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I am stunned to know that a soccer field diagram is not used by many coaches for teaching different soccer formations to players. Or in case they do it, they fall short of making the players appreciate the significance of 4 main positions. These include Forwards, Midfielders, Defenders, and Goalie. Let’s individually talk about these.

Forwards: These are players who position themselves near the opposition’s goal. Their role is to convert the passes into goals which they get from their fellow players on different positions. As these players make the majority of efforts to shoot goals, they’ve got to be very sturdy. This talent is the most important even if their other abilities are only reasonably good.

On the other hand, make it clear that the other players would go on moving about from one position to a further position. Those forward players who play in the middle are called strikers and wings when they play by the touch lines. Nevertheless, in line with their key responsibility as forwards, they ought to have sturdy built and great shooting toes.

Soccer Formations

Mid-fielders: Those players who play in the middle of the field are called as mid-fielders. Their role is to grab the ball, pass it to the forwards so that they can further score the goals. They are generally 5 to 6 in number. A soccer field diagram should clearly name their position.

The concentration of the coach should be on improving the tackling and dribbling skills of the players. This is really instrumental in stealing the ball from the opposition and attacking the opposition. In addition, they should be good at passing the ball. These are crucial soccer positions on the field diagram.

Defenders: These players defend the attacks on the goal and so they are called defenders. As you can visualize, their position is crucial. They are generally 3 to 5 in number and stay close to the goal post to avert attacks.

Apart from this, their task is to collect the ball from the goalie and pass it to the players. A skill that is of paramount importance to them is to kick the ball to the midfielders and the coach must lay special emphasis on it.

Goalie: This is the person who defends the goal post and never allows the attacks to convert to goals. When all other players are unsuccessful in defending the goal, the goalie must use his powers to subvert the attack.

Taking into consideration the fact that only the goalie can use his or her hands, the coach should get imaginative and use special soccer tactics, drills and exercises to help the goalie leverage this advantage.

Now that you are armed with this information, you must create a soccer field diagram and then discuss these positions with your players. This will allow them to understand the relevance of each position. Our youth soccer coaching community has several useful newsletters, articles, and videos. Subscribe today and make good use of them.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Training.