Our organization is a little bigger than yours. We have about 1000 kids, total (aged 4 to 18, with rec and travel teams). Our intramural/rec program is for U-8 and below, has about 200 kids in the spring and 350-400 in the fall. The program costs $95 (including $5 state association cost - for insurance purposes). There are several items covering the cost. If you find a set, known group (like Coerver, UK Elite, etc), they may not charge you 'full' cost if in return, you allow them to hold a couple of camps at your association's fields in the summer. Also, they usually are OK with working with groups to give them a good product for a set amount. The advantage that we use with our area is that we provide a more productive, more consistent product for the kids and they all learn the same thing over the several seasons they play with us. It is also a 'free' way to get coaches trained, so you save $$$ there. Just an idea.
Personally, if I had a choice in a U8 set up, I would go 4v4 with no keepers, 7 per team (3 subs). Tons of touches on the ball and focus on the bare minimums of shape, the front, back and two wings. REAL simple to understand and all you'll ever need to teach 11v11 further down the road. 6v6 with a keeper at U8 has been a bust in my rec league and it's all bee ball with very little touches and no opportunities to be creative on the ball or get a feel for ball control. Everyone kicks the hell out of the ball and falls over each other. Simple and small sided makes it so much more successful for everyone involved. But that's just me.
Exactly. That's the thing that always upsets me. We put the kids into positions where they are apt to fail. And, as coaches, our job becomes either a) damage limitation or b) we look like complete renegades that don't want the kids to succeed at the game. Ultimately, it's the game that makes everything so difficult. If we played all played 4v4 at U8, we'd have a realistic chance to improve players for the long term _and_ get some results for the short term.
Academy is set up like this... U6 -2 nights a week -Training sessions, no matches -Training sessions consist of games (sharks and minnows, red light-green light, etc.) U8 -2 nights a week -Training sessions, no matches -Training sessions consist of games, but end in a regular match within the practice squad (usually 4 v. 4). U10 -3 nights a week -2 nights of training, 1 night of league games -League games have 1 referee, 5v5 plus keepers (6v6), and are played on a smaller field -Training is more specified U12 -3 nights a week -2 nights of training, 1 night of league games -3 referees, 7v7 plus keepers (8v8), not played on a full size field but field is larger than U10 field All training sessions are based on US Soccer recommendations (things you learn in the Y license, etc).
I'm with you man. I've been reading your posts for a while now and must say, you're one of very few I agree with almost 100% of the time. Over complicating soccer to justify a winning mentality and "team effort" is at the root of the problem. In our rec league, we have 2000 kids with not nearly enough volunteers as coaches. So they answer the problem by stacking coaches with 12-14 kids per coach and them force them to play 8v8 up to U12 where they head off to 11v11. it's pretty insane. It's quite simple. I walked up to a coach last year to test my theory. I asked him if he'd be cool about splitting our giant field in half and holding two matches at once. He looked at me like I was crazy, but I asked him to trust me. We held two 4v4 and it was amazing! EVERYONE was playing soccer at once, EVERYONE was having fun, and EVERYONE was learning how to play the right way. There's no reason to have 4 U-8's on the sideline and 8V8 on the field with keepers! Who the heck wants to be a keeper at U8 by the way? Complete torture for a little guy that wants to play soccer. Take him out and let him play, and let there be more goals! More goals equals more enthusiasm and success on the field. Don't be scared of high scoring games at this age, it's what you want. Have you seen the faces of U8's when they score a goal? Who wouldn't want to double or triple the amount of those smiles? This is how you keep them coming back, and that's the most important part here, keeping these kids coming back for more so they're not burnt out by 13. Sorry for the rant, just tired of the nonsense. This is one of many reasons I started a free soccer academy in my neighborhood. Lots of sandlot soccer. The kids run the matches of small sided pick-up games with almost zero coach involvement. We do have one day of training, but even then, the game is the best teacher and we focus on technical skills with anyone under 10. All the other forced training is silly (tactical). Keep it simple and small at this age. My academy: www.westwoodsocceracademy.org Good luck guys
We have co-ed for U4 thru U8. U9 - U12 is Academy. We do not have a recreation program for the U9 - U12 age groups. U4: (6 players a team) 3v3 20x15 field 6x4 goals U5 & U6: (8 players a team) 4v4 no goalkeepers 30x25 field 6x4 goals U8: (8 players a team) 4v4 no goalkeepers 30x25 field 10x5 goals no PK all FKs are indirect U10: (10 players per team) 6v6 (incl. keeper) 60x45 field 12x6.5 goals PKs allowed FKs can be direct or indirect U12: (12 players per team) 8v8 (incl. keeper) 80x50 field 12x6.5 goals PKs allowed FKs can be direct or indirect
This past spring season was our first season. Our format is: *4v4 coed no more than 8 kids per team *35x30 field *10x5 goals *(4) 12 minute qtrs *goal can only be scored if all kids on attacking team are on attacking half (forces coaches to put slower kids up front) * paired up experienced and new coaches once a week * handed each coach a 10 week syllabus with practice plans * each team had half a field to practice on * practice time 1 hour, 45 minute practice and 15 minute game The format worked out great. Many of our newer coaches really enjoyed working with somebody that new the game. The experienced coaches enjoyed it as well. This next season we have hired a Coerver rep to run our Academy program. So now we have Rec from u4 - U8 then Academy from U8 - U12.
