Preamble

Formations often play a really important part in the world of football. Besides this fact choosing the right players in the right place are often game-changer decisions. These are powerful factors of the coaches’ tactics and exactly shows how they know their team and players. But during the early ages of the life of a football player, the development of the weaknesses can be and should always be in focus. This doesn’t mean that the coach should screw everything up in terms of formations and mix their teams without concept, but sometimes the long-term development process is more important than short-term successes.

General

From the earliest age coaches choose formation for their kids to apply (or at least to intent to try). All coaches do it for a reason and this reason is to teach their players how to accommodate in a football-specific environment and what kind of bonds they have between each other. This useful tool leads to a team working together for the same goal within a visible framework. Formations and systems of play are not the most important for the players, but the style of play and the approach to the game is. Every coach can imagine a traditional Brazil national team playing in a 4-4-2 formation and can compare this to the English national team’s 4-4-2. They both play in the same formation but they have a different approach to the game – not forgetting to mention that both approaches can be beneficial!
Applying formations and reference positions/areas for youth players are really important but they should always be taught to have the collective approach to the game. Therefore, no matter how young a child is, the coaches must always give more information than just making the player stick to a certain area.

U7s

Under-7 is the first age category coaches often implement formations. During this development period, children usually play 3 against 3. The three players can be made to form a triangle formation. It can be either 1-2 or 2-1 or it can be dynamically changing. In this age it is really important to try to give a reference point for the kids – and this can be the ball and the relation to one another. Implementing this approach, they can be asked to execute very simple, but different tasks, like “always support your teammate in a position where nobody is between you and them”.
If coaches define special tasks for different players, they start to build up the children’s way of thinking about football. Regarding the formations, it is important to also try to give a basic understanding of the empty and occupied spaces and make the players think with and without the ball. Forward-thinking in this age can’t really be expected. The joy, the fun and the wonderful environment is more important, therefore coaches must use special rules, tasks or tools to make kids understand the concept of formations and relations between each other.

U9s

In the Under 9s category coaches often implement futsal as a training method. The reason why futsal is applied is that the U9s teams often play in a 4+1 system. This refers to have four players and a goalkeeper as well. We are now putting an emphasis on the four players and their possible formations. As during the U7s the triangles have been used (2-1 or 1-2), during the U9s period more triangles can be put together to create a special shape. Hence it can be a 2-2, a 1-2-1, a 3-1 and a 1-3 as well. (0-4 and 4-0 is sometimes applied intentionally in futsal, but it may not be a good reference shape in the development process.)
Every coach can imagine that the mentioned different formations lead to different outcomes. While a 2-2 formation traces out a square or rectangle, a 1-2-1 is used as a diamond. The most important is that all of these formations should be built upon the formation coaches used during the previous period. If it’s built up in a systematic and measurable way, players would most likely adapt to the coaches’ concept.
In the different formations, players can be given different roles and tasks. It is also possible to implement a difference between defence and attack. The two phases might be obvious to the players so using these, they can adapt to the given situation. The transitions between the two phases are sometimes the most important periods during a football match. Therefore, if coaches would like to teach their team to change their formation, they should underline the importance of the transitions.
During the U9s period coaches often change the system of the play and have players playing in a different position. This might be useful and effective when it comes to the players’ long-term development, because they are required to learn other positions and fulfil other tasks in order to reach the goal – to win. Changing the formations is important, but keeping the approach to the game must be even more dominant.
Whether coaches apply the previously mentioned formations or they come up with a different idea, they should always have a structured way of thinking in attack, defence and during the transitions. These formations may be changing as mentioned before, but the idea and the link between the player should always be consistent during the games. Player at this age should be put in various situations and should be made to experience very different scenarios, but the coach must always have the wheel and lead their players in a systematic way.

U11s

Regarding the formations, the age group of the U11s arrived to another important step. They usually play 6+1 meaning 6 outfield players with a goalkeeper. The 6 players can be structured in various ways, but the main question is the number of the so-called “defenders”. An U11s team can play with 3 centre backs or a back four. Therefore, the most used formations are 3-2-1 and 2-3-1 (which usually includes a back four in defence).
In this age group coaches must differentiate the defenders, the midfielders and the attackers. As the size of the field is adequate to the players’ abilities, the positions should be given separate tasks. The defenders, the midfielders and the attackers should have different tasks in attack and in defence. Because the style of play defines the formation and the connections between the players, the formation should adapt to this approach. Therefore, a short-passing, triangle-based team should play in a 2-3-1 formation, so players can see the “triangles” within the system of play. And for this reason, they can apply what they learnt before.
Separating the positions and the roles leads to having different characters on the pitch. During the U11s period players might prefer specific roles and positions. The coaches’ task is to get their players comfortable on the field while educating them and making them experience more positions and responsibilities. An example can be to have a “right wingback” who often leaves their position to get into an advanced position, but not paying enough attention to their defensive role. Therefore, the coach might have them as a right back who can only make a forward run when the other right back is staying in their defensive positions. With this instruction, the player will stick to their position and take more responsibility connecting their teammates.

Summary

Every formation should have a breakdown into smaller shapes and more basic formations like triangles or rectangles. The basic formation and the easiest relation of the players should be in harmony with the style of play. This approach defines the system of play and the roles of the players in each age category.
The number of the players are always defined by the competition organizer and it’s the coaches’ task to implement a specific strategy on the field. Implementing different tactics fielding the right players might be a way when it comes to selecting the players for a previously planned formation, but the development in the youth age groups should be more emphasised than the short-term results.