Coach s Curriculum Guide Soccer
NZone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Introduction: 10 minutes Name Tags: Introduce yourself and make sure name tags of kids are visible. Session Rules: an overview of the rules of the program; must be covered daily. Hands Up 1,2,3 A technique used to teach the kids to be quiet when the coaches are speaking. Coaches should put up index finger and announce the words Hands up one. This continues through Hands up three, and by the time the coach reaches the third call, all the kids should be completely quiet. To make it fun for the kids, have them make as much noise as possible (scream and yell), then you begin to count towards Hands up three. Respect Discuss the importance of respecting others. Introduce the concept of a team and how respect for each team member is important in sports. No contact (pushing, shoving, etc.) Discuss basic rules for participation for activities. Exploring the Field: ask the kids questions pertaining to the equipment used to play the sport. This would include Soccer Goals, Soccer Balls, etc. Value of the Day: Value of the Day is listed at the top of the daily drills page(s). Stretch: Group stretch Create a big circle with the coach(es) in the middle of the circle Make yourself as big as you can/stretch to the Sky stretch standing straight up with arms extending towards the sky. This is for the purpose of stretching the torso and back. Touch the ground spread legs slightly (shoulder width) and stretch downwards while keeping the back straight. Kids should be able to touch the ground or come very close. For the purpose of stretching the legs and also the back. Down to the left Legs spread wider than shoulder width and stretch downwards towards the left leg. Down to the right Legs spread wider than shoulder width and stretch downwards towards the right leg. Jog in place Kids should begin running in place, moving both their arms and legs at a medium rate. This is for the purpose of the general loosening of the muscles. 1 For NZone Junior programs working with ages 2-3, each day s activities should take no less than 30 minutes and no more than 3. This includes introduction, stretch, drills, and overview. Literal instructions for drills should need not be carried out with the same precision as is with ages 4-8. The overall goal for the drill is still to be reached but do to the inability to comprehend the drills at the same level as an older child in the program, the younger children should be instructed in a far simpler environment. Use the same time frame for drills throughout, as it is important for the children to receive the same amount outside activity. Shorten the program each day by limiting stretch time and the introduction period. With this younger age group, the emphasis should be for the children to have as much fun as possible while still in a structured environment.
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 1 Value of the Day: Teamwork is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of teamwork is and follow by giving them the following example: The sport of soccer is a team game. When playing soccer, many different players are on the field and all of them have to do their job in order for a team to win! No single person can win a game by themselves because the ball has to make it all around the field by passing it from one teammate to another before someone has open shot into the goal. On defense, if one teammate does not do their job, the whole defense is vulnerable to attack. We must always give 100% for our team on every play! That s what teamwork is. See attached diagram Small Kicks Learning to dribble! Dribble: running with the ball at the feet while maintaining possession. This drill serves the purpose of teaching the children how to kick the ball properly while in motion. Each child will kick the ball a short distance in front of them with each stride (slow jog), starting at one cone (C1) and kicking the ball to a second cone (C2). Distance should be about 10 feet. Line the children up in lines of 6-10, each with a soccer ball. Split the line of children with half at C1 and half at C2. One child will begin and must get the ball all the way to his/her finishing cone. From there the first child in line will perform the drill back to the other cone/line of children. Drill is dependent on number of kids and soccer balls. See attached diagram Alternating feet Switch it up! An important concept in soccer is to dribble but also to be able to use both feet to maintain the possession of the ball. During the first drill, the children were required to dribble the ball from C1 to C2 but with no emphasis on which foot to use while kicking the ball. You will be able to immediately tell that the children will favor one foot over the other when kicking the ball. Keep the same set up for the second drill. Have the children perform the same drill with emphasis on switching possession from one foot to the other with each and every kick. 10 minutes See attached diagram Around the cone Putting it all together! Shoot Goals! So far, the children have learned the concept of dribbling and the concept of switching feet while maintaining possession of the soccer ball. Each child will have a preference/comfort level with switching the ball between feet. Set up the soccer goal at a 90 degree angle from C2 (approximately 10 feet from C2). All children will start at C1 and will dribble to C2, switching possession between feet whenever they want. They will round/turn past C2 headed towards the goal. The coach should be standing a few feet away from the goal and should instruct the child at what distance he/she should kick the goal from. The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept of dribbling, alternating feet, and how to strike the ball for a goal! Reward Each child earns a Level 1 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that! 2