Good news. Just got an e-mail from my league president. They are switching the U8's from 8v8 to 5v5. Smaller field and smaller goals, but keeping the goalies. We'll see how it works. It's good to know the league was open to the change.
That's great. One thing to try to stress to your coaches - have the players dribble more and not as much kick and chase (that can happen with fewer players). Make sure they stay focused on skill development. Good luck.
Some of our leagues in texas: U8 - 7v7 with keepers. Some teams play 9v9 U9 - 9v9 for most...top teams play 11v11 year round U10 - Top 40 teams play 11v11 year round. Some academy teams play on 120X60 stadium fields U11+ everyone plays 11v11 Texas is too big a state for small sided games.
Just outside of Pittsburgh: U6: 3v3 dual field format No goalies Fields are 25x17 Pugg 6-footers for goals Size 3 balls No referees Out of touch loosely enforced, but when out, usually a dribble in, sometimes kick-in, never a throw in 2 halves of roughly 25 minutes (at end of game, for the last few minutes, coaches throw everyone one, creating 4v4 or 5v5, so that every kid is playing at end) Roster sizes usually about 10 Score not kept Unlimited substitutions, can be on fly, but most coaches will wait until a stoppage U8: 4v4 dual field format (primarily owing to lack of coaches) No goalies Fields are 35x25 6x12 goals Size 4 balls Youth referees (call mostly in's and out's, will call the occasional handball, should call other falls but rarely do, no offsides) Out of touch strictly called; restart is throw in (bad first throw is retaken, bad second throw, play on), goal kick or corner kick 4 12-minute quarters or 2 25-minute halves (at coaches' discretion) Rosters 12-14 players Scores not kept (but the kids always know the score) Substitutions on any stoppage.
http://folsomsoccerclub.org/ U5 & U6 / U7 & U8 - Age pure: Boys and Girls Seperate: 7 V 7 (goalie included) 4 quarters x 10min Roster size 9 - 11 Field size - U-6 15 x 30 Field size - U-8 25 x 50 U9 & U10 - Age pure: Boys and Girls Seperate: 9 V 9 (goalie included) 2 30min periods Roster size 10 - 14 Field size - U-10 40 x 70 U11 & U14 Age pure: Boys and Girls Seperate: 11 V 11 (goalie included) 2 45 min periods Roster size 12 - 16 Field size - U-12 50 x 80 Jayhump
That's what my son's rec league is playing now. It's bad, especially as they have 3 or 4 kids play defense (i.e. stand back near the goal). Although I should add, not nearly as bad as my daughter's kindergarten/1st grade. Where the game portion of their practice has been somewhere in the vicinity of 10 v. 10.
I've seen this approach due to laziness on the coaches part with the excuse of not needing to worry about subs. Part of the problem might be teams being too large due to lack of coaches, maybe that's why I'm now stuck managing 2 4v4 games at the same time - which is how my son's U7 league is set-up.
In some cases it's not laziness, it's they don't want to have to take out their best players in order to get the subs enough playing time.
Our Technical Director this week proposed that we take our U8s from a dual field 4v4 format to a single field and reduce team sizes to 6-8. There was no consensus reached about the change.
Lack of coaches on the big scrimmage thing for me too. If you don't have an assistant coach to split the team up, you can't manage two scrimmages at once, and having half the kids sit out while the others scrimmage does not work so well. So if your kid's team has scrimmages that are too big, get up and offer to help the coach splt the team. I am very sure it would be appreciated.
