The Coaches' Room
7v7U10Coaching & Sessions

My training teams always end up unbalanced

Asked by AdamW
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No matter how I split them, one side seems to have all the confident ball-players and the other game becomes a struggle. Do you rebalance teams during the session, or leave the challenge alone so players learn to cope with different teammates?

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UEFA C Coach

Grassroots session design • 5v5 & 7v7 formats

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I would rebalance if the game has stopped giving both teams a useful problem. Leaving one side to struggle for twenty minutes does not automatically make them resilient. Sometimes it just means fewer touches and less learning. You do not have to announce a “better” and “worse” team. Move one player, change a neutral, alter the space or give the weaker side a temporary overload. I often adjust teams between short rounds rather than halfway through one. The question is: are both groups getting enough challenge and enough success to stay in the game? At U10 the coach controls the environment. Use that control. Players still need to cope with different teammates, but they do not need perfectly even teams or deliberately unfair teams every week. They need a game that stays alive.

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MeganInWoking

Coach

If one team stops getting any ball, I move someone. I am not interested in proving they can suffer through an unhelpful practice.