Assigning positions in youth soccer is a delicate procedure. As a coach, you’re bombarded with demands from parents who all want a prime position for their child. You also have to contend with the desires of your players while maintaining an overall vision of what is best for the team as a whole. Obviously, this is tricky territory to navigate and even experienced coaches can have difficulty here. If you keep a few basic things in mind, though, assigning soccer positions doesn’t have to be an exercise in political diplomacy.

Remember the goal. Your most important consideration is finding a suitable goalkeeper. This position requires a player with good hand-eye coordination and a healthy dose of bravery. In most cases, a goalkeeper will be an experienced player who has proven him or herself in several practice sessions in this position. However, you should keep an eye out among new players for those with a natural talent or affinity for this position.

Provide a defense with an outside fullback. This is the player who will defend your goalkeeper from the opposing team. Outside fullbacks are also typically more experienced players, though this isn’t an absolute requirement. This position requires a player who is agile, speedy and able to make good tactical decisions on a moment’s notice.

Choose a sweeper. This player will be your secret weapon, the last line of defense against the opposing team. Sweepers need to have tactical minds, as well as be strong, fast and able to make decisions quickly on the field.

Defend the middle ranks. Stoppers defend against attacks in the middle of the field. Your stopper should be aggressive, strong and fast.  Confidence is also an important character trait in a stopper. Look for this in your first few practice sessions of the season and test out any player who you think is a good candidate for this position.

Create a support system. Center midfielders give support to all the other team members on the field. Anyone who occupies this position needs to be skilled at getting and keeping the ball. They should also be exceptionally strong and fast on their feet and have good hand-eye coordination.

Play it both ways. Outside midfielders play both offense and defense for your team. Therefore, they need to be versatile, able to think quickly on the field and be able to k eep close control of the ball. While not requiring the muscular strength of some of the other positions, an outside midfielder must still be physically fit and have good endurance.

Play it forward. Finally, the forward needs to be chosen. This player’s main job is to score goals. This means a forward will need to be fast and have good kicking strength. Note, however, that tactical skills are not so important in a forward as they will not be doing much defending.