11 a side football  vs small-sided matches for children

For any parent, the idea of having your child play football for fun – or for the long-term aim of making it a professional – is enticing. Not only do we see the fame and fortune of professional football, but we know the massive benefits it has for fitness and quality of life. However, when your child is young, you must let them experience football from multiple perspectives.

In many nations where football stagnates, part of the reason stems from outdated methodology. For example, many countries have problems with their players engaging in ‘football training’ without seeing the ball. Forcing young children to work on tactical shape all day or forcing them to run around the pitch all evening is not good football training.

By all means, work in tactical and physical work to help them grow. But football training for children in Dubai has to be about one thing: the ball!

That is why, if you think about injecting your child into 11-a-side matches from a young age, you might wish to focus on small-sided games instead.

What, though, are the main benefits of changing this up?

If you want to work towards making your children generally fitter and healthier, you need to look closely at playing regular football matches. But to play games, children need to be enthused – they need to want to play. And what better way to get your child interested in playing than by making sure they see as much of the ball as possible?

If you believe in making your child enjoy football, here are some considerations regarding using small-sided pitches and 11-a-side pitches for your young starlet.

11-a-side football training for youngsters

So, the most common place for most people would be to head out on an 11-a-side pitch and start playing football. To an extent, this makes sense – it’s what we see on TV, right?

However, playing on a full-sized pitch or in a full-sized team can harm the game for many youngsters. The primary reason is the most important one – fitness. If you ask kids to run the length of an 11-a-side pitch for the full game, they will be shattered come the end of the game. They will spend more time running up and down like automatons than they will spend time with the ball. And when they do get the ball? They are often so tired from the constant running that they will propel the ball down the wing or to the striker.

This creates panicky footballers who are unable to play the game in transition. It would be best if you got used to working with your children to help them understand that life on a full-sized pitch and 11-a-side football is all about teamwork. The ball is faster than any teammate. It is vital to get them used to moving the ball up the slope to a teammate instead of covering as much ground with one pass as possible.

At the same time, children can find they do not see enough of the ball in this kind of game. Since every child should see many touches of the ball per game, you must get used to passing the ball. It would be best if you got used to having a contact, moving it on crisply, and letting your teammates have a touch, too.

11-a-side football is great, but it is not the most effective method for technical training at a young age.

Smaller-sided football training for youngsters

By contrast, playing on a smaller pitch or in smaller teams, such as 5s or 7s, can be great for a youngster. Why? Because it avoids the two problems listed above. They become more used to moving the ball up the pitch with dribbling or a quick movement. They won’t be as tired as they go from box to box. They can contribute to the game instead of feeling like they lack the legs to play a good football game. Crucially, the primary benefit comes from seeing more time with the ball.

The ball is your most important training tool as a youngster. That is why any small-sided game is often better for youngsters. They get more touches of the ball per game than on a larger pitch. This gives everyone more involvement, opportunities to grow, and chances to learn something. Education comes quicker.

The other major benefit of using a smaller-sided pitch and team is that you often have to fill in multiple roles. You have to adapt to the game; you might not have two players on each wing or three players in the middle of the midfield. You have to fill in for gaps in the team, take on multiple roles, and become a more versatile footballer. This can only serve any child well in the future.

Football, though, needs you to get used to moving the ball with swiftness and confidence. Players get used to working with an object harder to control than a larger ball by using a smaller ball. This means that by the time they grow up and start using larger, adult-sized balls, they are confident in control, dribbling, passing, movement, and technique.

Making the right choice

Naturally, we recommend you look to find a blend of the two as they age. In most countries, 11-a-side matches are a rarity before age ten. Some countries won’t introduce 11-a-side until their teenage years. The most important thing for a youngster is to feel good about playing more than one position and feel confident they can control the ball without looking.

The more time spent in a mixture of both games, the better a player will become at anticipating situations and using the ball correctly.