Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Greenburgh Clinic U9

Pro-Club: LA Galaxy

Chris Pedersen

Profile Summary

Name:	Chris Pedersen
City:	Los Angeles
Country:	United States of America
Membership:	Adult Member
Sport:	Football/Soccer

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Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Red Light Green Light

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Red Light Green Light (10 mins)

Organization:

All players on the field with a soccer ball.

Instructions:

Start with a check for understanding of colors and traffic. Red means stop. Green means go. Have them dribble around the box for a few rounds, letting them be creative.
After a few rounds, ask someone what part of the foot they use to dribble. We want them to use the laces when dribbling forward, pushing the ball in front of them. If changing directions (going left or right), we want them to use their inside and outside of the foot. We want to introduce the last surface of the foot by asking them 'What part of the foot did you just stop the ball with?' See if anyone can go through all 4 surfaces of the foot.

Coaching Points/Questions:

Individually coach players who are taking big touches outside of the box. Ask them why they are taking big touches.
After all four surfaces of the foot have been covered, see if they remember why we use them. Doing this will enable a check for understanding to occur and allow a baseline to be created with the players for future dribbling activities.

Regressions/Progressions:

Progressions: Add colors: yellow, purple, pink, rainbow, white, blue, etc.

Have the kids turn into airplanes, leaving their ball and flying over the other balls. Noises encouraged!
Have kids turn into kangaroos, hopping over the balls as high as they can. Boing boing boing!
Have the kids turn into penguins, waddling with the ball between their feet.
Have the kids turn into pirates, but with only one foot! See if they can hop on one foot around the box while going 'Arghh!' and 'Shiver me timbers!'
Have the kids turn into race cars and run around as fast they can without their balls making car sounds!
Have the kids turn into proper English gentleman and ladies. They dribble slowly around with their laces, keeping their head up and saying things like 'Good Day, Cheerio, Top of the morning to ya!' as they pass fellow players. This is an excellent time to introduce the concept of dribbling with your head up instead of looking at the ground.
Introduce moves like the scissors, Cryuff turn, pull back, etc. (depending on the group).

Last but not least, make a mental note of what ideas worked well for the players for future themes!

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Bumper Cars

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Bumper Cars (20 mins)

Organization:

Every player with a ball on the field.

Instructions:

Players try to pass their ball into other players balls. Each time they do they 'honk their horns' or 'screech their tires.'
Keep track of the points from each round and challenge players to get more points!

Coaching Points/Questions:

What part of the foot do we use to pass the ball?
How can we quickly change direction?
How can we keep our car on the field?
How do we spot other cars to bump into

Regressions/Progressions:

Introduce 'police officers' that try to reset your points back to zero! Start with one police officer. Now players have to avoid the police officers while still trying to get points.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Knockout

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Knockout (15 mins)

Organization:

Every player has a ball at their feet again and are trying to be the last one left in the 'Thunder Dome Stadium!' They are trying to be the King (or Queen) of the Thunder Dome!
There are two fields, one is the stadium and the other is the practice arena.

Instructions:

If their ball is knocked out of the stadium, they have to go to the practice field to hone their skills for the next round! If players are not challenging other players, reduce the size of the field by slowly moving cones to force interaction. You can also give them a warning of '10 seconds before I reduce the field size again unless someone gets out!'
Use these various methods to see how your players are motivated and use this to your advantage in future sessions!
Players have to move the entire time or they fall through the 'quicksand' in the stadium and sink into the practice field.
The players are tasked with both defending their ball by dribbling and attacking other players' balls simultaneously. Keep an eye out for the players who are really struggling with concept or who are acutely aware of their surrounding and their own ball.

Coaching Points/Questions:

How do we protect our ball? (by moving around the space and using different parts of the foot to move in different directions. Depending on the group you could even discuss putting our body between the defender and the ball.)
Touch on the four surfaces of the foot and how they help us move in different direction. Maybe introduce the idea of Ronaldo vs Messi touches.
Have the player who won give a tip to the rest of the players about why he or she believes they were successful.

Regressions/Progressions:

A possible progression/regression is that you give every player 'two lives.' This can be confusing but is exciting for the players who are struggling.
Start a countdown timer reduce the space right away!
We really want to be keenly aware to not reduce the players from being creative with their touches. Try to not impact their movement with the square by taking surfaces away or limiting it to one foot.
A different method for winning is giving 1 point every time they knock a ball out. This will create a more aggressive environment because they no longer have to be scared to get sent to practice.
You can add a 'bank' where they can dribble their ball in and out of to keep their points safe in the future.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Superhero Tag

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Superhero Tag (20 mins)

Organization:

Only one player starts off with a ball at their feet. All other players are on the field running from the Superhero!

Instructions:

If a Superhero hits a villain in the foot or leg, they become a Superhero! Last villain left wins!
Players are encouraged to pass the ball into the other players feet, rather than kick.

Coaching Points/Questions:

Should we try to turn the villains into a superhero from far away or should we get close?
How do we find the villains?
Can we dribble and find the villians at the same time?
If we look over our shoulders or behind us, maybe we can find additional villains!

Regressions/Progressions:

Start with multiple Superheroes
Villains have to move the whole time
If they step off the field, they turn into a superhero

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Sharks and Minnows

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Sharks and Minnows (15 mins)

Organization:

We have let the players dribble around the space freely for two activities in a row. We are now creating a directional opportunity that will let them take big touches into open space, dribble with their heads up to identify the sharks, and stop the ball on the opposite end line to be 'safe.' The shark stands on the blue line in the middle of the field and must start here every round with the other sharks.

Instructions:

The minnows are forced to swim across the ocean with their soccer balls when the sharks yell 'minnows minnows cross my ocean!'
The minnows must stay within the bounds of the field or they turn into a shark.
The sharks are trying to steal the ball and score the ball into the goal. Give 1 point each time the sharks score a goal and make it a competition between the sharks to see who eats the most!
If the shark kicks/dribbles the ball out of bounds before scoring, the minnow is safe for the entire round and dribbles their ball to the end line.
Last minnow alive gets to be the first shark the next round.

Coaching Points/Questions:

What part of the foot do we dribble with to change direction?
What part of the foot do we dribble with to go fast?
How do we know where the shark is when we are dribbling?
Do we want to kick the ball really far in front of us or keep it close?

Regressions/Progressions:

Start with two sharks! Have them work together to eat as fast they can.
Challenge the players dribbling to stop the ball right on the end line and not to kick it past it.
Implement a rule where the sharks must change directions at least once before scoring in a goal.

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