U6/U7 Coaches:
There is often some confusion over the rule stating that your team should play in two lines…and not with all players playing in a bunch.
The rule is, indeed, to have two lines. This does not mean, however, that the defense is supposed to stay back by the goal while the forwards try to score. Both lines can advance down field and try to score. The rule does not mean that players should be restricted from going to the ball…BUT…we want to avoid the mass of players all kicking at the ball together. In contrast, we want the two lines working together to try and score (and defend).
That being said, our best intentions often get derailed and K/1st grade kids bunch up anyway, despite our coaching. Still, we need to do our best to introduce the concept of lines working together.
Now for a few more observations on the same rule interpretation:
The emphasis in the U6/U7 league is to begin to help the kids understand that soccer is a game of space...begin to help them see that soccer is all about a team working together...that the ball can be moved up and down the field more effectively by passing...that what a player is doing off the ball is often more important that what a player is doing with the ball, etc.
The best way to help kids break away from the "bumble bee" soccer style from the 3 – 4 year old days (where everyone swarms around the ball and follows the ball wherever it goes) is to separate into two lines and help the kids learn to advance the ball by passing side to side, front to back, back to front.
I can see where the ‘2 line’ concept might be misunderstood...but developing a sense of teamwork is not a restrictive thing...it's a team thing. The "restrictive" clause speaks to the coach who decides to place a kid who is ‘no good’ over in the corner of the field somewhere so he/she never touches the ball. It's sad to think that we would even need that kind of rule, but it has happened over the years