U10-U12 Coaching Manuel Part III U12 Characteristics

Characteristics of U-12 Players

U-12 Motor Skills Development

Many players are beginning their pubescence at this stage. The average age for the

beginning of pubescence is 10 years for girls and 12 years for boys. But until they go

through most of the growth process, fitness exercises and weight training exercises do not

necessarily improve their fitness levels, since the body’s neuromuscular system has not

been fully developed yet. Players should be at least 16 before weight training produces

significant strength benefits.

Overuse injuries, burnout, and high attrition rates are associated with high-intensity

children’s programs that fail to stress skill development and learning enjoyment. Since

their bodies are undergoing quick changes and soft tissue (muscle) expansion doesn’t

always keep up with bone growth, flexibility training is the key to preventing injury.

Coordination level of many U-12 players is beginning to reach maturity and many are

capable of performing complex skill sequences.

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Implications

This is a great developmental phase, where skill acquisition potential is at its optimum.

Coaches need to resist the temptation to focus on fitness and maintain their priorities on

individual technical development.

U-12 Cognitive Development

Players at this stage begin to acquire ‘adult’ logic. They begin to think in abstract terms

and can address hypothetical situations and apply a systematic approach to problem

solving (if I do this….and then I do that… this might happen…). This means they can

solve more complex problems.

Although players look up to the coach and want to please him/her, they also start to

question in their minds the validity of instructions and activities. It has to make sense to

them for optimum motivation and participation. They no longer follow adults blindly

like they did when younger.

Implications

This is an ideal time to allow players to solve their own problems and learn to think about

the game. They have to understand ‘why’ they do things and they need coaches who

have the communicative and analytical ability to clearly explain and guide players

through the nuances of the game. At the same time, coaches need to resist the temptation

to throw the kids into the ‘adult’ version of the game just because they seem like little

adults. They are still young and the game needs to be broken down for them to digest

information. Small-sided soccer is still the main teaching tool.

U-12 Social Skills Development

Players at this age begin to spend more time with friends and less time with parents. Peer

pressure plays a factor in type of activities they choose. Popularity and being with the

‘in’ crowed at school affects self-esteem. Early or late onset of puberty also affects selfesteem

and could have psychological implications. They begin to compare themselves to

peers in terms of soccer ability and, unfortunately, some drop out of the game when

realizing they are not as good as they thought they were.

They watch more TV and engage less in unstructured play. Many players touch a ball

only in the structured team environment.

Most kids migrate towards friends that are alike in terms of age, race, sex, socioeconomic

status, and sports interests. They are well on their way in developing a conscience,

morality and a scale of values.

Implications

Players at the U-12 age group exhibit adult-like characteristics in their ability to perform

complex skills, communicate and socialize, and apply logic. Hence the tendency by

coaches and parents to treat them as ‘little adults’, with a concurrent unrealistic set of

expectations. Over-emphasis on results and the extrinsic motivation (trophies) embedded

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in youth soccer often reaches fever pitch at the U-12 age group because the adults

perceive these players as ‘ready’ for the vagaries of competitive play.

Coaches should look for ways to keep players motivated to play. It still is ‘cool’ to be

part of a team. It’s not ‘cool’ to sit on the bench. A positive and encouraging approach

with the physically late developers is crucial. History has shown time and again that the

late developers often have the advantage later in their sports careers, as long as they don’t

drop out due to early disappointments.

U-12 Technical and Tactical Development

As players grow, their technical range increases, their stamina improves and their tactical

awareness gets sharper. Players who spend many hours honing their skill outside of team

practices are beginning to reap the benefits by now. Their superior skill enables them to

spend more time thinking about their next move and their speed of play and problem

solving is enhanced.

Technically, the power and accuracy of U-12’s passing and crossing increases compared

to U-10’s, with the better players’ passing ranging up to 20-30 yards. However, their

receiving skills lag behind their passing, and their ability to control air balls, bouncing

balls, and long passes/clearances is still poor. They still need a running start to get power

and height behind their passes.

Tactically, there is still very little deception to their play. First touch has no deception, is

very stiff and predictable. They understand the concept of switching play and try to do it,

but their lack of power/accuracy does not allow them to do it well, resulting in turnovers.

Hence, play is still dominated by the kick and run mode, since that is the safest way to get

the ball from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’.

Since teams cannot keep possession for long periods, defenders, and especially wide

fullbacks, don’t have many opportunities to overlap and attack. Players don’t interchange

positions and don’t develop the full range of skills necessary for the development of the

modern player.

Implications

Now that the players have close to mature coordination level, more work should be

focused on deception and flexibility in every touch and pass. Individual technical

creativity, coupled with disguise, should be emphasized, i.e. twist one way and explode

the other way, fake one way and sprint with the ball another way, fast footwork with the

ball, look in one direction and pass in another, bending and chipping balls, and

everything performed at game speed.

Small-sided play is still the best environment for technical and tactical development. The

trial and error opportunities associated with small numbers is still the key to ingraining

the right instincts and habits. 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 should be the main tactical diet but smallsided

games should often be functional, i.e. 5v5 played with 3 defenders and 2 attackers

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playing 3-2 formation. Focus should be on improving possession play, to give the lines

(defense - midfield or midfield – forwards) enough time to interchange.

Tactically, the American player lags behind in the areas of support play and flank play.

We already discussed how important it is to focus on support play, starting with the 2v2

environment at the U-10’s, where the player learns to work with his/her nearest partner.

This theme should be maintained and expanded at the U-12’s, using 3v3 to 5v5, to add

the elements of depth and width to the picture, but still keeping it small.

Secondly, we do not develop quality wide players. Part of the reason is the direct play at

the youth level and the inability to keep possession long enough for fullbacks to overlap

into wingers. Playing 3-2 at U-10 and 3-2-2 at U-12 is conducive to developing wide

players, but more on that in a later section.