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 2 Value of the Day: Positive Attitude is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of having a positive attitude is and follow with this example: When your team is down by 2 goals going into the second half, it is hard to be happy or have a good attitude about the game. With that being said, it is important to have a positive attitude and encourage your team because the game is not over until it is over! If your attitude is poor and all your teammates see that, they are going to be discouraged. If your attitude is good and your teammates see that, they will be encouraged and will feed off of your positive energy. Let s stay positive, work as a team, and get back in this game! See attached diagram Around the cone Pick up the Pace! The day s drills are going to be extremely similar to the first week of the workshop. The objective is to heighten the pace and get the children more comfortable with the basics. Set up cone one (C1) approximately 10 feet away from cone two (C2). Instead of splitting the group into two lines (one at each cone), keep all of them in one line beginning at C1. Each child should dribble the ball while in a jog. They are to circle around C2 and return to C1. The pace should be faster than Week 1 and they should also be alternating feet while dribbling. All children will have one turn. See attached diagram Bigger Kicks Put some leg into it! When dribbling with the soccer ball at a running pace, the ball needs to be kicked further in front of the player so that they can be in a full stride while running. Small kicks only allow the player to move at a jogging pace and makes it easy for defender s to pursue. In an open stretch of field/grass, measure out about 20 feet between C1 and C2. The drill must emphasize the child kicking the ball further to assist them in opening up their stride. Children will begin at C1 and will finish at C2. All children will have one turn. 10 minutes See attached diagram Dribble and Pass Go for Goals! The concept of passing ties in to the concept of teamwork, but last week was too soon to introduce the concept. This week, we will provide the children with a quick introduction to passing the ball to a teammate. Set up C1 about 20 feet away from the goal. Set up C2 approximately halfway between C1 and the goal and about 5 feet off the direct path between the two. Split the children into two lines with half at C1 and half at C2. The concept of the drill is for one child to begin running from C1 towards the goal. The first child in line at C2 will pass the ball into the path of the child coming from C1 and then he/she will finish off by scoring a goal. Each child should then go to the end of the line of the other cone. Each child will have one opportunity to pass and one opportunity to score. The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept of dribbling fast, put more distance between them and the ball while running, and how to pass the ball to a teammate for a goal scoring opportunity! Reward Each child earns a Level 2 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that! 2
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 3 Value of the Day: Effort is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of giving maximum effort is and follow with this example: We talked about it before, but just to make sure you were listening, how much effort should we give for our teammates on every play? We need to give them 100% of our effort on every play. If you think about your teammate giving 100% effort, you will want to give the same. Just in case you were wondering, to give maximum effort means to run as fast as you can or to never give up on a play even if it seems hopeless. If you have a positive attitude, are all working as a team, and everyone is giving 100% effort on every play, there are very few games you won t be on the winning sideline! See attached diagram Pass to a Player Let s be a team! The drill is very simple. Line the children up in two lines facing each other. There should be one ball to every two players paired together. The goal is for the children to pass the ball between one another repetitively to practice the act of passing. Proper form of kicking the ball (with the side of the foot more than the front) should be in practice. Allow the minimum of for the drill. See attached diagram Passing to a Moving Player No time to stand still! Line the children up in two lines standing next to each other. Basically, they should still be in the same pairs that were used for the first drill but now they are going to be in line (lines should have about 5-8 feet between them). They both begin at the front of the line jogging straight towards Coach who is standing at approximately 15 feet distance. The two players should spend the distance passing the ball softly back and forth. This is for the purpose of learning to lead the teammate as well as simple passing. 10 minutes See attached diagram Hot Potato Get the ball out hot! This drill is in the form of a game that should be a little bit more fun for the children. Form a circle with all the children. The Coach will then stand in the middle. Coach will kick the ball to the children along the perimeter of the circle. The goal of each child is to get the ball passed back into the Coach s possession very quickly. Just like in Hot Potato, each child should not hold onto the ball for more than a second. The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept of passing to a teammate, passing to a moving player, and how to get the ball out quickly! Reward Each child earns a Level 3 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that! 2
