Practice

We started with the Turn the Ball Around drill listed in the drills below. As you can see from the video posted down there, the drill went really well. I had them turn the ball by putting their foot on top of the ball and pulling the ball back. I went over it with each kid as he arrived at practice and let them practice it on their own for a few minutes before we got started. Then we ran the drill: I took half the team and the other coach took the other half. Everyone seemed to get it, some more so than others. I was shocked to see two of our kids actually do the move during the scrimmage at the end of practice! One kid did it three times! It is so thrilling to see them use new skills in a game situation. After the turning drill, we did Sharks and Minnows (for only the second time this season) and then scrimmaged for the remaining 15 minutes. At around the 10-12 minute mark of each scrimmage someone starts begging for water, but at that point we're only a couple minutes from the end of practice so I make them just gut it out. I think next time I'll give them a quick water break mid-scrimmage. With the way they handled this new skill, I'm thinking that they are ready to learn some more advanced moves.

Kicking it Out

At the U-6 level, our league does not do kick-ins or corner kicks. Instead, we just throw a ball in play every time a ball goes out of play. As a result, there's no adverse consequence for kicking the ball out of play. The team we played this weekend was coached to kick the ball out of bounds whenever we had the ball in their half of the field. To me, that's a terrible way to coach kids. Granted, it was highly effective at breaking up our attack, but it's not teaching the kids the right way to play (which should be the point at this age more so than winning). I strongly discourage teaching kids to kick the ball out of bounds unless it is the last resort when the other team is about to score.

A Team, B Team?

For games, we split into two teams and play two games simultaneously. That way, we can play with only 3 or 4 kids on the field at a time but still let the kids get plenty of playing time. The other team this weekend had 11 kids, so they asked that we play 4v4 rather than 3v3. We only started with 7 kids, so we played 3v3 on one field and 4v4 on the other. We try to split our teams evenly and have two quality teams. It turns out that the other team divided into A and B teams, with all their best players on one field. In the first quarter, we clobbered their B team, but got beaten pretty badly by their A team. We adjusted after the first quarter and beefed up our squad that was facing their A team, while still leaving our best player against their B team. In the second quarter, we were evenly matched against their A team, but continued to dominate their B team. At half time, we split into A and B teams (for the most part) and dominated both fields in the second half.

I think it makes a lot of sense to divide into A and B teams because it allows the B team players to get more touches without being overrun by stronger players. But we don't usually do it that way because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. My team parents are pretty realistic though, so I don't think anyone was offended this week. They just want to see their kids involved in the game and getting a chance to shine.

We were missing one of our top players this week, so it will be good to be back to full strength this weekend.

Things to work on:

1. We had a lot of trouble turning the ball around this week, so we're going to need to work on that at practice. Rather than controlling the ball and turning it, we were running in front of it and waiting for it to stop rolling. Several times, the other team was able to chase it down before we were able to turn. Drill- I think I'll have them dribble out to midfield, quickly turn the ball back around and come back to shoot on goal.

2. We also need to get back on defense after scoring goals to avoid the quick counter attack. We got burned that way a lot too. Drill- Should be able to fix this tendency just with reminders.

Another Practice

Practice went well last night. We started with the Recovery Defense drill (see list of drills below). It worked pretty well. The next drill was the Dribbling Through Gates drill (see below).

We've also started a new thing where my other head coach (we work together) pulls one player out of practice and works with him on a specific skill for about 10 minutes and then picks another player. He can do 2-3 players per practice, and then everyone participates in the scrimmage at the end of practice. Last night, the skill was shooting. He taught proper techinque, including landing on the shooting foot. He spent about 10 minutes with each of two players. I can handle the team drills by myself at this point, and it's marginally easier to do the drills with one less player (the one working with the other coach). If you're going to have someone work one-on-one with the kids on skills, make sure that person knows what he is doing. My other coach has excellent technique. You certainly don't want someone teaching them the wrong way to do things!

Playing Time Chart

I got this tip from another parent/coach. Make a chart before each game with a row for each player's name and a column for each quarter/period. Put a check mark in the appropriate column next to each player's name when they are in. Helps keep track of how much time each kid has gotten to play.

