“Practice makes a person perfect”… This is not just a saying, it’s a fact. The more a person practices, the more he/she has the chance to reach perfection. Throughout history, there have been many football players who have reached success after practicing in different positions. While many people think that a player should practice and perfect only one position, we think differently.
At YFC, Youth Development is the most crucial stage and we take it very seriously. This is because these are the years where a footballer develops his/her skills and learns & detects his/her signature playing style. It’s the time when a player decides the preferred playing position. It is due to this reason that every player must be given individual attention and the coaches must help them to select the style and position they are comfortable in.
The coaches must make sure that every player plays each match in a different position. Doing this gives them an idea about every position and it also develops them as allrounders. For a coach, a player who can play in any position is more valuable than a player who is a master in a single position. While playing in a non-comfortable position, the player understands the dynamics of that position, making his/her game better.
Playing In Defense Improves Offense And Vice-Versa
Many people might disagree with this, however, it is a well-tested thing in YFC. The coaches have often noticed that if an attacker plays in a defensive position, he/she understands the dynamics of a defender and is able to improve his/her offense. Similarly, if a defender plays in an attacking position, he/she is able to understand the dynamics of offense and is able to improve his/her defense. This way, the player is able to play in both positions comfortably. Doing this makes the player more versatile and flexible.
This training method is used by many famous names in football today and that is why they are able to play so flawlessly. Players like Messi and Ronaldo seem to have adopted this training method as this helps them to think as a defender and predict their moves while they are attacking. Talk about getting into your opponents’ minds.
Selecting A Particular Playing Position
Selecting a playing position that a player is comfortable with might seem easy, however, it actually is a little complicated. Using this training method can help the players in selecting their preferable playing positions. This is because they would’ve gained the experience of every position and will be able to select their final playing position easily.
Not only that, but they will also gain the ability to play in any position as per the need of the team and the match. The player can easily decide which position suits him/her the best without any confusion. It might affect the match they are playing in, however, this will help a lot in the long-term.
So, this is how playing in different positions is crucial for a young footballer’s overall development as a star player. Coaches and parents must always keep this in mind while the player is in training.
