Moving to nine-a-side: a rough guide

Two weeks ago on these pages, we looked at the challenges faced by a team moving from five-a-side youth soccer to seven-a-side.

This week, we focus on the natural next step - from seven-a-side to nine-a-side.

Scott Mowberry, from the excellent Soccer Coaching Podcast, has been speaking to James Brooks, an FA Level 2 coach who works for the Brentford FC Foundation.

He discusses the differences between the two formats, how he has tried to develop thought processes as well as techniques and his tips for coaches making the step up…

SM: What did you do at seven-a-side that you thought might be useful for nine-a-side?

JB: “At seven-a-side, I was very structured in how we approached training and games. Everybody knew it would be full rotation and equal game time.

"I produced a plan I would send out to parents on a Saturday that would say this boy is playing this position, he’s playing between these minutes, then he’s going to come off and he’s going to come back on in this position.

"The same boy could play at the back and up front one week, the next week they might play left midfield or in goal as well.

"As much as I wanted to develop their technique and ability on the ball, I wanted to develop their brain and thought process equally.

"I produced player development cards, looking at individual things they could work on, handing them out to them and asking the parents to work alongside them - ’can you spend 20 minutes with them in the garden a couple of times a week and work on these things?’.

"I did positional cards as well - so if you go and play in a particular position, all I’m looking for you to do is three or four things. 

"I’m not asking you to be equally as brilliant at left back as you are at right midfield, for example. But what I want you to do is focus on these few things when you’re in this position.

"When we moved into nine-a-side, it become slightly different - there’s more space on the pitch. But the idea was that they would understand more the different positions that they play and the jobs they needed to do.

"I wanted to develop their technique but I wanted to develop their brain equally..."

"Nine-a-side brought different challenges, but the idea was if I can develop their thinking around the game, even at a basic level, then it will benefit them once they transition not just from seven-a-side to nine-a-side, but through nine to 11-a-side as well."

SM: Did you have nine-a-side in mind at that time?

JB: "The positional cards were definitely transferable. At seven-a-side, I think we played two at the back, with three in midfield and one up front, but I kept everything as defence, midfield and attack.

"When we went to nine-a-side, I toyed around with a couple of different formations, but they knew as a defender, as a midfielder or as an attacker, these are my jobs.

"Because these are 10- and 11-year-old boys, you don’t want to go into too much specifics. But what is the job of a defender? To recognize danger. What is the job of a midfielder? To appreciate space. What is the job of a forward? To understand opportunities and how you can create space for someone else."