Skill Priorities
· Continue to build on previous age group skills
· Dribbling and attacking moves, spin moves, 1 v 1 penetration and possession
· Passing short, long, bent, driven, chips, all surfaces and on the move
· Receiving - quality 1st touch, balls out of air/turning, all surfaces
· Shooting on the run, on the turn, from all angles, volleys, ½ volleys
· Heading to goal, to pass, to clear
· Tackling with proper technique
Tactical Priorities
· Increase tactical speed (decision making)
· Creative risk taking, taking players on in proper areas of field
· Defensive support and unbalancing attackers
· Attacking - possession, support, combination plays, width, depth, penetration
· Closing down with pressure (front and behind)
· Defensive pressure-cover-balance
· Defense-compactness, delay, tracking back, man-to-man, simple plays
· Working in 2 v 2 to 4 v 4 games and situations, games within the game
The U14 age becomes the transition stage into the adult game. At this age, ball skills, enjoyment and insight into the game, with a gradual introduction to fitness, mental toughness and game results are key. Success in winning matches should begin to be the product of a consistent and systematic approach to the game which focuses more on player development than on team building. The players should be developing an understanding and familiarity with each other on the field, but the desire to get results on Sunday should not hamper their instincts for the game or their desire to experiment and explore the game. Encourage playing multiple positions; don’t position players solely on getting a result. Balance the players match experiences so they will be allowed to experiment without sacrificing results. Most activities that the players do during training should be competitive, with a winning and a losing side. Focus should be on how their decisions and their ball skills help or hinder their teams’ ability to win at whatever activity or game they play. Two critical and interrelated themes in every practice should be recognizing when and how to get the ball out of pressure with the goal of getting forward and recognizing when and how to win the ball back, as an individual and as a group. Consider the players’ technical development, because without sound technique, good ideas on the field are useless. Putting players in small-sided games where they have to solve a problem by applying their technique is a critical part of training at this age. In time, success or failure in games and the environment will be the direct result of the players’ ability with the ball. Accountability for decisions and ball skill become a central focus of the competitive training environment.
Typical Characteristics of U14 Players
· Beginning to process information closer to that of an adult
· View themselves as more separate from their parents
· Physically stronger
· Aware of what their bodies can do – speed, strength, appearance
· Able to plan, think ahead, imagine options
· Greater understanding of the ’what if….’
· Competition is now extremely important
· More confident and out going
· Can understand team issues, i.e.; how backs work together in different parts of the field or relationship between different lines of the team
· Speed of game increases both athletically and in decision making
US Youth Soccer Game Recommendations
Every training session should end in a game to goal
Play 11 v 11 (including a goalkeeper)
Field Size: 100 yds long X 60 yds wide
Ball size: 5
