Is it better to do "head start" training that makes the transition to 11-a-side football easier from the autumn of sixth grade? Tell me recommended coaching up to entry into junior high school

Does getting a "head start" in soccer make junior high easier? A consultation from a father coach wondering whether being used to 11-a-side gives an advantage, or whether it is better to keep playing 8-a-side throughout the elementary school years.

Consultations like this increase around the time the last official matches finish.

Osamu Ikegami, who has served as a youth coach at JEF United Ichihara Chiba and as Home Town Academy Director at Kyoto Sanga F.C., and who has coached a cumulative total of more than 600,000 children, offers advice on coaching from this period until just before junior high school entry. (Writing and composition: Yuko Shimazawa)

<Question from a father coach>

Hello, Ikegami-san.

I coach at a certain local club. That said, I am usually a company employee, not a professional coach. For the past few years I have been in charge of 6th graders, and from around this time of year I find myself unsure about something. Every year, many of the children continue playing soccer after junior high school, and my question is about preparing them for that.

When they enter junior high school, both school and soccer change greatly, and I think the stress is big. So I sometimes think that if they build the stamina to keep up even when practice intensity rises, or if they experience 11-a-side beforehand, they might be able to have a bit more room to spare.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about doing ahead of other teams' kids what others are not doing, so as to gain experience points and stand mentally superior, like some kind of head start education...... (I am not saying head start is bad, but I also do not think you can necessarily take an early lead from the start and run away with it)

Still, looking back at myself, I think the stress of the environmental change from elementary to junior high was big, so that is what makes me think this way.

Although there are practices and invitation matches until the end of March, official matches end in October and November, so is there anything you recommend for how to keep motivation after that, or how to structure training?

Or is it easier for them to adapt to 11-a-side if they properly play 8-a-side until the end of March?

<Advice from Ikegami-san>

Thank you for your consultation.

You are in charge of 6th grade elementary school students, correct?

When they enter junior high school, they shift from 8-a-side to 11-a-side, so how should they spend the autumn and winter season of 6th grade, and how should a coach respond? This is a question I often receive at this time of year.

If they experience 11-a-side so they do not struggle in junior high, perhaps they can approach it with at least a little more room to spare. To that end, it seems everyone thinks they want to "prepare something."

I understand your feelings, but here let me talk about the priorities of development according to age group.

■Rather than preparing for 11-a-side, focus on "what should be acquired by age 12"

The basic way of thinking about soccer does not change whether it is 8-a-side or 11-a-side. It should be fine to experience 11-a-side after actually becoming a junior high school student. There is no need to rush the transition to that in 6th grade.

The reason I say this is that I want coaches of children age 12 and under to focus on "what should be acquired by age 12" rather than "preparation for 11-a-side."

What should be mastered by age 12 is not responding to the number of players. It is becoming able to properly link up in the game with 8 players.

It does not have to be 8 players. It can be 6 or 7, and for example, please have them become able to do what is commonly called the third-man movement. Movement away from the ball. Being able to look for space, or fill it.

If they master that, then even if it becomes 11-a-side, or the system changes, or their position changes, or the area they move in becomes wider, they will get used to such things quickly. That is what I learned through nearly 45 years of experience teaching children.

■The disadvantages of head start education

In other words, it can be said that head start education has disadvantages. If you try out or teach 11-a-side movements, there is a possibility that you postpone the tasks that should originally be worked on at age 12.

With 8-a-side, it should be easier to confirm whether players look at their surroundings, make judgments, and understand the principles of linking from defense to midfield to the front line.

Therefore, rather than experiencing 11-a-side, I want you to spend time on becoming able to do the "perception and judgment" described above. I want that acquisition to be the priority.

■In 8-a-side, they need to learn the ability to accurately see their surroundings and the structure of soccer for linking

Let me explain why 8-a-side is easier to understand.

For example, when the ball comes out from the goalkeeper, who does the back player look at and how does he respond? He must grasp the positions of the players to his left and right and in front of him.

Suppose you ask a back player, "The ball came out from the goalkeeper. Who and who does the defender mark?" If you make this 11-a-side, the things to look at increase, so it becomes confusing.

Furthermore, because many teams switch to 11-a-side on the same size pitch as 8-a-side, with the increased number of players, even an ambiguous pass may be picked up by someone. I also see scenes like that.

To prevent that, let them play 8-a-side soccer and develop the ability to properly see what is around them.

"Connecting from defense to midfield, and from midfield to the top, that is soccer, and to do that with 8 players, it works out like this." They should learn things like this properly by the time they are 12. First, with 8-a-side soccer, they need to learn the ability to accurately see their surroundings and the structure of connecting soccer.

If they do that, you should be able to picture, at the point when the children in front of you are 12, "the kind of player these kids will be when they turn 17."

In soccer, it is considered ideal to learn many soccer-related elements by around age 17.

Coaches of players 12 and under, please coach while imagining, "When this child turns 17, what kind of player will they become?"

■The most important thing when entering junior high school is a mind and personality that can think for themselves

As I already said, I understand the parental feeling of wanting them not to struggle when they go to junior high school, but the most important thing when entering junior high school is a mind and personality that can think for themselves and respond to various things themselves. Let us place importance on polishing that.

In Europe, around age 17, players are trained again in basic techniques such as stopping and kicking. They repeat again the accurate kicking and timing needed to succeed as professionals.

In contrast, in Japan there is a tendency to teach techniques early, and learning about coordination and cooperation as a team falls behind. At the point of sixth grade in elementary school, there are not a few children who have not learned soccer in which everyone cooperates to carry the ball to the goal.

In the autumn and winter of sixth grade, tournaments and such decrease. Why not make this a time to relearn soccer? Rather than scoring by beating opponents alone, have them think about where to pass the ball in cooperation with teammates.

In junior high school, the ball also changes. It shifts from a size 4 ball to a size 5 ball. Using a size 5 ball sometimes is not a problem, but having them kick it hard from an early stage can cause sports injuries. The impact on ankles, knees and so on is not small. Especially when placing a heavy load on players whose height is growing rapidly, injuries such as lumbar spondylolysis become more likely to occur.