My Child Isn't Playing the Position They Wanted in Futsal: How to Handle It
A parent asked me why the coach moved his son from winger to defender in futsal. The answer, and what's actually behind this kind of decision.
Written by
João Araújo
Physical Education Teacher (FADEUP – University of Porto) · Futsal Coach – Level II · UEFA B License · Master’s in Physical Education
15 years teaching Physical Education in schools, 20 years coaching futsal at youth development level and 5 years coaching football. Federated and amateur football and futsal player.
I got this question from the parent of a 13-year-old winger at a club near Manchester three weeks ago: “My son has always played winger, it’s the position he loves, but this year the coach has decided to play him as fixo almost every match. He comes home demotivated and says he doesn’t like defending. Should I talk to the coach?” It’s a question I hear often from parents in youth futsal, and the answer starts with understanding that in futsal, a position change isn’t a punishment or a mistake.
Is Changing Position Normal in Youth Futsal?
Yes, and it’s more common in futsal than in other team sports, precisely because the four positions, namely fixo, winger, pivot and flying goalkeeper, share similar technical demands in a small space. A good youth coach uses exactly that overlap between positions to expose young players to several roles before age 15-16, when specialisation starts to make more sense.
(I’m not entirely sure this applies the same way at elite academies already focused on early specialisation, but at most regional youth clubs, the answer is yes, and it’s still always worth checking with the coach.)
What’s Actually Behind the Coach’s Decision
A position change is rarely random. The most common reasons are: the coach wants the player to build a full picture of the game before settling into one role; the squad is short on defenders that season and your child has physical traits that suit it (build, defensive reading of the game); or the coach is simply testing where the player performs best, something you can only find out by trying different positions in real matches, not just in training.
Questions like this are why I started suggesting that parents, instead of asking the coach “why did you move my son off his position”, ask “what positions is he going to play across the season, and why”. Tracking that rotation match by match with the SportsLabTools Call-ups tool helps a lot of parents realise the position changes week to week for almost every kid on the team: it’s not a decision singled out against their child.
What If My Child Is Still Unhappy After a Few Weeks?
Here the distinction matters: not enjoying a new position much at first is normal and doesn’t call for parents to step in. But if, after a month, the discomfort persists and starts affecting motivation to go training, that’s when a conversation is worth having, not to ask for the old position back but to understand whether the coach’s plan includes trying them at winger again later in the season.
See also: The Fixo in Modern Futsal: Roles, Positioning and Game Function, to understand what the coach is actually asking your child to do in this new position.
If there’s one piece of advice I always give parents in this situation: let the initial discomfort play out before stepping in. The frustration of learning a new position is almost always temporary, and often it’s exactly what the coach is trying to teach.
Track your child’s position rotation across the season, not just one match. Use the SportsLabTools Call-ups tool to see the full pattern.
*This account is based on a real case, but the person's identity has been kept private and some contextual details have been recreated for illustrative purposes.*