forward position.Ifwe
can't cross the ball as good as most, we should not play on the wing. We need
to see our own strengths and weaknesses.
If we do have a position that best fits our skills; we should polish those particular
skills. A forward position should be able to place a shot quickly and accurately.
Work on it, until it is automatic. A wing should be able to set a cross exactly
where they want it.........every time. A center midfield position should have
fast feet, fakes and faints, and sharp passes. All of these things can and should
be practiced on an individual basis. In our short high school season, we don’t
have all the time needed to practice each of these skills for each position in
great depth.
There are many other aspects of knowing positioning on the field I would like
to discuss, but will just mention briefly now. A few of them are:
Be selfless; If your skills are not helping the team against a particular opponent,
understand that another teammate might better fit that position at that time.
Also, a Coach might ask us to play in a position that is not our normal position.
Understand that we might need your skills in that particular position, and if
you don’t understand, just ask. Do what is best for the
TEAM.
An understanding of all positions will help us play in any position...I hope
that makes sense. Let me try to explain. If a defender knows how a forward will
move and set up his body to take a shot, he will be better able to defend
against that forwards shot. So it goes with all other positions. Take some time
to just watch and think about what works in each position. Turn on a soccer game,
and spend some time watching. I know it will improve our game.
In closing, I hope this advice makes sense, and will be taken and applied. We
have got a lot to live up to this year. We have got to be ready. All of our opponents
will be out to beat the second place team in the state. Let us not give them
any place to say that we didn’t deserve it, or got lucky, or
have lost what we had last year. I know we CAN be great, now lets just do it.
-Coach Weight-