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Mini Soccer |
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What can we do with U5 &U6 players? |
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"We've had the training in place now for two years. The kids who've been through the u5-u6 program and are now entering u-8 have amazing skills. They play much better than the kids at this age did before we offered the training program. These kids are going to go on to be phenomenal soccer players." Harvey Fox, u8 boys commissioner, Fauquier County Soccer Club, Virginia, USA. |
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| I took time to study what was being shown to this age group, one of my tasks was to take a look at the younger players who were just starting out in soccer. I wanted to look and see what kind of things these players were doing. What I saw was parent coaches and parents wanting their children to have fun, but also learn the game of soccer. Everyone was enthusiastic, no negatives around the children, so I was happy with the environment. I am a great believer in helping people, so I wasn't going to be critical about the way things were handled, I was already happy with the surroundings. | |||||
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My studies showed a trend in coaching behavior, these
were the findings: The young players were in their own teams, of 6 - 8 players in each team. They would be matched up to play another team every Saturday. The teams had an hour on the field, so it would usually start with 10 - 15 minutes to get things organized, then the players would scrimmage for 30 - 40 minutes, with water breaks every 5 - 10 minutes. It was played 4 v 4, with 1 ball and substitutes, who could come on at any time, and each team attacking one goal. I saw a lot of players not touching the ball for long periods of time, also players who were shy, stood and watched or sometimes got upset and ran to their parents. Coaches also shouting 'Spread Out' to the players, and some looking to play formations. These games had referee's, who were usually teenagers, probably just starting out learning the game of soccer, and wanting to start at this level before moving to the next level. These referees were getting paid for their services. |
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My thoughts: Someone must take charge, and be in total control. If not, things can go crazy. My observations are based on the fact that we are dealing with very young players. Their concentration span is just a few seconds. I started to think about what could be the best way to get the young players to learn about soccer.
This is the most important area. Players will learn more when having fun. Do young players really understand formations, or calls of spread out? No, they have no idea. How can you make it more fun? Remembering each team had on average an hour of field time (for this age group, anything more is just too much), I decided to get all the players in and work together on some fun games before we scrimmaged. I had between 15 - 20 players inside one of the soccer fields (roughly 30 x 20), and used the parent coaches to help. If ever I had more players, I had the coaches to play the same games on a separate field. I used a whistle, because I think it saves time on yelling stop, freeze etc, as soon as anybody hears the noise of a whistle, they stop. The parents stayed around the field, encouraging the players, and making sure the players stayed inside the area. Sometimes parents would join in, but it can get a little crowded, so make sure you keep control of this. The games played consist of each player having their own ball, this is so important at this age. Players of a younger age don't really enjoy sharing their soccer ball, try to have games that allow them to have their ball. I had the players sitting on their soccer balls outside the playing area while I explained the first fun game. I mostly started with a game without the ball, and then played the same game using a ball. I found this way helpful, the players would understand more if you tried exercises without a ball, and then the same exercise, with the ball. Each game would probably last 5 - 10 minutes, then the players would have a water break. You would then start a new game. Below is an example of a game that worked with the kids. |
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Set up four areas using different colored discs. The
players are NOT using a soccer ball. The players jog inside the area, you
call out a color, and all the players must run inside that area.
SOCCER RELATED? Yes.
Now do the same exercise, but use a soccer ball. When the players arrive in the colored area, they must put their foot on the ball. |
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More Fun Games Below........... |
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Once the fun games are over, we now move to the
scrimmage. Do you need a referee? No. I saw that having an official
sometimes caused problems, because we don't always agree with the call of
the officials. Parents were yelling at some of the calls made. You now had
shouts of encouragement, shouts of instructions and shouts at some of the
calls made by the referee. The players can only hear lots of yelling. The
environment should be calm and lots of encouragement. Shouts of Pass,
shoot, kick it should not be heard. Let the players play and make their
own decisions. SUBSTITUTES: No player should be sat out at this age, unless they are hurt or tired. If the players are in teams, try to keep the players together, but if not, put them into another team who will be short of players. Play 4 v 4, but sometimes to accommodate extra players, moving to 3 v 3 or going up 5 v 5 is acceptable, as long as you don't have players sitting out. Organize different fields as shown below. Have teams play on all fields against different opposition. |
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| FIELD 1: Play 4 v 4, or near to this as possible. You may have to go 5 v 4 or 3 v 4 just to make sure everyone is playing. Teams attack 2 goals. | |||||
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| FIELD 2: Play 4 v 4, or near to this as possible. You may have to go 5 v 4 or 3 v 4 just to make sure everyone is playing. Players can score in any goal. | |||||
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| FIELD 3: Play 4 v 4, or near to this as possible. You may have to go 5 v 4 or 3 v 4 just to make sure everyone is playing. Players plat 'REAL' Soccer. | |||||
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