How to Divide Your Team During Practice (And Why It Matters)

The way you split players into groups affects how much every child learns. Here's how to do it with intention.

The Hidden Problem With "Just Split Up"

You're standing on the field with 25 kids. Practice is about to start. You need to divide them into groups for a drill.

The default approach? Split them as they stand. Or, if you've been coaching for a while and noticed the skilled players getting frustrated, you start grouping by your gut feeling of who's at the same level.

Both approaches seem reasonable. Both create problems you might not notice until it's too late.

What Happens When Groups Are Unbalanced

When teams are divided poorly, the learning curve flattens—for everyone.

The less experienced players don't get the ball as much. The game or drill moves too fast around them. They're watching, not playing. They're surviving, not learning.

The experienced players get frustrated. Passes aren't received. Runs aren't made at the right time. And here's what coaches often miss: frustrated skilled players start making poor decisions too. They stop passing where they should because they've learned it won't work. Their development stalls as well.

Poor grouping doesn't just hurt the weaker players. It holds back everyone.

The Problem With Always Using the Same Groups

As a coach, you know your players. You know who's strong, who's developing, who struggles. So when it's time to divide teams, you naturally put similar players together.

The problem? You tend to put the same people together every time.

Kids catch on quickly. They see the patterns. They know which group is the "good" group. This creates confidence issues for some and inflated egos for others—neither of which helps your team culture.

There's another issue: a player who's improving stays stuck in their "old group." They're not being challenged at their current level because you're still seeing them as they were two months ago.

When to Divide by Skill—And When Not To

Here's something that might surprise you: don't divide players by skill level unless it's necessary.

For activation and technical drills at the start of practice, let players form groups as they stand, or let them group themselves if they can do it quickly without leaving anyone out. This avoids creating visible hierarchies and keeps the session moving.

Save the skill-based groupings for the game-like drills in the second half of practice. Use a water break as your natural transition point. After the break, divide into balanced groups for drills where the pace and competition level actually matter.

This approach gives you the benefits of skill-matched groups where it counts, without the constant signaling of who's "good" and who's not.

Why Grouping Less Experienced Players Together Works

Some coaches worry about putting all the less experienced players together. Won't they just flounder without stronger players to learn from?

Actually, the opposite happens.

When less experienced players work together, the pace slows down. They get more time on the ball. They get more touches, more attempts, more chances to learn.

And here's what matters most: regardless of skill level, game-like drills aren't just about technique. They're about understanding why you make certain movements. Why you pass to that space. Why you move into an open position.

When the pace matches the players' level, they can actually think. They can process. And as a coach, few things are more satisfying than watching a player—regardless of skill—see the right pass and try to make it, or move into space to receive the ball.

That understanding only develops when players aren't overwhelmed by pace.

Why "Captains Pick" Needs to Go

The classic approach: two captains take turns picking teammates.

Don't do this.

It creates a clear, public ranking of who's considered best. The kids picked last know exactly where they stand. Their confidence takes a hit every single time.

It also leads to friend-picking instead of balanced teams, which fragments your group rather than building team culture.

If you want players to pick, use a method that doesn't create a visible hierarchy—random draws, counting off, or any system where the selection isn't a judgment.

When Parents Ask About Groupings

At some point, a parent may ask why their child is in a certain group or playing at a certain level.

Welcome this conversation.

Explain where their child is now and what they need to work on to reach the next level. Be specific. This kind of dialogue builds trust and gives the player a clear development path.

Sometimes parents ask if their child can play with friends, even when there's a significant skill gap. This is well-intentioned but misguided.

Players see their friends at practice. They hang out there. But during a match or competitive drill, they're not "hanging out"—they're playing. A weaker player at too high a level won't touch the ball much. They won't develop their gameplay. And they won't have fun.

The kindest thing you can do is put players where they'll actually get to play.

A Practical System for Tomorrow's Practice

If you want to divide teams fairly without spending your entire water break shuffling kids around, you need a system.

Start by doing a skills assessment of your players. This is valuable even without any app—it forces you to think carefully about each player. You might find that you've been rating players similarly when they actually have very different strengths, or vice versa.

Use a simple scale. In QuickSquad, we use 1-10, placing the least experienced around 2 and the strongest at 8 or 9. The numbers are relative to your group, not absolute.

With skill levels assigned, you can create balanced groups quickly—either through weighted randomization (where the app ensures each group has a mix) or manually. The key is having the information ready before practice starts.

Preparation matters because reality rarely matches your plans. Parents forget to report absences. Players show up unexpectedly. With a system in place, you can reshuffle groups in seconds after taking attendance instead of standing there trying to remember who's at what level.

And when you update a player's skill level as they improve, they automatically rotate into more challenging groups. No one gets stuck in their old category.

Equipment That Makes Dividing Easier

A few simple items make group management faster:

• Colored bibs/pinnies — Have at least 4 colors available. This lets you split into multiple groups visually without confusion. Quality bibs that don't tear and wash well are worth the investment.

• Numbered cones — Useful for "go to your number" systems when you want random groupings.

The less time you spend organizing, the more time players spend with the ball.

The Bottom Line

How you divide your team isn't just logistics—it's coaching. Every grouping decision affects how much each child learns, how confident they feel, and whether practice is fun or frustrating.

Don't divide by skill when you don't need to. When you do divide, use a system that creates balanced groups without public rankings. Prepare before practice so you can adapt on the field. And remember that groupings should evolve as players develop.

The goal isn't perfect teams. It's making sure every player gets challenged at their level—and actually touches the ball.