Let’s talk roster size. Is 14 or 15 too small of a roster for U13? The plus I can see is playing time but it seems tricky to manage potential conflicts like injuries, vacations, etc. Are there major drawbacks on teams with small rosters that pull players on the regular? Would you mind if you kid played on a team that size.
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If they have lower age or lower bracket teams they can pull from, with some decent players, it may be OK.
It really depends on how committed the players are, and how competitive the league is. If it is a competitive league, it would need a never-miss-a-game team culture. It's just not practical to play games with only 11 or 12 players at a competitive level, they will lose more games than they hope to and the quality of play degrades.
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At the GA/ECNL level, it's almost inevitable in our region. At u13 they are spread out. (Indications are they'll remain that way because nobody seems to want to go to Stars anymore.)
Your coach might play his starters until they break (White), move up younger players who generally aren't ready (nefc, sss), or spend the entire winter recruiting to replace 40% of his team (blue).
By year end, half the team will be broken anyway. When you play the larger national teams in playoffs, you'll be blown away at their depth more so than skill. Those players are basically fresh.Comment
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That might have been true back in the day when the club could generate more than a single win in the playoffs. Now? Obviously not.Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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At U-13 fourteen players is fine, providing that they show up each weekend. You don't mention the level of the league, which could have some impact if you are competing against strong teams with talent on the bench. Oftentimes, however, teams with lengthier rosters tend to give up some noticeable skill when they begin to introduce players 14-18 onto the field.Comment
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Depends. Meaning if you on a team full of kids who want to play it, 15 max. 13-14 ideal. If you are on a team with players playing multiple sporting and taking vacations and other things, you need 16+Comment
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Main concern is stamina with a small roster no? Surely many players can’t play a full game at a high level? Lots of uncontrollables. Super hot weather, last minute illness, and so on.Comment
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Only really need to swap your outside players. Maybe a center mid. 3-4 subs is plentyOriginally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Might be able to pull it off at that age group. If it was High School age group... you need 18.Comment
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You do that and you’ll get shredded. No one works harder than the CM. They are usually a special player whose vision and tactical understanding is wasted on the outside. Now if you said rotate taller wings into CB you might have something but that precludes they have been trained to play both positions for a while.Originally posted by Guest View Post
This idea seems set up to fail at U-13. Maybe it could work at U-17. My guess is that your coach/club is leaving room to either bring a kid on during the summer or deliberately leaving room for a player or two from a younger age group.Comment
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I think you might be over-thinking things here. "Tactical understanding" is very relative when you are talking U-13s. I'm not saying by any stretch that players are interchangeable, but I agree with the earlier poster that you run your limited substitutes on the outside (and maybe find a way to give your gifted CM a 5-10 minute break somewhere along the way).Originally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Always sub outside-in. They cover the most ground and don’t normally see a huge drop-off in performance. You rarely see CMs subbed unless it’s tactical or an injuryComment
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In describing why they sub your CM’s you just described why you don’tOriginally posted by Guest View PostComment
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Really don’t want to sub cb, outside backs or center mids. In todays game they are your core. Wingers and strikers get subbed.Comment
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