I have the most polite bunch of 7-year-old boys you would want to see. Whenever the other team has the ball, they often are hesitant to take the ball away. When we have the ball, one of the boys will kick it and then let someone else have a turn--our team, their team does not matter. Interestingly, they run to the ball on defense and offense, but they back off when they get to it. When the ball starts rolling at the goalie, they back (which I'd rather do than have them kick the goalie--two of my boys have come off crying from being kicked while they had the ball in their hands). During practice, none of these tendencies crop up--only in the game. A couple of factors I should mention: (1) We do not practice in a game environment (i.e., we are not allowed to practice at the game field but have been assigned a practice time and place at a local elementary school; the field is not lined, and the pitch is very bumpy and has little grass; and goals are regulation adult size (U7 plays much smaller goals here) and have no nets. (2) My U7s are still only 6-years-old, and the concepts of forward, defense, even left and right, do not come naturally to them. When you combine those, you have kids who are not quite sure where to be on the field at times. Any suggestions on what to do during practice to promote a little aggression during the game. I thought 1 v. 1 and 2 v. 2 might help a bit. Also, I am thinking of having the forwards wear a wristband or something as a reminder while they are playing. If the boy has no wristband, he is a defender and needs to keep between the opponent and the goal, etc. If he has one, keep pursuing the ball and trying to get it in the goal, etc. What do you think?
How many players per team? Are you playing full teams or small-sided games? It should really be 4 v 4 at this age, in which case I wouldn't bother with positions. Winning really should not be an issue at this point...really do you remember the record of your first grade team? Six year olds all think they won...and if they have fun they did win, and if they developed their skill level and enjoy the game enough to come back next season, you've won. Try to be patient as they are not playing soccer, they are playing AT soccer. The goal for all players should be skill development (thin of yourself astraining a team full of # 10's), and they are not at a developmental stage where they can concentrate both on spacing/positioning and on the ball - hence the beehive. So I'd recommend dribbling games to get them used to the idea that they can keep the ball at their feet. Two that have been really popular are; 1) have all players but two dribbling in a large square (maybe 10 yards by 10 yards), the other two link arms and tag those dribbling...once tagged a player freezes with feet apart and holds their ball over their head...in order to be unfrozen, a teammate must dribble between their legs...see which pairs, if any, can tag all players before a 'times up'. A word on out of bounds...at first you may want to look the other way when they dribble out of bounds, but very quickly they should develop enough skill to stay in, at which point going out means being frozen. 2) same size square, have all players dribbling around except 1...the one player not dribbling attempts to kick the ball away from each player and out of bounds...see who is last still dribbling. Expect the 6 year olds to want to be 'it' (ie, not dribbling). That's okay, you'll fool them into skill development. As for being more aggressive, see #2 above. Also, set the tone by having players pair off, one grabs the ball (with hands and arms) their partner needs to try and take the ball away...let them wrestle over the ball...it doesn't develop skill, but can get them into a more aggressive/assertive frame of mind and show them it is okay to take the ball. Finally, and this may not work with such a young group (remember, they have trouble concentrating on multiple tasks), have two groups (note here about not making kids stand in line a lot, if you have activities where only 1 or 2 players 'go' at a time, divide the team into groups and have a 2nd activity going - these kids won't be able to stand around and wait) on either side of a (let's say 5 yd by 5 yd) square, roll a ball to the middle where the object is for the first in line for each 'team' to win the ball AND pass it back to the coach. Make it a contest (right side v. left side) to keep the kids interest. Good luck and remember what the priority is at this age.
good luck...when you try the ball winning drill try to emphasize the use of their bodies to shield the ball from their opponents, and to win the ball by stepping in between the ball and opponent. Did I emphasize that myself? I wrote too much to read it all...
I've got a ton of games, PM me if you want. Here's 2 that will teach aggression and going for the ball. One caveat. Most games I have the kids play all are on rectangular fields. It quickly introduces the players to the real shape of the playing field, and establishes a direction of play. On to the games: 1) Those Darn Gophers Mark out a 15x7 yd space (more or less depending on size and skill of team). Divide the field into three equal sections (this would be about 5 yd each). Divide the team into three equal groups (I do this at the begining of all practices anyway). Put one group in the middle section and have them sit cross-legged, spaced out pretty evenly. These are the 'gophers' sticking their heads out of their holes. They are not allowed to move from their holes (that rule disappears soon). The other two groups stand along one endline, each player with a ball. On your signal, the players try to dribble through the gopher patch to the other side and back again. The gophers try to steal the ball away by grabbing it with their hands. If a gopher steals the ball, the gopher may play keep away by tossing it to another gopher. The player without the ball has to try to get it back. This usually results in a pretty good wrestling match. After some time (say, a minute) stop play. The player with the most laps wins. Switch one group to gopher duty, and gophers to ball dribbling duty and play again until all players have been gophers. 2) Musical Soccer Balls Mark out an area of whatever size you wish. 10-20 yds away place 4 markers (could be across from the corners) say a disk, a cone, a corner flag and a soccer mom. Could just be a flag with different color pinnies on each, but they need to be different. At first, do this progression. a) The players each have a ball inside the area, and are dribbling about half speed. Call out moves (if that is what you do) or have them do something goofy (point to a body part (elbow, knee, butt) and the players have to stop the ball with that body part). When you call out the target (say, "flag") the players all need to run--while dribbling their ball--around the flag, and back into the play area. First one wins. Repeat with the other targets. b) Same thing, only when you call out the target, the players leave their ball wherever they are, and run free around the target. They can get the first free ball in the area when they return. Now we get into what to do when challenging for a 50-50 ball. This is a good time to introduce them to a legal shoulder charge. c) Now, raise the pressure. Without goofy call out moves, have the same groups, but take a ball away. Now, the player without the ball can steal any other player's ball, and keep it to dribble with. When you call out the target, the players leave their ball and run around the target. During this time, you steal a ball from the playing area. Now two players will be without the ball and there'll be a greater fight to get a ball. Continue on with two players seeking and stealing balls. Call out a target again, and steal another ball. Keep going until one ball left. A great battle for that one!
Coaching youth players Check out www.bettersoccermorefun.com for some ideas about this age group. Best of luck
Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions. The team is doing much better, albeit still room for improvement. The drills themselves have helped, mostly by giving the guys a better sense of what they should be doing. Defenders have developed a sense that every ball is theirs, and they are pursuing better instead of backing away. Forwards have developed the idea that they have to keep after the ball until it is in the net. (Unfortunately, the ball seems allergic to the net. Last game we had 7 (SEVEN!!) shots miss goal by rolling 18 inches or less outside of the post, plus we had three slow rolling balls get by the keeper only to be cleared or gathered within inches of the goal line. In addition, the ref missed a handball where a defender about 2 feet in front of the line knocked a ball, shoulder high, down with his hand.) I have tried the wristband idea, but am having the defenders wear the bands. It has worked really well in the two games we've tried it. It is easier to get the kids to regroup (when they've gotten bunched together and/or been sucked forward) and get in position by calling, "Who is wearing a wristband?" The kids hold up their arms, and we call "You are defenders. Go to . . . ." It helps us remind the kids where to go for corners, goal kicks, etc., too. Before, when we called, "Who are my defenders?", some of the kids were confused and then we had to go through the process of reminding kids one by one where to be. By the end of the first game, whenever we called for wristbands, the defenders started moving to position without being reminded. In summary, the visual reminder seems to work really well for the six-year-old boys. And the kids think the bands are cool.