u8-9 boys team...

[fidlerre]

okay.

so what do i exactly teach these kids in practice?

at this age i dont think i will be giving them much in the way of set pieces, changing formations on the fly or looking for the cross in from the wing.

my best option is to have them dribble, dribble and dribble some more...using both feet all the time and not allowing them to use their dominant foot for everything.

thoughts? suggestions? ideas? any help would be great!

[uniteo]

dribble, dribble, dribble, first touch/trapping, shooting & passing with both feet.

do you need specific drills? Lot's of small sided play and make the drills into fun contests to keep their interest. No standing around waiting for their teammates to all go before their turn. If you want to do a drill, work with half the team and have the other half playing 4 on 4 or 3 on 3 (or uneven sides are good too). Small sided keep away is good too.

One thing to stay away from, if they are beginners or just moving up to full-field games, be sure to stay away from the urge to have defenders clear the ball any time it is in the box. Now is the best time to develop composure on the ball, so encourage defenders to keep possession...and when a parent yells "just kick it" beat them about the head.

Let us know if you need specific drills.

[BrianCappellieri]

Uniteo makes some good points, definitely make it fun to keep them interested and small-sided games are great for making it realistic.

Another idea is to introduce them to juggling (keepie uppy). As I'm sure you know it does wonders for ball control, dribbling, and even passing. Obviously you rarely use it in a game but if you start young it will help you out a lot as you develope.

Good to see another youth coach! :)

[boydreilly]

Originally posted by fidlerre
okay.

so what do i exactly teach these kids in practice?

at this age i dont think i will be giving them much in the way of set pieces, changing formations on the fly or looking for the cross in from the wing.

my best option is to have them dribble, dribble and dribble some more...using both feet all the time and not allowing them to use their dominant foot for everything.

thoughts? suggestions? ideas? any help would be great!

Dribbling will definitely win games for you. In fact, to win, you really only need a couple good dribblers. But, remember, winning is not what it is all about. Get a passing game going and you can have a winning team and develop good players.

Dribbling drill - in a box (maybe 10 yards by 10 yards) every player dribbles a ball and tries to knock other opposing player's ball. Once the ball is kicked out, that dribbler is out until you have one left - the winner. This teaches them to dribble with defense and to keep their head up when dribbling.

Passing drill - in the whole penalty box put 7 to 9 offensive players against 3 or 4 defensive players. Offensive team must complete 5 (make it 10 later) for a goal and the defensive team gets a goal for every time they knock it out of the box. This teaches the players to find space, to look for players, to use the whole field and others things. Also, crummy trapping in this drill will kill you.

There are many other drills you could do. The most important measuring stick you can use is how many players come back the next season. Your teaching has to be fun.

One other thing about the game that drives me nuts is that most coaches at this age seem intent on leaving their defenders on top of the penalty box. Even on 7 v 7, they will keep 3 back. Bring them up. Teach them that they are defending the whole half and it is better to stop the other team at the half line than at the goal mouth. Besides, once the other team has beaten the half backs, it is usually clear sailing up to the penalty box.

It is a fun age group to coach. I wouldn't restrict teaching them to just what you think they can handle. Go over their heads a few times and see if some of it sticks. You might be surprised.

[BackOtheNet!]

since it's so structured and you really have very little time with the kids, I prefer to work on playing to space. Teach them some drills to do at home ie juggling and dribbling. Getting them to understand what to do when they get the ball and how to move to space to receive a pass changes the game for them. It also makes it easier for them to move the ball having teamates working for them. It's difficult to teach the young ones this but if you can accomplish this at an early age the rest of their skills fall right into place. Dribbling up the field by one player is great if your really concerned with winning games but it won't help the whole team. And of course if you can get them to talk to each other, you get to see them thinking. Oh and teach their parents how to tie their boots, unless you like to tie 10 pairs before the game.

[fidlerre]

thanks for the suggestions...

any drills you could provide, or possibly a site out there on the web, would be great!

