UNDER 11: GROWING TOGETHER WITH ENTHUSIASM AND QUALITY

At the AC Monza Youth Academy, the Under 11 category represents an important stage of development: through play, the young biancorossi gradually begin to develop their first tactical awareness, refine their individual technique and gain greater understanding on the field, while still preserving the enthusiasm, enjoyment and spontaneity that make football such a unique sport.

The Under 11 team is part of a clearly defined technical and educational project, in which the development of the athlete comes before results and the child is placed at the center of everything.

The staff, led by coach Beniamino Calderoli, works daily to create a positive, calm and stimulating environment where each player can feel important and express their full potential without excessive pressure.

“The Under 11 category is very delicate because it is at this stage that players transition from 7-a-side to 9-a-side football: the pitch becomes larger, approaching the size of a full field and, above all, there are two more players on each side”, the coach commented.

He continued: “Considering that there are two additional teammates to help solve every game situation, since the start of the season we have focused more on developing aspects related to cooperation. The way these situations are resolved, however, depends on individual choices. My staff and I try to provide our players with as many tools as possible to face every situation and find solutions: what they must learn is to select the right tools at the right time. To make this possible, we work extensively on technique and individual tactics, gradually placing them within a collective, team environment”.

Training sessions are designed to encourage contact with the ball, active participation from all players, and freedom of expression, alternating between individual technical and tactical work and real game situations, with the aim of stimulating curiosity, initiative and collaboration. The goal is to develop intelligent, creative players capable of interpreting different match situations.

“Over the course of the season, the team has improved and grown tremendously, especially in managing matches both emotionally and in terms of spatial coverage, which becomes crucial as the pitch size increases. Compared to the beginning of the year, we are now better at covering the field both individually and collectively thanks to constant positional rotations: there are no fixed roles, players learn to do a bit of everything, but within the team each one understands what they need to do. There is still a lot to work on, especially on concepts such as off-the-ball movement and space occupation: the players are learning that they can be protagonists even without the ball at their feet. We are truly happy and satisfied with the performances and the progress made so far”, Calderoli said.

Weekend matches thus become a natural extension of the work done during the week. More than the result, what matters is attitude, courage in making plays and the ability to apply what has been learned in training: this is where both team and individual growth are measured, match after match.

“Another area in which our young athletes have improved is definitely their character. All the players possess a great technical and qualitative foundation, the result of excellent previous work that we are continuing to build on, and gradually they have become aware of just how strong they really are. We try to support and guide them as much as possible, allowing them the freedom to experiment and express themselves with all their creativity through dribbling and great individual technical plays, without overdoing it. Watching them play is beautiful”, the coach added.

Coach Calderoli concluded: “There is a strong desire to play and to have fun together: the players have formed a great group, both on and off the field, and we are very proud of that”.

The group is indeed one of the defining elements of the Under 11 biancorossi: a united team where enthusiasm and learning go hand in hand. On and off the field, the children build relationships, learn to support one another and understand the value of the collective. Every training session and match becomes an opportunity to learn how to work together, share successes and face challenges.

Wearing the Monza shirt means feeling part of a big family. The Under 11 category represents one of the first crucial steps in a journey that combines passion, belonging and identity under the biancorossi colors.

CLICK HERE to discover the full weekend schedule of the AC Monza's Youth Academy.