Example Chart:

----------1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th-6th
Name1---x----x----------x----x----
Name2---x---------x-----x--------x
Name3---x---------x----------x---x
Name4--------x----x----------x---x
Name5---x----x----------x----x----
Name6--------x----x----------x---x
Name7---x----x----------x----x----
Name8---x---------x-----x--------x
Name9--------x----x-----x--------x

The Coach's Son

We had our first game this weekend. The team we played was a team that we clobbered last year, but they were much improved and gave us a real challenge. I would say that we won on aggregate goals (we play on two fields simultaneously), but it was pretty close.

More importanly, I learned a valuable coaching lesson: If you want to be a parent/coach, you have to treat your own kid the same way you treat the other kids. I found myself being way too hard on my boy at the game. He insisted on playing defense only and not getting forward to help in the attack. That's perfectly fine for a full-sided game, but in 3-on-3 everyone needs to play on both sides of the ball. I gave him an earful several times and deeply regretted it after the game. I need to remember that he's only five and just wants to have fun. As one of my players, he deserves the same treatment that I give to all the other kids on the team. I tend to heap praise on the other kids and find nothing but fault with James. I know it's terrible and I intend to correct the issue immediately. I have beaten myself up about it ever since the game ended, and I apologized to James and told him I would stop acting like that. Now I just have to carry it out, which I suspect is easier said than done. If I can't do it, I owe it to James to hang up the whistle and take a quiet seat on the sidelines! Live and learn.

U-6 Soccer Drills

1. Sharks and Minnows (with a goal)

I draw a full field, including a center stripe, with line paint and a goal at each end of the field. I start out as the "shark" with a cone on my head. The kids start on one end line parallel with the goal. The shark must stay in the starting half of the field. Once the kids get past the center line, they are free and are supposed to go to goal and shoot. They then retrieve their ball and start over going the opposite direction, again finishing with a shot on goal. Anyone who gets their ball kicked out of bounds by the shark before they cross the center stripe becomes a shark and gets to put a cone on their head. The point of the cone is to make the game more fun and to show which kids are sharks. They love being shark so much that most of them don't get upset when they get their ball kicked out. Keep going till only one "minnow" is left. Incorporating the goal into the drill is crucial to allowing the kids to understand how the drill relates to game conditions. Discourage the kids from "kicking and running" and encourage them to dribble fast instead.

2. Dribbling Through Gates

Draw a long, snaking line with line paint that ends right in front of a goal. (The line should look like a bell shaped curve.) Place cone "gates" on both sides of the line: one gate at the beginning, one at the half way point and one near the end. Kids line up at the first gate and dribble as fast as they can following the general path of the painted line and through each cone gate. After they get through the last gate, they dribble to the goal and take a quick shot. Have a parent retrieve the ball for each kid and direct them to dribble their ball back to the starting gate, going well around the cone course so as not to interfere with the next kid. Encourage the kids to go as fast as they can and to shoot very quickly at the end. This drill teaches the kids how to cut the ball from side to side, dribble through traffic and shoot. Keep the drill moving fast, staring the next kid after the first kid is half-way through, so that the kids are only standing in line for a few seconds.

3. Dribbling Through Gates (Shooting from Distance)

Same as the dribbling through gates drill in #2 above, but move the gates further from goal and have the kids take a shot from 10 to 15 yards out.

4. Two Passes Before You Can Shoot

Pair up players on an extra long field and have them go back and forth between the two goals. Must complete two passes before being allowed to shoot. Teams should try to keep track of their goals scored and see who can score the most in 8-10 minutes.

5. Crossing Drill

Use a full field with cones designating the corners of the field. Players line up in two lines on one side of the field, with one line at each corner cone. One line of players will dribble the ball down and cross the ball, and the other line of players will crash the goal and attempt to shoot the crossed ball into the goal. It may help to roll the ball out toward the corner cone on the opposite end of the field to get each group started. The shooter should hold his run until the crosser is nearly ready to cross and then run at full speed toward the goal. Encourage the crosser to look up, find the shooter and place the ball far enough in front of goal to allow the shooter to run onto the ball and take a shot on goal. Once each group has taken a turn, go back the other way and alternate crosser and shooter. Also alternate which side the ball is being crossed from to switch the foot used by the crosser and the shooter.