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 4 Value of the Day: Control is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of having self-control is and give them the following example: Self-control is a very important value for everyone to understand, even adults! For the sport of soccer, self-control comes into play in many different ways. The most important is when you get angry. Say someone on the soccer field pushes you or kick the ball at you. We both know that is not a very nice way to treat anybody and we wouldn t act that way but they did to you! Do you push back? Of course you don t push back. You have to exercise self-control, not get angry or mad, and just go talk to someone of authority to handle the situation. You never want to get in a situation where you could hurt your team or yourself because you didn t have control! See attached diagram Pick a Player and pass So many options! This drill is similar to the drill of the last class called Hot Potato. Form the children in a circle but instead of the coach standing in the middle and standing in place, you should be acting as a defender that will slowly move towards the child with the possession of the ball. Each child will need to pass the ball to another in the circle and do so quickly so that the Coach (the defender) does not steal the ball. We are using the concept of Keep Away to help the children understand the importance of quick decision making in sports. See attached diagram Leading the Player The Path to Success! This drill is for the goal of teaching each child what it means to lead a teammate with a pass. This may have been explained at an earlier point, but this drill will emphasize on this concept. Set up 3 cones in a triangle with about 10 feet between each. Form two even lines and line the children up at C1 and C2. Both lines should face C3 as both will be advancing towards C3 during the drill. The player at C1 will begin their dribble towards C3 at the same time as the player at C2 starts running towards C3. Once the player with possession reach no more than half way, the Coach should instruct for the child to pass the ball towards C3. The purpose is for the ball and Player 2 to meet at C3 at the same time. Each player should then go to the end of the other line. Each player with give and receive a pass. 10 minutes Scrimmage Let s learn the game setting! Set up a scrimmage setting but do not engage the children in a full scrimmage. The purpose is to get the children a basic understanding of the game setting and how the field is set up. Explain how some of the previous skills learned apply to the game and get them excited to play a scrimmage the next class. A good thing to do to get the children excited is to assign them to a Team Red and a Team Blue for the scrimmage the next week. They are to remember the team they are assigned and it gives them something to look forward to all week. The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept of picking the best player to pass to, leading your teammates, and way a team is going to set up for a real game! Reward Each child earns a Level 4 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that!
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 5 Value of the Day: Drive is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of motivation is and give them the following example: To be driven is to be motivated to do well for your team! It is important to give maximum effort and to have a positive attitude for your team but you won t be able to do that without having the right motivation. In soccer, a lot of players are motivated by competition or simply the love of the game. For you guys, I want you to be motivated to just have fun and play well for your teammates. If you can do that, you will love coming out here every week and giving your all as a member of the team. Keep that drive to do well every day! 10 minutes See attached diagram Choose Your Spot Learning the positions! Set the game field as if you were to start a scrimmage. The children have to understand, even if only slightly, that there are positions and the sport is not just about running all over the place all the time. In the back of your Coach s Curriculum Guide - Soccer, there is a diagram of the field and all the positions. Explain briefly the positions and excite the children about each and every one. Once the importance of each position is understood, start asking the children which position they would like to try. You will have children asking to try and the same position. In this case, start one player in the position and switch them partially through your first scrimmage. It is the Coach s responsibility to help the child find their best position so do not be afraid to suggest a different position for the child. Technique Practice makes perfect! Let s do a quick overview of some drills the kids have done. Practice makes perfect and we don t want to forget how to do any of the skills we are learning! Let s check the technique on the kick/pass with each kid. Make sure they are kicking the ball properly. Practice Shooting/Scrimmage It is time to do a quick scrimmage! Field should already be set up and everything ready to go. They are still learning their positions so this is very much so an instructional scrimmage. A short taste should do the trick! The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept of the duties of the different positions on the field. Reward Each child earns a Level 5 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that! 2