Coaching Concepts and Player Age At what different ages do you introduce various concepts of soccer to players? For example if you're coaching U5 you may want to just focus on ball skills and have the players play 5v5 with open nets. no goalies and no corner kicks (only throw ins). And then by U7 they know all the laws of the games and play with corner kicks and goalies but still no positions have been introduced. then U9 maybe you introduce positions and talk about free kicks and set plays etc... I'm trying to see if there is a generally accepted guideline among us coaches as to how we should be developing players. I currently coach U5 players and I feel like my league demands a lot from young players by requiring them to know about throw-ins, corner kicks, having goalies in net, playing 7v7, and some coaches even telling players to stay in front of goal as defenders and not run ahead to score goals (just kick and clear the ball). What would your development guidlines be across different ages? Does your league follow a development guideline? Thanks!
Re: Coaching concepts and player's age This is the USSF guidelines-- "The 70-page 'Best Practices for Coaching Soccer in the United States' coaching book serves as the sport’s definitive new player development guidelines and is available now as a free download." http://www.ussoccer.com/Coaches/Resources.aspx
Re: Coaching concepts and player's age I would suggest telling your commissioner to cut this shit out. These are 4 year-olds! Let them play and have fun, with no more than 5 on a side. No positions and no restrictions. Throw-ins are fine I guess, but personally I'd just have them kick it back in, or even better someone on the side just bounce it back in. 4 year-olds don't care about all this junk your league is trying to impose on them. Competition is the last thing on their mind. They want to run around, chase a ball and try to kick it in the net. Let them. Sorry if I come across strong, it just drives me nuts when I hear about this stuff. It's absurd.
Re: Coaching concepts and player's age I've seen no problem with throw-ins, corner and goal kicks for the U6 level - only that far far too many coaches take time to set-up their players during these stops. I simply instruct these young players to pass to a teammate or throw the ball toward the goal. Don't waste anytime setting up or moving players. As for the other elements, the USSF guidelines are a good guide to follow. BTW, coaches should never be telling players to sit back in front of the goal just to kick the ball away. Such a pointless tactic does nothing for anyone.
Re: Coaching concepts and player's age It's not U6, it's U5. There's a big difference in my book, as I've coached both. Introducing set plays at U6 is fine if you must do it, but it better be quick and easy because the kids need to get right back into playing, which is all they should be doing. At U5, no way. I wouldn't do anything but let them kick the ball around, do the bee-hive thing and play soccer.
Re: Coaching concepts and player's age Fair enough. I've had experience with U4 and U6 groups (BTW I hate the 2 year gap between age groups around here until they reach 1st grade). If you follow the quick simple restart I mentioned above for U4, it still works fine. So I imagine that would be the same for U5 players. Here they give the coaches the option to have the kids do throw-in or kick-in. Other than that, bee-hive soccer is a great thing for this age. Why fight that enthusiasm to go after the ball having fun? Instead look at the benefit of players learning to survive in the chaos that is created, as well as them having fun in the process. Just have the number be low enough so that the chaos is minimized -- which works well at 3v3. As a side note, my little 3 year old loves to do throw-ins and jumps on the chance when we play at home with his big brother. Of course we're talking about kids who have been watching several games a week with me since they were born, but that's another discussion.
Re: Coaching concepts and player's age I've never coached U5. I'ved coached U6 boys and U6 girls Rec. At that age the girls were much easier to motivate and focus; showed better teamwork. The time we could have spent on throw-ins, corner kicks and free kicks was better spent focusing on individual technique and ball control. Playing goalies at that age, and fielding a 7v7 flies in the face of everything I believe about coaching at that age group. Even fielding a 5v5 no goalies is too big a crowd for a child to get lots of touches. My first time ever as a coach, well parent-coach was at u6 girls. I looked at it as play time with the ball and my approach to practice was making it fun for the girls, very little pressure. Our first game we got creamed by a team that had more focus, better coaching. Although, scores weren't kept. I still remember seeing little girls from that team being forced to practice with very little enthusiasm and much frustration crying because of the pressure from parents. Made me sick to my stomach. The girls knew at the next practice that we had lost. How much of that was the parents reminding them and how much was their own consciousness about it, I am not sure. As the season went on, I changed my approach, got my E license and the players improved. That first team was a constant reminder to them to keep working hard. My daughter still remembers that team. They did help fuel the competitive fire for them. Don't underestimate the competitiveness and focus players even at such a young age. Although I wonder if that took some of the fun out of it for them. I learned a few lessons about working with these players, dealing with the parents (I tell them the ground rules and keep them out). Out of that group I coached, 3 I have seen the following years on other teams. The rest I've lost track of and don't know if they still play.
Re: Coaching concepts and player's age We've had stuff on this before. Merged into our "u-littles" stickie. Check out the first page in this thread.