The jump from 7v7 to 9v9 is one of the biggest transitions in youth football. The pitch doubles in size overnight. There are two extra players on each side. Suddenly there's a goalkeeper who has to deal with a proper-sized goal. And your players — who were comfortable in 7v7 — look lost.
If your U11s or U12s are struggling with the transition, or you're preparing a team for the step up, here's what to expect and how to manage it.
Why 9v9 feels so different
In 7v7, the pitch is small enough that every player is involved in almost every passage of play. Even the quieter kids can't hide because the ball is always nearby. Passing options are obvious. Defensive cover is close.
At 9v9, the pitch is roughly 70x50 metres. That's a massive increase. Players have to cover more ground, make longer passes, and deal with space they've never had to manage before. The kid who was brilliant in 7v7 because they could dribble past everyone now finds there's too much grass. The defender who stood on the six-yard line and kicked everything now has 30 metres of space behind them.
The technical demands don't change much. The tactical and physical demands change enormously.
What to focus on in training
Understanding shape. In 9v9, you're typically playing a 3-3-2 or a 3-2-3. Whatever you pick, the kids need to understand the basic idea: when we have the ball, we spread out. When they have it, we get compact.
Don't overcomplicate it. Use flat cones to mark "zones" in training and ask players to stay roughly in their zone unless they're following the ball. After a few sessions, remove the cones and see if the shape holds. It won't be perfect. That's fine.
Playing out from the back. This is the age to introduce building from the goalkeeper. In 7v7, goalkeepers often just booted it. At 9v9, they need to find a centre-back or full-back with a short pass. Your defenders need to be comfortable receiving under a bit of pressure.
Start simple. Goalkeeper rolls to centre-back. Centre-back plays sideways or forward. Midfielders show for the ball. Practise it in training every week. When it goes wrong in a match — and it will — don't panic. The mistakes are the learning.
Switching play. With a wider pitch, the ability to move the ball from one side to the other becomes a real advantage. If the ball is on the left and three defenders have been sucked over, the right side is wide open. Teach your players to recognise this. A simple exercise: 4v4+2 wide players, where the team in possession has to find the wide player before they can score. It builds the habit of looking to switch.
Transitions. The bit that catches most teams out. In 7v7, losing the ball wasn't a disaster because the pitch was small and you could recover quickly. At 9v9, losing it in midfield with everyone pushed up means a 40-metre sprint to get back. Work on what happens the moment you lose or win the ball. "Ball lost — closest player presses, everyone else drops." Practise it constantly.
Managing the physical demands
The bigger pitch means more running. Players who coasted through 7v7 on technique alone now need a level of fitness they might not have. But don't respond to this by making them run laps or do shuttle runs.
The best conditioning for 9v9 happens through football itself. Play bigger-sided games in training. Use larger areas for your drills. Add transition games where players have to sprint back after losing possession. The running should always have a purpose, not just be running for the sake of it.
Also, be aware of the physical development gap. At U11-U12, some kids are starting early puberty and some are still very much children. You might have a player who's 5'5" and another who's 4'8" in the same team. This affects everything from aerial ability to pace to confidence. Weight your assessments towards the things they can control — decision-making, communication, effort, technique — rather than the things they can't.
Positions become real (but stay flexible)
At U11-U12, players start to identify with positions. "I'm a midfielder." "I play up front." That's natural and mostly fine. Let them develop preferences.
But keep rotating. A player who plays centre-back every week misses out on the experience of playing in midfield — receiving under pressure, turning, playing forward. A striker who never defends doesn't learn about defensive shape, body position, or recovery runs.
The best approach: each player has a primary position they play most weeks, but every few weeks they try something different. It's uncomfortable for them and for you, but it produces better footballers in the long run.
The emotional side
U11-U12 is when some kids start getting serious about football and others start drifting away. Friendships, school pressures, other interests — they all compete for attention. You'll lose players at this age and that's normal.
For the ones who stay, this is when the psychological corner matters more than ever. They're old enough to feel pressure — from parents, from peers, from themselves. They compare themselves to teammates. They notice when they're not picked for the starting lineup. They take losses personally.
Your job is to create an environment where mistakes are part of learning, not something to fear. Give honest feedback but always lead with what they're doing well. Track their development so you can show them progress over time — InsideFooty is built for exactly this, letting you show a player that their decision-making has improved over six weeks even if they had a bad match last Saturday.
The bridge to 11v11
Everything you do at 9v9 is preparation for 11-a-side football, which arrives at U13. The players who transition best are the ones who understand shape, can play in multiple positions, communicate on the pitch, and make decisions under pressure.
They're not the ones who scored the most goals or ran the fastest. They're the ones who were coached to think.
If you get the 9v9 years right, the move to 11v11 feels like a natural step rather than another jarring transition. And that starts with how you coach them now.