Football/Soccer Session (Beginner): St. Thomas SC: Fundamentals (U6-U8):Session #7

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Name:	Ian McClurg
City:	Hamilton
Country:	Canada
Membership:	Adult Member
Sport:	Football/Soccer

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Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Square Dance with Sharks

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Square Dance with Sharks (20 mins)

Objective:

A fun warm-up that teaches dribbling, change of pace and direction.

Also encourages disciplined marking.

Organization:

In pairs with a ball between two. If there is an odd number make one a trio or coach joins in.

On a signal the player with the ball (the Dribbler) tries to lose his/her Shadow.

Shadow must be disciplined and persistent. After a few seconds the coach shouts "Change!" and the Shadow becomes the Dribbler, and vice-versa.

Don't go for too long (30 seconds) as the activity is very demanding.

Introduce other pairs activities in between the runs, e.g., try to head the ball back and forth; play Keep-Up; play Nut Megs (ball is played through the legs of straddling partner).

Teaching:

Try to burst away from the Shadow by change of pace and direction.

Shadow tries to stay "touch tight."

Target:

To lose the Shadow; conversely not to lose the Dribbler.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Keep Away

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Keep Away (15 mins)

Objective:

To encourage players from an early age to appreciate the benefits of passing the ball to a teammate.

Introduction to opportunistic and incisive defending.

Organization:

Mark a grid 15 x 15 yards depending on numbers.

Assuming there are 10 to 12 players split group in half, say two groups of 6.

Use pinnies to distinguish the two groups. One group of 6 goes into the square and just one of the other group also goes into the square. The rest wait in line for their turn.

The 6 players try to keep the ball away from the one defender.

When the defender wins the ball or forces the ball to be played out of the area he/she changes with the next defender. This goes on until every defender has been through and they then change with the other team. The team that keeps the ball for the longest time (stop watch out) is the winner.

If a team is doing so well the defender cannot get the ball after 30 seconds shout, "Change!" and the next defender replaces the one in the middle.

The coach keeps a supply of balls handy so after an interception or a ball is kicked out of play he/she kicks or rolls another ball in.

Teaching:

Coach must assess whether the playing area is too big or too small and make adjustments if necessary. For the first few minutes allow the players to play in a non-competitive way so that when a mistake is made, the coach can recreate the situation and then ask the player who made the mistake what the alternatives are. Praise him or her for coming up with the answers (as they surely will). If they can see what should be done they will learn more quickly to do it when the ball is in play.

After a few minutes go into the stopwatch competition described above without any interventions by the coach other than putting the ball back in play. This practice should be used on a regular basis and progressed when the children are ready. The ways to progress are-

Make the space smaller

Reduce the numbers attackers, e.g., 5 vs. 1 and then 4 vs.1

Or increase the number of defenders, e.g., 6 vs. 2

Condition the attackers, e.g., no more then two touches (control and pass).

Although the defender is outnumbered encourage them to look for the misplaced or miscontrolled pass to pounce on the ball.

Target:

To keep the ball for the longest time; for the defender to win the ball as soon as possible.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): Circle Game

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Circle Game (15 mins)

Objective:

A fun center circle practice. Developing accurate kicking.

Organization:

Mark a circle having a center mark (line intersection; a coin; a scratched "X").

A center circle works well, but may be too big for young players.

5-yard radius for 6-year olds; 6-yard for 7-year olds, etc. Use marker disks to make a circle.

From center spot pace out the radius by going North, South, East and West. Then fill in the rest of the circle. Each player on one side of the circle has a partner directly opposite.

If there is an odd number the coach joins in. Each pair has one ball between them.

One player passes the ball towards his or her partner, but tries to knock over a cone in the center circle. The partner retrieves the ball and returns the pass through the center circle, again trying to kick over a cone. The ball must be passed from outside the circle. The game is stopped when all cones are knocked down.

Teaching:

Encourage the players to use pace as well as accuracy of pass. Suggest they continue to kick towards the ball even after they have actually kicked (follow through).

Encourage them to approach the ball at a slight angle to the direction they are kicking (45 degrees).

Target:

The coach uses a stopwatch to set the "team" record of knocking all cones down. Later, winners are the pair to first knock over the cones 5 (6, 8,10) times.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 3v3 Game

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3v3 Game (20 mins)

Objective:

To create a Jamboree atmosphere.

Children just play without any coaching

Organization:

Any number of players above 11 can create a Jamboree atmosphere. Consider joining up with another team who practice at the same time. If less than 12 players, make up three teams (of 3 or 4 players). Have a second activity area (such as the Circle Game) as one team waits their turn to play.

With 12 or more put in two fields or more, depending on numbers. With more than one field synchronize the play. The time-keeper starts the game for everyone with a long whistle, and signals the end of the quarters and the end of the games. One long blast signals the start of play.

A short blast signals the end of each quarter.

After the end of each quarter the substitutions/rotations take place and the game is recommenced as quickly as possible without a signal from the time-keeper.

Restart with an indirect free kick from the part of the field where the period ended with the kick taken by the team that was in possession.

A short blast, followed by a long blast signifies the end of the game at the conclusion of the fourth quarter.

Play 4-periods of two minutes. Try not to have more than 4 players on a team.

With 4, at the end of each period, the sub becomes the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper moves out onto the field. One field player comes off. After 4-periods each player will have played 3 quarters - once in goal and twice on the field. Use the same principle with 3 players or 5 players (equal time in goal and on the field). Teams work on a Round-Robin format.

Teaching:

Coaches have to work hard to say … nothing!

Target:

To enjoy the sheer fun of unadulterated soccer with plenty of opportunities to get touches of the ball and score goals.