[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":268},["ShallowReactive",2],{"site-config":3,"post-grassroots-football-formations-by-age":129},{"success":4,"data":5},true,{"site":6,"features":10,"stripe":12,"bridalfile":13,"navigation":14,"branding":112,"footer":117},{"id":7,"name":8,"domain":9},"49f21346-cf36-4218-89c8-0b70f6252527","Trac","tracbac.club",{"products":11,"bookings":11,"event_capacity":11,"ugc":11},false,{"enabled":11,"test_mode":4},{"enabled":11},{"footer":15,"header":48},{"id":16,"name":17,"items":18},"fca9ef82-96bf-4a85-88c1-ed41a7402e9d","Footer Navigation",[19,24,28,32,36,40,44],{"id":20,"url":21,"label":22,"target":23},"trac-footer-features","/coaches","Features","_self",{"id":25,"url":26,"label":27,"target":23},"trac-footer-pricing","/pricing","Pricing",{"id":29,"url":30,"label":31,"target":23},"trac-footer-about","/about","About",{"id":33,"url":34,"label":35,"target":23},"trac-footer-help","https://app.tracbac.club/help-faqs","Help & FAQs",{"id":37,"url":38,"label":39,"target":23},"trac-footer-contact","/contact","Contact",{"id":41,"url":42,"label":43,"target":23},"trac-footer-privacy","/privacy-policy","Privacy Policy",{"id":45,"url":46,"label":47,"target":23},"trac-footer-terms","/terms","Terms",{"id":49,"name":50,"items":51},"418b3097-634e-4944-829d-24b59fa2c36a","Header Navigation",[52,83,99,103,105,107,110],{"id":53,"url":54,"label":22,"target":23,"children":55},"trac-nav-features","#",[56,59,63,67,71,75,79],{"id":57,"url":21,"label":58,"target":23},"trac-nav-coaches","For Coaches",{"id":60,"url":61,"label":62,"target":23},"trac-nav-ai","/ai","AI Features",{"id":64,"url":65,"label":66,"target":23},"trac-nav-training","/training","Training",{"id":68,"url":69,"label":70,"target":23},"trac-nav-parents","/parents","For Parents",{"id":72,"url":73,"label":74,"target":23},"trac-nav-season-archive","/season-archive","Season Archive",{"id":76,"url":77,"label":78,"target":23},"trac-nav-fa-import","/fa-full-time-import","FA Full-Time Import",{"id":80,"url":81,"label":82,"target":23},"trac-nav-club","/club","For Clubs",{"id":84,"url":54,"label":85,"target":23,"children":86},"trac-nav-compare","Compare",[87,91,95],{"id":88,"url":89,"label":90,"target":23},"trac-nav-vs-teamstats","/vs-teamstats","vs TeamStats",{"id":92,"url":93,"label":94,"target":23},"trac-nav-vs-spond","/vs-spond","vs Spond",{"id":96,"url":97,"label":98,"target":23},"trac-nav-vs-pitchero","/vs-pitchero","vs Pitchero",{"id":100,"url":101,"label":102,"target":23},"trac-nav-playbook","/playbook","Playbook",{"id":104,"url":26,"label":27,"target":23},"trac-nav-pricing",{"id":106,"url":30,"label":31,"target":23},"trac-nav-about",{"id":108,"url":34,"label":109,"target":23},"trac-nav-help","Help",{"id":111,"url":38,"label":39,"target":23},"trac-nav-contact",{"logo":113,"logoDark":114,"favicon":115,"tagline":116},"https://sktegczfmabucrnpgrvp.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/49f21346-cf36-4218-89c8-0b70f6252527/2026/06/1781685688946-Trac-crop.webp",null,"https://sktegczfmabucrnpgrvp.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/49f21346-cf36-4218-89c8-0b70f6252527/2026/06/1781685671484-favicon.ico","Football Coaching Software for Grassroots Teams",{"summary":118,"copyright":119,"address":120,"contact":122,"socialLinks":123,"openingHours":128,"logos":114},"Trac is football coaching software that helps grassroots coaches organise fixtures, track matches, and keep parents in the loop. No fuss, no jargon - just everything you need to run your team.","Trac Football. All rights reserved.",{"line1":114,"line2":114,"city":114,"state":114,"postalCode":114,"country":121},"United Kingdom",{"phone":114,"email":114},[124],{"url":125,"label":126,"platform":127},"https://x.com/tracbacapp","Twitter","twitter",[],{"success":4,"data":130},{"id":131,"slug":132,"title":133,"excerpt":134,"content":135,"content_format":262,"featured_image":263,"published":4,"published_at":264,"meta_title":265,"meta_description":266,"fields":267},"3f839bfd-2a0b-45ed-834a-51e5294364d3","grassroots-football-formations-by-age","Grassroots Football Formations by Age: 