I'm really curious if any folks with younger kids see any of this in their rec programs or at their clubs: After looking through a piece of my son's club's curriculum that's being redone under new coaching leadership, I was struck by how much if it at the younger ages (5-10, the club's youngest teams start at u9 but there are juniors programs, ...) seemed to work hard to hide the actual soccer behind Sponge Bob-themed drills and the like. I remember hearing my son and other kids complain at u11, 12, ..., that under certain circumstances the things they'd do in practice seemed to be for much younger kids, so as best I can tell these same drills were carrying through to even middle school kids (my son has been lucky enough -- and I think we're finding out that he was even luckier than we'd realized -- to have had a couple of really good coaches since about u11 that just did their own thing, but when club leadership was around I think they must have reverted to the curriculum). Now, I've done as much sharks and minnows as anybody while coaching rec soccer when he was 6 or 7, but I never felt the need to make everything cartoon-themed or superhero-themed or whatever. For the bulk of the kids, actually getting to play soccer (small groups so everyone's moving around and not standing still waiting in lines) was usually enough fun to keep them going. But as I read through that curriculum, it struck me that the people writing it seemed to think that soccer in and of itself isn't fun and can't really appeal to kids, that it has to be masked in something else to trick young kids into playing (and, honestly, a lot of the drills were pitiful -- soccer being taught and pitched as a sport for kids who can't do other things well is my read on it). My son is an '05 and made it through all of this loving the game, but increasingly I'm wondering if that's the exception in his club over the five years he's been involved. Do any of you with kids on the the younger end see things like this in your clubs and rec programs? You don't have to teach 6-year-olds that soccer should be a blood sport, but good grief, you don't have to apply a Sponge Bob coating on the outside of it to make it fun, either.
Think this type of coaching has a place at the very earliest stages and can help little kickers focus and engage in the sessions. I worked on storybook football sessions before, which work well, and just involve a bit of story telling along with the session to capture the kids imagination. The little ones loved it! Like you said, Cornfield, a love of the game should be enough once the kids get beyond 5/6 years old. To be coaching Sponge Bob drills to u11s and 12s is laughable and any football player I know at that age would go to another club if they were getting patronised like that at training. Sounds like the people who are devising these curriculum are massively out of touch with the maturity levels of your average 10 year old.
I haven't seen the superhero/cartoon thing yet. But it sounds cringe worthy. I agree generally that we don't have to try to make soccer fun, it is naturally fun. Just let the kids play. I may be wrong on this but I doubt that poor kids who are always playing in Brazil and Mexico don't grow up doing Sharks and Minnows, they just go outside and play futsal or street ball (sometimes with no shoes, sometimes on dirt)... and they have fun and develop much better feel for the ball than us. We way overthink it.
I think Two things that really make or break it at any age first, is how well organized the coach is. If you have kids standing around too much they lose interest and get bored no matter what theme it is. Second, how well coaches communicate to the kids. If they talk to much and over explain they also get bored. They need clear directions and it helps to show them rather than tell them so if you focus too much on Trying to make it cool they lose interest.