6. Left Foot or Right Foot?

This is a shooting drill to teach the kids how to use the correct foot when shooting, depending on body position in relation to the goal. Paint a straight line from the point where the midfield stripe touches the sideline to a point about four feet out from the endline just past the far post of the goal. Have the kids dribble from the starting point and shoot with the foot that is closer to the far post (i.e., if they are dribbling from the left to the right, they should shoot with their right foot and vice versa). Repeat on the other side, having them shoot with the other foot. Demonstrate and/or explain why it's so much easier to shoot with the correct foot.

7. Turning the Ball Around

Have the kids start next to the goal at the end line. Kids dribble to midfield and use a skill to turn the ball around (e.g., pulling the ball back with the bottom of the foot, cutting it back with the inside or outside of the foot, etc.). Make sure they are going fast when they turn around. Dribble back to the goal and shoot. After a couple reps, release a defender right when the dribbler is turning around so he has to turn under pressure. Try to beat the defender and get a shot off.

Here's a video of this drill in action (note: the big blonde headed kid is a big brother and not on the team):



8. Face Off

Have the kids stand at midfield and square off against each other in a face off. Drop a ball for each pair of kids. The object is to turn the ball around and go to the goal that is behind the player (i.e., not to go toward the goal the player is facing). This way, the kids work on turning the ball around. Also, the player who looses the face off is forced to play recovery defense and get back to prevent a shot on goal.

9. Triangles

Set up cones in a triangle, 10 to 15 feet apart. Station two kids and the first cone and one kid at each of the other two cones. One of the two kids at the first cones passes to the kid at the second cone and then follows his pass by running to the second cone. The kid at the second cone controls the pass and then passes to the third cone, also following his pass by running to the third cones.

(I'll continue to add to this list as time permits.)

Tips for Coaching U-6 Soccer

• Use line paint to mark your field and as guidance for drills. Paint lines that direct the kids through a dribbling course. You can buy line/marking paint at any hardware store.
• Find a way to incorporate a goal into every drill you run. It helps reniforce the ultimate "goal" of the game.
• Always save about 20 minutes for a scrimmage. I usually do it at the end of practice.
• During the scrimmage, designate one or two people to throw new balls in play each time the ball goes out of bounds and have a couple people shag balls and give the balls to the designated throwers. The kids get a lot more touches if a new ball is always being thrown into play. You can throw the new ball directly to one of the lesser involved kids, which forces them to take touches. You can also bounce the ball into play and encourage the kids to control it with their head/chest/thighs rather than with their hands.
• Kids this young do not need to warm up or stretch.
• 45 minutes is long enough for practice (especially if you don't have them warm up and stretch).
• Depending on the weather, allow two short water breaks of no longer than three minutes each.
• Another coach friend gave me this idea: Designate an area for the kids to keep their water bottles so they don't have to find/pow-wow with their mom's at each water break. I draw a circle to the side of the field with my line paint and have the kids put their bottles there. My friend makes a cicle with a rope.
• In a 45 minute practice, any given kid should have a ball at his feet (or be involved in a scrimmage) for at least 35 of those minutes.
• Make sure your kids shoot quickly during all drills. Kids this age tend to hesitate too long and never end up getting off their shot. Pressure them to shoot as fast a possible, even if it means that they miss.
• On all drills involving dribbling, make sure they dribble at a run. Dribbling at a walking pace is useless and only reinforces bad habbits.

The Origin of my Coaching Philosophy

This is the start of my second season as a youth soccer coach. Last season, my kids were U-5s. We were the youngest team in the league. The date cutoffs in our league are 8/1/02 - 7/31/03. All of my kids were born in 2003, and a few of them actually are younger than the league allows.

We formed the team with several families we are friendly with. Of the 10 kids on the team last season, seven were hand selected (not by ability, but because they were friends) and the other three were assigned to the team by the league.