[Alberto]

Originally posted by fidlerre
thanks for the suggestions...

any drills you could provide, or possibly a site out there on the web, would be great!

Try AYSO's site and Jeff Pills drills. Change the name of drills to more exotic ones. Like monster blasters, Hey Arnold, anything to hold their interest. The important thing to remember is to make drills short, varied and fun (they have short attention spans and are easily distracted, so keep it simple and focused). Make sure nobody stands around, as has been mentioned by the previous posters, keep everyone active. Have fun. It's a precious age.

[Alberto]

Originally posted by uniteo
and when a parent yells "just kick it" beat them about the head.



Beat them upside the head with a baseball bat! I can't emphasize how true uniteo's comments are.

[kebzach]

please, please, please remember to stress communication.

have them talking every practice, every time they touch a ball they should be hearing "turn/drop/man on" from everyone else.

everytime they pass they should be telling the receiver what he/she has got.

I can't stress this enough.

[Alberto]

Originally posted by kebzach
please, please, please remember to stress communication.

have them talking every practice, every time they touch a ball they should be hearing "turn/drop/man on" from everyone else.

everytime they pass they should be telling the receiver what he/she has got.

I can't stress this enough.

In theory it's great. But in reality I have yet to see kids 7-8 years of age that can comprehend and execute communications. They have no tactical awareness. They also aren't thinking beyond the ball at their feet. It's a struggle just to get them to play positionally (overcoming the herd/pack mentality) much less making them aware of whether their teammate can turn with the ball into space or should drop. Cognitively they are thinking only of themselves. At this age I am more concerned with getting them to make a pass to a teammate. This awareness of situation and the use of communication doesn't happen until kids get to be 11-12 years of age. You can practice it with some success at U10-11, but results will be mixed given the different rates of development between players.

[Alberto]

Originally posted by uniteo
dribble, dribble, dribble, first touch/trapping, shooting & passing with both feet.

do you need specific drills? Lot's of small sided play and make the drills into fun contests to keep their interest. No standing around waiting for their teammates to all go before their turn. If you want to do a drill, work with half the team and have the other half playing 4 on 4 or 3 on 3 (or uneven sides are good too). Small sided keep away is good too.

One thing to stay away from, if they are beginners or just moving up to full-field games, be sure to stay away from the urge to have defenders clear the ball any time it is in the box. Now is the best time to develop composure on the ball, so encourage defenders to keep possession...and when a parent yells "just kick it" beat them about the head.

Let us know if you need specific drills.

Uniteo at this age they are still playing small sided games. At least I hope they are! Nobody has any business playing 11 vs 11 or even 7 vs 7 until they are 10 years old. More touches, more development.

[Frans]

www.bettersoccermorefun.com

www.fundamentalsoccer.com

www.eteams.com/soccer/pills/jpills.htm

www.dutchtutchsoccer.com

[Elroy]

Originally posted by Alberto


In theory it's great. But in reality I have yet to see kids 7-8 years of age that can comprehend and execute communications. They have no tactical awareness. They also aren't thinking beyond the ball at their feet. It's a struggle just to get them to play positionally (overcoming the herd/pack mentality) much less making them aware of whether their teammate can turn with the ball into space or should drop. Cognitively they are thinking only of themselves. At this age I am more concerned with getting them to make a pass to a teammate. This awareness of situation and the use of communication doesn't happen until kids get to be 11-12 years of age. You can practice it with some success at U10-11, but results will be mixed given the different rates of development between players.

I totally disagree. You can teach thinking for oneself at any age. Case in point, many years ago, I coached 6-7 year olds. In tournament our opponents had a breakaway that my 6 year old keeper snuffed at about 15 yards out. At half, I asked her how she thought of such a brilliant play. She replied, " It looked like a running shoot out so I did what we practiced on running shoot outs. ".

I used to spend some time at every practice placing the kids in formation and throwing balls in different places and asking who's going to take the ball, and what everyone else was going to do. This gave them the ability to make their own decisions and to communicate on the field. You need to train this even if everyone won't get it. Sonner or later everyone will catch on.

