Coach perceptions of “playing-up” in youth football

Football coaches are often searching for the most appropriate development environment to help every player to achieve their potential. When youth football players show advanced competencies within their own age group (i.e. U9, U10, U11, etc.), they may be permitted to compete in a chronologically older age group - commonly referred to as 'playing-up'. Despite this approach being regularly used in practice, coach perceptions of playing-up are yet to be empirically evaluated. Therefore, this study used semi-structured interviews with ten academy football coaches from the United Kingdom to examine their perceptions of playing-up on player development. Following thematic analysis, results showed three higher-order themes comprising nine lower-order themes: (a) strengthening communication approaches (i.e. refine terminology used, emphasise communication between coaches and players, and educate key stakeholders), (b) considering support from social agents (i.e. include parents in the process, involve coaches and multidisciplinary staff in decision-making, and promote supportive peer environments), and (c) facilitating individual player development (i.e. challenge technical and tactical skills, reflect on psychosocial impact, and consider physical competencies). These findings highlight how coaches perceive playing-up as a useful holistic player development tool, which could be enhanced through effective key stakeholder communication and support.