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11","How I set up each grassroots football format, from 3v3 up to eleven a side, and the coaching habits that matter more than any formation.",{"type":136,"content":137},"doc",[138,144,148,155,159,164,168,173,177,182,186,191,195,200,204,232,258],{"type":139,"content":140},"paragraph",[141],{"text":142,"type":143},"At the start of every season a coach in our club asks the same question. What formation should we play? It is a fair question, and I used to spend far too long on it. After a full season tracking my own U12s with Trac, I have landed somewhere simpler. At grassroots the shape matters less than people think, but a sensible one still helps the kids know where to stand and gives you a starting point to teach from. Here is how I set up each format, from the youngest age groups up to eleven a side, and the few principles that matter more than any of it.","text",{"type":139,"content":145},[146],{"text":147,"type":143},"One thing before the shapes. The Football Association moved youth football to small sided games for a reason. Fewer players means more touches, more decisions, and more time on the ball for every child. The formats also change again for the 2026/27 season under the FA's FutureFit plans, so always check your league handbook for the exact numbers your age group plays this year. What follows is the general picture and how I would coach each one.",{"type":149,"attrs":150,"content":152},"heading",{"level":151},2,[153],{"text":154,"type":143},"3v3 (roughly Under 7s)",{"type":139,"content":156},[157],{"text":158,"type":143},"At three a side there is not really a formation to teach, and that is the point. I would not stand a young child on a spot and tell them to stay there. The most I do is get one player to think about staying a bit deeper when we lose the ball so we are not all chasing at once. Beyond that it is about touches, dribbling, and letting them play. Rotate everyone through every part of the pitch so no child gets stuck as the one who always defends.",{"type":149,"attrs":160,"content":161},{"level":151},[162],{"text":163,"type":143},"5v5 (roughly Under 8s and Under 9s)",{"type":139,"content":165},[166],{"text":167,"type":143},"Five a side is the first point where a shape is worth a light touch. Two options work well. A flat two at the back and two up front, which is easy for kids to understand, or a diamond with one deeper player, one either side, and one higher up. I prefer the diamond because it spreads the team out and stops the bunching that turns games into a swarm around the ball. Whichever you pick, keep it loose. If a defender wants to dribble the length of the pitch and score, let them. That is exactly what you want an eight year old doing.",{"type":149,"attrs":169,"content":170},{"level":151},[171],{"text":172,"type":143},"7v7 (roughly Under 10s and Under 11s)",{"type":139,"content":174},[175],{"text":176,"type":143},"Seven a side is where shape starts to do real work, because now there is space to defend and attack in. The two I have used are a 2-3-1 and a 3-2-1. I lean towards 2-3-1. Two at the back, three across the middle, one striker. It gives you width through the midfield three, a spare defender is not really a thing yet at this age so both defenders need to be comfortable on the ball, and the lone striker learns to hold it up and bring others in. If your team is leaking goals, a 3-2-1 gives you an extra body at the back while you sort out the defending, then move back to 2-3-1 once they settle.",{"type":149,"attrs":178,"content":179},{"level":151},[180],{"text":181,"type":143},"9v9 (roughly Under 12s and Under 13s)",{"type":139,"content":183},[184],{"text":185,"type":143},"Nine a side is the bridge to the full game, and it is the one I know best because it is what my Spartans played on the way to promotion. We used a 3-2-3. Three at the back, two in central midfield, three across the front. It teaches a back line that has to stay connected, a midfield pair who share the work, and a front three who learn width and crossing. A 3-3-2 is the sensible alternative if you want an