Rolling player substitution plan

Mick MasonCoach, Australia

Combinations of positions and players in a rolling substitution might vary a lot because of the players involved. One way to look at it is to have your players divided by skills and fitness and roll them through combinations of positions depending on group size. An example from a team last year.... I had 6 players who were all very hungry for the ball, had good skills at carrying the ball at pace and who could shoot and score consistently. They were also very fit. These players rotated through strikers and attacking midfielders (inside forwards in old coin). I would also place in this group a newer player who was showing some promise but was not the best at reading the game or reliable with skills. When this player was included one of the others would not be (6 was the group size). When the weaker player was on the pitch they almost always played as a striker. All positions were nominal also, players were expected to recognise the needs of the team on the run and take on whatever role was needed. My 3 calmest players played in the centre (center forward and center half). Every 5mins or so they would roll a fresh player into CF, the CF would drop back and the CH would come off. Halfs and backs were one unit and had 2 subs if we had the full crew there. We only had one GK. For some games we knew we had to work harder in the defensive half to get the ball out and so one of the forward crew would slip in the rotation at the back to provide extra legs and keep those guys fresher. The CF could also play more defensively in those games helping us (ideally) to gain possession higher up the pitch. The players managed their own subs a lot of the time. I had a whiteboard and magnetic tape name tags that were arranged in columns for each group. The players on at the time were all stacked together (each group) and the player on the bench below them. The player on the bench knows that they are replacing the player at the top of the list. When each player comes off they go to the list and move their name down beneath the list and move the subs name up into the list. After a while they get used to who they take off and it just flows.

I hope this helps

Mick

Barry PrestneyCoach, New Zealand

Thanks for that, had thoughts of this and have a magnetic board and strips