We started out doing all the drills you read about on the internet: red light-green light, variations of tag, sharks and minnows, relay races, knocking cones over, keep your yard clean, etc. I immediately dispensed with all of the recommended drills that are non-soccer related, like duck-duck goose, and did not incorporate any drills that involved touching the ball with your hands. Believe it or not, lots of coaches recommend drills that ask the players to pick up their ball with their hands or to touch the ball with their elbows! How is a five year old supposed to figure out what to do when they are being coached to violate the golden rule of soccer: no hands!

I also dispensed with stretching and warming up. These were five year olds! They aren't going to pull any muscles and they are in a perpetual state of being warmed up. Have you ever seen a kid stretch before they play on a play ground? Of course not. My kids wake up every day at a full sprint. By eliminating the warm up, I was able to keep practice to 45 minutes, which was a big hit with the parents. My goal was to do drills for 25 minutes and scrimmage for 20 minutes.

We had one practice before our first game. In the first game, we got absolutely clobbered. A couple of my kids could hold their own, but the rest didn't seem to get it at all. They were kicking the ball aimlessly and didn't seem to understand that the point was to take the ball to the other team's goal. Our league does not keep score, but rest assured that my boys knew they had been whooped. It was obvious from the looks on their faces.

After the game, I started thinking about what when wrong. My kids were plenty athletic, so it wasn't like we were a lost cause. The other team was bigger and older than we were, so that certainly played a role. But it soon dawned on me that our practice did nothing to prepare the boys for game conditions. Now, don't get me wrong here. I fully understand that the point of youth soccer is not to win games, but to develop soccer players. But I really questioned whether my drills were aimed at developing soccer skills and whether they were enforcing the right habits.

Let's take a look at a representative drill. Red Light-Green Light teaches the kids to amble aimlessly, and fairly slowly, around a small field with no defenders and no sense of which direction is preferred. Not only does that drill not teach proper soccer skills, it actually creates bad habits. It encourages slow, aimless dribbling, rather than the fast, purposeful dribbling that is required at game time. In fact, all of my drills were like that!

All of the drills have two things in common that are considered good for young kids by the soccer powers that be: they are fun and they keep all of the kids involved. Can't argue with that. No way should five year olds be asked to stand in line and wait for more than a few seconds. But isn't it possible to design fun games that keep all the kids involved while simultaneously enforcing good soccer habits? I was determined to at least try.

The first thing that occurred to me was that all of my drills should involve a goal. That way, the kids always know where they are headed or, in the case of defense, what they are trying to prevent. It doesn't do any good to learn how to avoid a defender unless you're also going in the right direction. It also doesn't do any good to learn how to defend unless you're also defending in the right direction.

Second, I was determined to keep it as simple as possible. Following directions is not a strong point for five year olds. They also can't execute complicated tasks, like consecutive passes (the first pass is always off the mark, making the second pass impossible).

My kids loved sharks and minnows at our first practice, so I decided to keep that drill. But I had to modify it to make it more reflective of a soccer game. In the first version we tried, I had the kids dribble from one end of the field to the other trying to avoid the shark. I decided that it would be pretty easy to incorporate the goals since we were already going the length of the field. So, I painted a center stripe on the field and told the shark to only defend the initial half of the field. Once the minnows got past the center stripe, they were free to take the ball to the goal and shoot. This really focused the kids on not only getting past the shark, but also taking the ball to goal. Sounds kind of like a soccer game, doesn't it? The drill was still fun because the sharks all got to put cones on their heads, a good consolation (because it's just plain silly) and also a good way to designate who the sharks are. Sharks and minnows remained a big hit, but now it was actually teaching the right way to play.

Now I had the idea! With drills like this one, we were going to get pretty good. And the next Saturday's game proved it. My kids were unstoppable, taking the ball to goal and scoring quickly and methodically. I was thrilled. Of course, part of it was just the kids figuring out what to do on their own. But I think some of the success was attributable to my redesigned drills.

This blog will follow my team through our second season and pass along other coaching tips. If you're just starting out, go to Walmart and buy some cones, buy a couple pop-up goals and get yourself some cans of line paint from the local hardware store (assuming your field allows paint, or at least won't notice it!). With the right drills, you can build a solid team and teach your kids the right way to play, and love, soccer.