Should Children Play Different Positions in Football?

"He's a striker."

"She's a centre-back."

I hear parents describe their children like this all the time. Sometimes they're eight years old, sometimes they're ten, but they're often spoken about as though they've already found the position they'll play for the rest of their footballing career.

The reality is that most young players have barely started learning the game.

I think one of the best things children can do while they're developing is experience different positions. Not because they'll end up playing all of them, but because every position teaches them something new about football.

It's easy to understand why parents become attached to a particular role.

If your child plays well as a striker but struggles at centre-back, it's only natural to want them where they're happiest and most successful. Nobody enjoys watching their child have a difficult game. But sometimes those more challenging experiences are where the biggest lessons are learned.

As children, we're all guilty of seeing football through the lens of our own position.

A striker wonders why the defender didn't play the ball sooner. A defender wonders why the striker didn't make a better run. The reality is that both players are only seeing half the picture.

I experienced this myself as a teenager. I was naturally a left winger, but I was asked to play at right-back a couple of times. At first, I couldn't understand why. Looking back, it was one of the most valuable experiences I had.

Playing in defence helped me understand what was actually difficult to defend against. I started to see what a right-back could and couldn't see, and I realised how much a winger's movement could either help or hinder their teammate. When I eventually returned to playing on the wing, I became a better attacker because I understood what the defender was thinking.

That's one of the biggest benefits of moving children around the pitch.

Take a young striker and ask them to play in defence for a few weeks. One of the first things they'll discover is just how difficult it can be to pass forward when nobody ahead of you is moving. Suddenly, they appreciate the importance of making good runs, creating angles and helping teammates in possession.

Likewise, defenders who spend time further forward often gain a greater understanding of timing, movement and how difficult it can be to create space in crowded areas. Football quickly becomes less about my position and more about our team.

That doesn't mean players should constantly move around forever.

As children get older, particularly during their later teenage years, I think specialising becomes much more important. By that stage, they've hopefully developed a broad understanding of the game and can start focusing on the finer details of the position they're most suited to.

Too often, we try to find a child's best position before they've really learned the game itself. I think we've got that the wrong way round.

Children don't need to discover their best position first.

They need to understand football.

The better they understand the game as a whole, the easier it becomes to excel in whatever position they eventually make their own.