[dolphinscoach]

Remember to avoid the three Ls: Lines, Laps and Lectures. In other words, avoid drills that have kids waiting in line for more than 30 seconds or so--they get bored, start shoving, etc. They are too young for laps, as punishment or conditioning. And they are too young to listen to "lectures"--instead of telling them how to do a drill (e.g., toss the ball in the air, as it gets close to the ground, trap it with the inside of the foot, push it . . .), demonstrate.

Kids tire quickly (but they recover quickly), so lots of water breaks. They bore easily, too, so once they lose interest in a drill, be ready to move on to the next one. Make sure each kid has a ball. Snacks and drinks after each game are what the kids consider most important.

Above all, have fun and let them have fun.

A couple of drills/games suggestions (give them silly/exciting names, like shark attack): Dodgeball types games, where a few players who each have a ball try to hit players running (without a ball)--helps develop passing.

Fetch--throw a ball for each player for them to bring back with left foot only, juggling, whatever. Just keep throwing the ball as each kid brings it back to you. You can alternate by putting two kids together to race for the ball, with the one who does not reach the ball first acting as a defender.

Scatter a bunch of cones up for the kids to knock over. (Don't know why, but the kids always like this one.)

To practice throw-ins, stand a decent distance away and let them throw at you. A favorite for the kids, and they rarely hit you.

By the way, a book called "The Peak Performance" is supposed to have a lot of good advice and a bunch of drills/games.

[Elroy]

QUOTE]Originally posted by dolphinscoach
Remember to avoid the three Ls: Lines, Laps and Lectures. In other words, avoid drills that have kids waiting in line for more than 30 seconds or so--they get bored, start shoving, etc. They are too young for laps, as punishment or conditioning. And they are too young to listen to "lectures"--instead of telling them how to do a drill (e.g., toss the ball in the air, as it gets close to the ground, trap it with the inside of the foot, push it . . .), demonstrate.[/QUOTE]

This is all great advice. Keep it moving and keep it fun. Ask a lot of questions to make certain that they're getting it.

One more thing, try to use the same practice format each time. This is true for both overall practice organization and individual games. It is nice to use a sequence of drills/games that build on the same set of rules. That helps to avoid wasting time constantly changing gears and explaining the rules to new games. For example, you can use a pass across the box game that begins with 1v1 inside the box and a neutral player on each side. Players get points for completing passes with the neutral players, then go to one touch. From there you can go to teams with each central player having to pass with teammates on different ends of the box, point goes from one side to central to the other side. Teammates are on the paralell sides, outside players are not allowed in the box, inside players are not allowed out. Rotate positions. Take this to 2v2 and 3v3. Then change the scoring to include a pass between the central players. Play one and two touch. Then you can move both team's outside players to the same ends of the box to place pressure on them. Then you can make one end 2v1 and the other end 1v2 with scoring still requiring a pass series that includes an inside player and an outside player from each end of the box. Then you can go to goal, and you could add overlapping players. I've listed more than nine games that can be played from one practice area and with basically the same rules. Movement from game to game is virtually seamless b/c the set up doesn't change. You could make even more changes to this basic setup and you can modify other setups to teach different elements of the game. For example, each team could have a target player who had to receive at least every third pass.

Use your imagination.

[jack921]

Originally posted by fidlerre
okay.

so what do i exactly teach these kids in practice?

at this age i dont think i will be giving them much in the way of set pieces,

This may not be politically correct (in soccer terms), but I think it's worthwhile to run through some corner kicks in a practice. Hell, I think it's worthwhile having the kids do some kick-offs in practice -- so they know one of them can stand close to the other one to receive the kick. Otherwise, you get to the games on Saturday and your player just boots the ball to the other team on the opening kick-off. And then when the referee calls for a corner kick, your players are just wandering around at midfield.

Before I get flamed completely, let me say I still think most of the practice should be small-sided games & drills where the kids are playing with the ball at their feet. But I think that doing some practice of what to do on kick-offs, corner kicks, throw-ins will make Saturday's game more enjoyable for everyone (and save your voice a little bit).

