Before choosing a system of play, the coach must establish a vision of how he/she wants the team to play and what he/she hopes the team will accomplish. If the coach doesn’t have a vision for how the team should play, how will the players know what’s expected of them? The coaches’ vision will shape the way he/she answers the following questions. It is crucial that a coach understands that the answers to the questions are ever changing. You can’t say I handled the team this way last week, so that’s the way I’ll handle it now.
When Choosing a System:
When deciding how he/she wants the team to play, he/she must consider several things:
How do we play when we have the ball?
- What spaces do we want to attack?
- How many people do we want to commit forward?
- Do we attack with the dribble, pass, shot?
How do we play when our opponent is in possession?
- What spaces are we willing to concede?
- Where do we want to confront our opponent?
- How many players do we ask to remain behind the ball?
- How compact are we vertically and horizontally?
When we lose possession, how do we react?
- Do we send players to pressure the ball immediately
- Do we step up and compact the space?
- Do we fall off and play closer to our goal?
- Do we react differently depending on the area we lost possession?
Do you choose your system based on the players you have? Or do you choose your players based on your preferred system? LUSC coaches should by and large cater their system to the talent of their players since you don’t handpick your team.
Try to select a system that maximizes your strengths while minimizing your weaknesses. Your players must have the technical qualities to thrive in the system you ask them to play. Asking players to do something they are incapable of doing doesn’t make them better players, it makes you a poor coach.
Remember that there is no correct system. As long as the players know their roles and what is expected of them in the various positions on the field, the system will be of little importance. However, it is very important that the coach is clear on what he expects from each player within his her/particular system. A coach can never be clear enough.
Once a coach has decided upon what his/her best line-up and system are, he shouldn’t tinker with it just because of a poor result or two. Have faith in your decisions and don’t panic. Remember systems do not score goals, players do! It all comes down to the quality of players you’re coaching.