extra midfielder and can live with two up top. The big lesson at 9v9 is spacing. If your three defenders and two midfielders drift into the same area you get overrun, so a lot of my coaching that season was just getting players to look up and spread out.",{"type":149,"attrs":187,"content":188},{"level":151},[189],{"text":190,"type":143},"11v11 (Under 14s and up)",{"type":139,"content":192},[193],{"text":194,"type":143},"By the time you reach the full pitch, keep it simple. A back four with a midfield and forward line the kids recognise from watching football will do fine. A 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 are both honest starting points. Do not chase the shapes you see on television with three centre backs and wing backs unless your players genuinely understand them, because a complicated system played badly is worse than a simple one played well. Pick a shape, teach the roles clearly, and let them grow into it over the season.",{"type":149,"attrs":196,"content":197},{"level":151},[198],{"text":199,"type":143},"The things that matter more than the formation",{"type":139,"content":201},[202],{"text":203,"type":143},"If I could give a new coach one bit of advice it is this. The numbers on the whiteboard are the least important part. What actually wins you games and, more to the point, develops players is a handful of habits that work in any shape.",{"type":205,"content":206},"bulletList",[207,214,220,226],{"type":208,"content":209},"listItem",[210],{"type":139,"content":211},[212],{"text":213,"type":143},"Spacing and width. Most grassroots problems come from everyone standing too close together. Get them to spread out and the game opens up on its own.",{"type":208,"content":215},[216],{"type":139,"content":217},[218],{"text":219,"type":143},"Rotate positions. Do not label a seven year old the defender. Let every child play everywhere across a season so they learn the whole game and nobody feels boxed in.",{"type":208,"content":221},[222],{"type":139,"content":223},[224],{"text":225,"type":143},"Comfortable on the ball everywhere. At small sided level your defenders attack and your forwards defend. Coach all of them to keep the ball, rather than only the ones up front.",{"type":208,"content":227},[228],{"type":139,"content":229},[230],{"text":231,"type":143},"Do not glue them to a spot. A shape is a starting position, not a cage. The best moments come when a full back overlaps or a striker drops in, so encourage it.",{"type":139,"content":233},[234,236,242,244,249,251,256],{"text":235,"type":143},"Once the season is underway, the useful thing is noticing patterns. Which pairings work, who plays their best football in which position, who never gets a run in the middle. That is the sort of thing I ended up tracking match by match, and it changed a few of my decisions more than any formation ever did. If you want to see where your players do their best work over a season rather than guessing from memory, that is exactly what ",{"text":237,"type":143,"marks":238},"Trac helps coaches do",[239],{"type":240,"attrs":241},"link",{"href":21},{"text":243,"type":143},". You can plan the week around it too with a simple ",{"text":245,"type":143,"marks":246},"training setup",[247],{"type":240,"attrs":248},{"href":65},{"text":250,"type":143},", and let the ",{"text":252,"type":143,"marks":253},"match reports",[254],{"type":240,"attrs":255},{"href":61},{"text":257,"type":143}," capture who did what so you are not relying on what you can remember on the drive home.",{"type":139,"content":259},[260],{"text":261,"type":143},"Pick a shape that suits your players, teach the habits above, and change it if it is not working. That is the whole job. The kids will not remember whether you played 2-3-1 or 3-2-1. They will remember whether they got to play, got better, and enjoyed their football.","tiptap","","2026-08-14T08:00:00+00:00","Grassroots Football Formations by Age","A grassroots coach's guide to formations by age: 3v3, 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11 shapes, plus the habits that matter more than the numbers.",{},1786694427591]