[Elroy]

Originally posted by jack921


This may not be politically correct (in soccer terms), but I think it's worthwhile to run through some corner kicks in a practice. Hell, I think it's worthwhile having the kids do some kick-offs in practice -- so they know one of them can stand close to the other one to receive the kick. Otherwise, you get to the games on Saturday and your player just boots the ball to the other team on the opening kick-off. And then when the referee calls for a corner kick, your players are just wandering around at midfield.

Before I get flamed completely, let me say I still think most of the practice should be small-sided games & drills where the kids are playing with the ball at their feet. But I think that doing some practice of what to do on kick-offs, corner kicks, throw-ins will make Saturday's game more enjoyable for everyone (and save your voice a little bit).

No flame here! I used to practice kick offs and corners ( both off and def ) at scrimmages. Each team would line up and take five or six consecutive plays with each play ending with change of possession or clearance. I tried to arrange this with every age group that I've coached, and there is good reason to teach this with youngsters as well.

I often went one step further and invited a referee friend to come to practice and give an age appropriate clinic about the rules.

[boydreilly]

If you have throw-ins, it is a good idea to practice them too.

[JohnW]

Originally posted by jack921


This may not be politically correct (in soccer terms), but I think it's worthwhile to run through some corner kicks in a practice. Hell, I think it's worthwhile having the kids do some kick-offs in practice -- so they know one of them can stand close to the other one to receive the kick. Otherwise, you get to the games on Saturday and your player just boots the ball to the other team on the opening kick-off. And then when the referee calls for a corner kick, your players are just wandering around at midfield.

Before I get flamed completely...

Not sure why you would get flamed, especially coaching players at that age. Your caveat of weighting it with other things is good, but I think coaches sometimes assume players know what they should do.

Even with more senior players, I take time to make sure players know what to do on kick offs, direct and indirect free kicks, corners, etc. Of course, as you start to integrate plays into your game plan, you will obviously need time to go through them.

Finally, I just added in a short drill/session on the proper technique for throw ins because I had so many players who had poor technique. So any skill you teach a player will help his or her next coach.

[bungadiri]

Completely agree with the point about "the three L's". Keep them happy, keep them moving, use praise to motivate.

Here's a drill that's worked well with kids that age I've coached (it's a common game but it seems to work with this age as far as teaching movement off the ball goes).

Give everybody on the team a number. If you've got 14 kids they should be numbered 1-14. In a small space (40x40 yds, or so), their job is to pass a ball to the next number in the sequence (1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc.). Explain that they should always be aware of the people they're supposed to get the ball from and give it to (eg., 5 should always know where 4 and 6 are). Once it's easy for them with one ball, start adding more. You can also break them into smaller groups to increase touches.

Team keep-away is good too. 3-4 per side. Three (or however many you want) consecutive passes is a goal.

Oh yeah, if you're having problems with either of these because some or (God forbid) all of your guys are totally devoid of foot skills, they have fun with these games and still learn something about movement if you allow them to pass with their hands.

The point made above about teaching kids composure on the ball early is excellent (wish I'd had that explained to me when I started). One thing that might interfere with this (or any other coaching strategy) is parents screaming their own ideas from the sidelines. Parents of the little guys tend to be total newbies and extremely enthusiastic, so they're really anxious to contribute. More often than not this usually amounts to yelling "BOOT IT!" when you want the kid to make a good pass or "DON'T JUST STAND THERE GET THE BALL!" when you want him to channel the dribbler, or play cover, or...

One way to minimize this is to get everybody on the same page ASAP by providing parents with regular updates (via email--even if not everyone has access, some will and the word will get transmitted during games) of what you're teaching the kids and why. If you're feeling brave, lucky, or both you might even try asking them to limit their sideline comments to praise only. Despite all the bad press lately, I've found that more often than not they're grateful for this kind of information and happy to cooperate with the coaches.