Playing your best positon vs the one the coach wants you to playno

[Guest]

I realize that being coach-able and versatile are both very good things but at what point should a player speak to the coach about the position that they are being asked to play? I fee that many youth coaches put kids in certain positions purely based on certain attributes (CBs are big/strong, CMs shifty and quick etc...) vs the position a player might really be best at. Sometimes that is due to someone else, who is better than you playing in your primary spot so you are forced to make a change. But if that is not the case and your kid has been slotted in a certain position only because a coach sees something and thinks that "he/she would make a great X" how long should it go on before it warrants a discussion? A full season? Half a season?

For 99.99% of these players, no one is ever going to earn a penny playing professionally so at what point is it preferable to leave one club if it means playing in a position that you really love vs being stuck in one that you don't?

I am sure I will get a lot of - play whatever the coach tells you and I do agree with that to some extent but if I hated my job, I would not just continue on with it. I'd get a new one....

[Guest]

Warrants a discussion?

If an athletic coach picked his team based on what a parent or a player wanted there'd be 8 strikers out there.

Are you going into school and telling teachers they should be teaching in the way you want them to, not in how their education sees it best?

[Guest]

I am sure I will get a lot of - play whatever the coach tells you and I do agree with that to some extent but if I hated my job, I would not just continue on with it. I'd get a new one....

Well, yeah. I want to do something different, what I am not qualified for, but I want to do it so I'm going into my boss's office and tell them I'm making a change to this new position or I'm leaving.

I'll have a lot of free time on my hands after this so I'll be sure to let you know what my next steps are.

[Guest]

I'd suggest that you scale it back to a "lesser" team that will enable you to have your kid play where you want them to

[Guest]

Warrants a discussion?

If an athletic coach picked his team based on what a parent or a player wanted there'd be 8 strikers out there.

Are you going into school and telling teachers they should be teaching in the way you want them to, not in how their education sees it best?

I view club soccer a bit different because you are a paying customer. Some coaches don't like that but at the end of the day, it is a business and the parent is the consumer. You kind of avoided the main point - do you just stay in a situation that is not enjoyable? Or move on?

[Guest]

Well, yeah. I want to do something different, what I am not qualified for, but I want to do it so I'm going into my boss's office and tell them I'm making a change to this new position or I'm leaving.

I'll have a lot of free time on my hands after this so I'll be sure to let you know what my next steps are.

Really? You have never left a job for a promotion at another company?

[Guest]

Warrants a discussion?

If an athletic coach picked his team based on what a parent or a player wanted there'd be 8 strikers out there.

Are you going into school and telling teachers they should be teaching in the way you want them to, not in how their education sees it best?

not everyone wants to be a striker....

[Guest]

Really? You have never left a job for a promotion at another company?

Sure. I just didn't walk into my boss' office and say I wanted to be the Director of Engineering so I was going to go and do that; because I wasn't qualified for it.

Now, maybe some day I will get myself to that level and be a candidate. But, until then, those who hire for positions will be trusted to put the right personnel into the right positions.

[Guest]

not everyone wants to be a striker....

Which is why I only mentioned '8". There's 11 on a pitch.

[Guest]

Which is why I only mentioned '8". There's 11 on a pitch.

Don’t defend yourself to that poster. We all got your point.

[Guest]

Sure. I just didn't walk into my boss' office and say I wanted to be the Director of Engineering so I was going to go and do that; because I wasn't qualified for it.

Now, maybe some day I will get myself to that level and be a candidate. But, until then, those who hire for positions will be trusted to put the right personnel into the right positions.

You have never left one job for a promotion?

[Guest]

You have never left one job for a promotion?

Yes. Sounds like that's what the OP should do, a promotion to a different locations since they aren't qualified for the job they want where they are.

[Guest]

Few questions:
Does your kid play that position in practice?
If so, how does your kid do when playing that position in practice?
You mention 'best' position but then talk about 'most liked' position, which is it?
If 'best' who determined that position to be their best?
If 'most liked', is the kid unhappy, or are you?
If you or the kid are that unhappy, why are you still there?

[Guest]

A simple conversation with the coach should be had.

My D was always a central player, and when being recruited to a new club I asked "Where do you see her playing". He said "outside, I get why she has been playing centrally but I see her long term outside." OK, she switched anyway and after some time on the outside, spent the next few years in the middle. Low and behold, she gets to college....and they move her outside.

What I or my kid perceived as "best position" wasn't what others though.

[Guest]

Depends on age of the kid and how miserable they are but overall stick it out for the full club yr. My child ended up playing defense because his team needed defenders so it gave him more playing time and he was willing to do whatever to help them team out. As a right footed player he also got comfortable playing on the left side because that gave him even more opportunity. One idiotic hs coach never even realized he was a righty. He played years as a defender though my hubby tried to convince him at times to play a goal scoring position. His last year of club he played left or right wing as there was a need. Now he plays outside back in college and is able to use a full range of skills to have impact.

I would help your kid realize that there is a benefit in being comfortable in many different positions. Focus in his/her versatility and all the skills they can obtain rather than what position they/you wish they were playing. At the end of the season you can consider pursuing other options but try and help your child take away a few life lessons in the meantime.