FRISCO SOCCER ASSOCIATION (FSA) U4 - U6. Created by: Nick Rundell, Challenger Sports

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No portion of this publication may be photocopied, duplicated or scanned without the written

1 FRISCO SOCCER ASSOCIATION (FSA) U4 - U6 Created by: Nick Rundell, Challenger Sports All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be photocopied, duplicated or scanned without the written permission of Challenger Sports Corporation Challenger Sports Corporation, Lenexa, KS, USA Challenger Sports 8263 Flint, Lenexa, KS

2 Coaching U4 - U6 ~ Introduction The purpose of this book is to give parents and coaches of players ages U4-U6 an idea of what fundamental soccer techniques should be taught and also how this material should be delivered during these early years. It is critical to provide a positive experience at this age so that the child is excited about attending practices and games and develops a love for the sport. It is not an exaggeration to guess that around 80% of all coaches at Pre K, Kindergarten and First Grade level have little or no experience of soccer and equally limited experience in teaching or coaching young children. This book will provide valuable information on how to handle a group of energetic young children; how to get them to listen and how to explain rules and instructions. It will also identify exactly which skills are needed by players at this age and will provide you with a selection of tried and tested games and practices that focus on these specific skills needed at this age. Overall the coach will promote the development of individual ball familiarity and basic technique rather than team skills, which will come later. The practices in this book will span an age group which may be small in years, however the coach will be faced with significantly differing levels of intellectual, emotional and physical development within the age group. The coach will be required to tailor the practices to suit both the overall ability level of the group and also to the different levels within the group this is no small task and one which even the most seasoned coaches find challenging.

3 Expectations There are many parents and coaches involved in the game who unfortunately will not have positive experiences in youth soccer due to the fact that they have the wrong expectations of what should be achieved during these early years of learning the sport. Although there will always be incredibly gifted children who excel at an early age, the vast majority of youngsters will follow a predictable developmental path and we should set our expectations to match the level that they are likely to achieve at this age, rather than that which the overambitious parent or highly competitive coach would like to see achieved. Once we establish what the most commonly used techniques and skills are at this age we can create a coaching program that focuses on these elements and develops them within a practice environment that a young child would find stimulating and fun. At this age, the child will focus on the ball and on very little else! You will frequently find that your carefully planned practices are quickly reduced to a free for all because the children have failed to recognize the lines, cones, flags or goals and have continued dribbling way into the distance eyes fully focused on the precious ball! The children will also find it difficult to cooperate until 1 st grade and your practices will need to reflect this. Children should be given maximum opportunity to work on their own with the ball and the majority of your early practices will involve dribbling, turning, stopping and kicking the ball, rather than passing and control.

4 Introduction Soccer at this age is all about the child learning to love the game. They will quickly learn to enjoy the constant running around, the dribbling and shooting, playing games and scoring goals. Coaches will be required to create the environment in which players are allowed to experiment and copy, and practices must be kept very simple and lots of fun. An important goal at this age is to make sure that the children look forward to coming to practices and games. To do this a coach will be required to run age appropriate practice where the children are given the maximum opportunity to explore and discover all of the fundamental skills used in the game. It is important to spend the maximum amount of time on the most commonly used skills at this stage of the child s development and not try to coach things that you have seen players doing at the older age groups. Although the coach may have no soccer background what so ever, it is extremely helpful for them to have a base understanding of the fundamental techniques of passing, control, dribbling and shooting if they are not able to demonstrate these to the children they can normally find one of the children who can demonstrate. It is widely accepted that the game of soccer is built upon four pillars these being: Technical, Tactical, Physical and Psychological. When each area is examined throughout participation in the various age groups, it allows us to identify the most common displayed skills, characteristics, and activities, and in turn will enable us to create programs of age appropriate instruction that most effectively develop these areas. The breakdown overleaf shows the typical technical, tactical, physical and psychological expectations we should have when working with young children who are relatively new to the sport of soccer.

5 Introduction Physical Run forwards & backwards Sidestep, skip and hop Jump in the air Sprint for 5-10 yards Fall over without being hurt Be able to play for two periods of 15 minutes. Technical Dribble the ball forwards at jogging pace Move the ball to the left or right when dribbling Stop the ball when dribbling Turn 180 degrees when dribbling Kick the ball forwards Push the ball a short distance with the inside of the foot Stop the ball when it is rolling towards them Tactical Understand the concept of attacking one goal and defending another Understand in and out of play Understand the basic rules no handballs, no tripping etc Psychological Have fun Try to score goals & try to stop the other team from scoring Try to take the ball away from the opponents Be a good sport

6 Organization Practice session at this age should run for no more than one hour. It is important for coaches to make sure that the parents understand what you are trying to accomplish, how you will be going about it, and how much help and support you will need. An assistant coach is invaluable at this age group and even parents with zero soccer knowledge can be of great help. Warm up The coach can use a combination of fun playground games to get the children warmed up. These warm up activities will involve running, chasing, jumping and will help the coach get the group settled down and ready to listen to instructions. Ball Familiarity The players should be provided with an opportunity to become familiar with the ball without having to worry about specific directions, game rules or opponents. Fun Games As the players become more comfortable with the ball, the coach can create games that allow the players to practice fundamental techniques within a fun and often competitive setting. Small Sided Games The coach should conclude each practice by playing a small sided game using the appropriate number of players, field size and rules that will be used throughout the season.

7 Organization and tips for coaching within the game Under 6 Small Sided Games Children of all ages and abilities love to scrimmage and coaches should be aware that a great deal of learning can take place within a structured game without their constant interruption and coaching. Some children don't want to learn. Some don't care about winning. A few have no interest in hard work and one or two can't remember which goal they're attacking. In spite of all of their different agendas they all want to have fun and play a real game. Most youth soccer organizations will play 3 v 3, 4 v 4 and 5 v 5 at Pre K, Kindergarten and First grade. This small sided organization provides more contact with the ball within a space that is more appropriate for the age and size of these youngsters. It also creates more opportunities to learn as the players will be faced with dozens of situations where they must make a decision during every game. The players will initially run all over the field chasing the one thing that they focus on, the ball. They will have poor spatial awareness and will often not even notice cones and lines that are marking the field. Games will be dominated by the biggest fastest children and the thought of passing the ball will not willingly enter the child s mind. Experience teaches the coach when to step in. Over coaching kills the game and ruins the fun and in general, the players should be allowed to learn through discovery, trial and error. During the child s first organized soccer games they should learn the following: The boundaries of the field The direction you are meant to be playing Not using hands Not tripping or pushing other players Try to kick the ball in the goal you are attacking Try to stop the other team from scoring in your goal Try to take the ball away from the opponents The coach should provide encouragement and basic instruction, however you should avoid mass explanations and constant commentary as it generally will fall on deaf ears. Addressing individual comments to specific children during the break and after the game is much more effective and efficient. There is however an opportunity for coaches to create a good environment for learning to take place. When the ball goes out of bounds over the end or side lines, the coach can spread the players out in the most appropriate shape for the size of game. Now go to the U4-U6 practices and see the 8 weeks of sessions planned out for you. Click here.

Age Group Characteristics. Coaching Considerations

Age Group Characteristics. Coaching Considerations 2 Age Group Characteristics Typically in Kindergarten Very small attention span; can attend to only one task at a time. Approval seeking from adults. Negative comments may adversely affect effort & performance.