"Tips, Themes & Things" Coaching Essays

We all know that there is more to coaching than just running great practices. So, to help you develop your own strategies for successful soccer, SoccerROM posts an in-depth essay on a new topic each month. These articles are provided by the SoccerROM staff and a number of other prominent coaches from around the US and the world, and will discuss everything from technical teaching points to team tactics.

We invite you to read this month's featured article, and then subscribe to get access to the rest of SoccerROM's "Tips, Themes & Things" archives!

Understanding Styles and Systems of Play

by Robert Parr

We often hear coaches and pundits discuss a team's "style of play" or "system of play". To many, these phrases mean essentially the same thing and can be used interchangeably. In fact, this is far from the truth! Before we can get very far in deliberating the merits of different tactics, we must first understand the significance of these two concepts and how they relate to each other.

A "style of play" represents a higher-ordered set of principles, characterized by the following factors observed in the game:

• Attitudes toward risk and reward
• Valuations of teamwork and individuality
• Prioritization of defensive duties compared to attacking roles
• The dominant technical demands (especially related to playing the ball on the ground versus in the air)
• The preferred attacking rhythm (direct versus indirect, passing versus dribbling, and speed of play)
• The relative importance of physical versus technical attributes

A "system of play" provides a more specific set of guidelines, including:

• A team's formation (or tactical lines, such as 4-4-2 or 3-4-3)
• The team's desired shape (placement of players relative to each other, both within and across the tactical lines)
• Designations of individual player roles and responsibilities for each phase of play
• Typical attacking patterns of play

The main concern related to any system is how best to deploy players on the field, relative to each other, in a way that maximizes your collective strengths and minimizes your collective weaknesses. The definition of roles for each player begins as a general question ("What primary system will we play this season?") but then becomes a more specific (and ongoing) question of game-management ("What adjustments do we need to make right now to get the best-possible result today?").

Unlike a system of play, a team's playing style is not something that can be "turned on and off" with a simple instruction from the technical area. A style of play embodies a clear view of how the game should look, and how it should be played. A style of play represents more than just a tactic; styles represent a collection of beliefs, core principles, and philosophies that transcend the roster for any given team. A team's style must incorporate factors from beyond the specific squad of players. Cultural influences dominate in setting stylistic expectations, acting in concert with weather, altitude, field conditions, the average height of the player population, and so on. For many clubs and countries, styles are set by tradition as much as anything else.

Most coaches inherit players who have learned the game by watching other, older players from their communities. Impressionable young players will naturally mimic the elements of the game they enjoy the most when they see their idols in action. If the entire life experience of a player only exposes him to a single style of play, then he will likely find it difficult (if not impossible) to play the game any other way. Conversely, if players grow up watching a wide variety of playing styles, then they will be much more likely to develop mental pathways that allow them to perceive (and play) the game in different ways. Developing players must draw upon a wide variety of experiences as a spectator and participant before they will learn to solve game-related challenges that aren't usually found within their more familiar style of play.

Further, players often come to you having been shaped in their thinking by numerous others who coached them before you. Thus, it can be difficult to impose a stylistic change with a new team (or with players new to your team) if your preferred style of play differs significantly from what previous coaches have taught and trained. If you seek to redefine the way your players play the game, you must recognize that this change can only come gradually. Players will experience significant cognitive dissonance at first, especially if the new approach varies notably from their existing tactical comfort zone. Even in best-case scenarios, experienced players will be challenged to embrace a new style as quickly as you might otherwise expect, since they must "re-program" their mental models of the game, break old habits, and establish new ones.

Globalization has certainly blurred the lines, but we still see significant stylistic differences around the world. The typical Mexican player will approach the game completely differently than his Norwegian counterpart, and it would be folly to expect the Nigerian national teams to play exactly like Spain's. The conditions that shape players' experiences as they mature are vastly different across the planet, so it is inevitable (and necessary) that they will form vastly different ideas about how the game "should be played"! With greater migration of coaches and players world-wide, coupled with greater awareness of international competitions due to television and the internet, the traditional styles of play are not always as deterministic as they once were. Nonetheless, huge distinctions do remain, and likely will for many decades to come.

In general terms, players and coaches absolutely benefit when they study how other teams have found competitive success through the use of a given system of play. Taken to the extreme, though, it becomes an exercise in absurdity, because you cannot decouple the choice of system from the abilities, experiences, and beliefs of the specific players on your team. Stated differently, every coach of older, more experienced players should understand the basic allocation of roles for, say, a 4-3-3, but it would become counterproductive to require every team to play a 4-3-3 in each game. A commitment to "total soccer" notwithstanding, this type of mandate ultimately handicaps player development for several reasons. First, it imposes a bias against some players who would be more successful in a different system, and may well force them out of the game before their full potential can be realized. Secondly, it denies all players the opportunity to learn how to play in (and against) the many other tactical approaches they will likely encounter throughout their careers at different levels of the game. If coaches are to act as "soccer educators", then we must seek to develop well-rounded players who can do much more than function as a specific cog in a single soccer machine.

A team should not be defined by its system of play any more than you should be defined by your choice of socks each morning. Your team should be able to adjust its system multiple times in the same game, should circumstances call for it. Instead, a team's identity should be manifest in its style of play. As a coach, you must understand that stylistic factors will limit the way in which your team can interpret and implement different systems. However, a well-defined style will also become your greatest tactical strength, as it allows players to react in their most natural manner to the events that surround them in the game.

About the Author The co-creator of SoccerROM, Robert Parr holds a USSF 'A' license, NSCAA Premier Diploma, and a USSF National Youth Coaching license. He is currently the Director of Coaching for the Arkansas State Soccer Association. Previously, he served as the Director of Coaching and WPSL Head Coach for the Puerto Rico Capitals FC, the first international franchise to compete in the Women's Premier Soccer League. From 2003-2008, he was the Head Women's Soccer Coach at Georgia College & State University and also coached for the Georgia State Soccer Association Olympic Development Program. From 1995-2002, Robert was the Director of Training for the American Soccer Club "Eagles" youth program in Austin, Texas (now known as Lonestar SC). He also served as the South Texas Men's State Team Coach from 1996-1998, and a South Texas YSA State Staff Coach for both the Olympic Development Program (1991-1999) and the Coaching Education Program (1991-2002). From 1989 until 1995, Robert was the Head Coach of the University of Texas Men's Soccer Team, where he led the program to a National Collegiate Club Championship in 1990, three other National Tournament appearances, and an overall record of 80-25-16. You can reach Robert at robert@soccerrom.com.