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 6 Value of the Day: Focus is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of focus is and give them the following example: To remain focused means to be concentrated on what is important all the time. In sports, you have to remain focused on the goal that your team set out for that day or that competition. A good example of staying focused is during practice! When Coach is talking to you and trying to tell you something important for a drill or for the game coming up that week, if you are not focused on what is being said, you may be unprepared going into the game. It is very important to stay focused all the time do what you are supposed to be doing! 10 minutes See attached diagram Dribble, Pass, Shoot Time to review! Reviewing the previous drills we have done is important! Line the children up in one straight line at C1 approximately 20 feet away from the goal. Jog alongside of each child as they approach the goal. They should dribble the ball with both feet, pass the ball to you (the Coach), you pass it back, and they shoot a goal. Keep a close eye on technique at all times! 10 minutes Scrimmage Let s see it in action! A full length 10 minute scrimmage to test the skills of our up and coming athletes. Now that we have done a quick review of everything, pay attention to habits at a game speed. Stay highly involved in instruction and help them with corrections as they go along. Have fun! The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept of dribbling, passing, and shooting all put together in game action. Reward Each child earns a Level 6 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that! 2
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 7 Value of the Day: Sportsmanship is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of sportsmanship is and give them the following example: Has anyone ever told you to be a good sport? Across all sports that you will play in your life, sportsmanship is important to have. Sportsmanship means to have a good attitude and respect towards your team, the opponent, and the game. An example of good sportsmanship would be to help up a player from the other team when they get knocked down or to not get upset or have a fit when your team doesn t win. We want to always show our team and our coach that we have a great attitude when playing the game and that we have respect for everyone on the field every day! 10 minutes See attached diagram Dribble, Pass, Shoot Time to review! Reviewing the previous drills we have done is important! Line the children up in one straight line at C1 approximately 20 feet away from the goal. Jog alongside of each child as they approach the goal. They should dribble the ball with both feet, pass the ball to you (the Coach), you pass it back, and they shoot a goal. Keep a close eye on technique at all times! 10 minutes Scrimmage Let s see it in action! A full length 10 minute scrimmage to test the skills of our up and coming athletes. Now that we have done a quick review of everything, pay attention to habits at a game speed. Stay highly involved in instruction and help them with corrections as they go along. Have fun! The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept of dribbling, passing, and shooting all put together in game action. Reward Each child earns a Level 7 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that! 2
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Soccer Week 8 Value of the Day: Self-confidence is the value of the day! Ask the children what their understanding of what having self-confidence means and give them the following example: Self-confidence is very important for us to have. What that means is that you have to believe in yourself the way your teammates believe in you. If you are on the field and you are telling yourself that you aren t going catch the ball before it is even thrown or that you aren t fast enough to keep up with someone else, you have already lost the battle in your mind. You have to believe in your ability and you have to trust that you have put in the time during practice in order to be ready to compete on the field each week. Simply believe! 10 minutes Pick your favorite skill Show us what you got! Bring all the children together to start the day and go over all the concepts we have gone over since the beginning. Go over the field, the ball work, the positions, etc. Go through to each kid and ask them to show the group what their favorite new skill is whether it is shooting a goal or something a little trickier that they learned. Have fun with this. Let them show off a little bit! 10 minutes Scrimmage We are all Champions! One last game to put it all together on the field! Let the children play and have fun and at this point you should see some of the technique coming through in the game. Great job Coaches! 10 minutes The Coach should discuss all the drills performed by the children during the session. Each child should have a solid understanding of the concept how to play soccer! Reward Each child earns a Level 8 Pass Sticker Coaches should fill out a performance card for each child to take home for parental review. It is important for the parents to see weekly reminders of the program and this is the way to do that! Season award celebration! 30 minutes
N Zone Junior Coach Curriculum Guide Inclimate Weather Plan Should the weather become a concern, all Coaches should follow the instructions listed below: - Assess the current and future weather situation at least 1 hour prior to the day s workshop. 1) The workshop cannot be held outside if the inclimate weather includes: Medium to Heavy Rain Lightning Medium to Heavy Snowfall Hail High/Severe Winds Other obvious unsafe conditions (flooding, tornados, etc.) 2) Should the local Weather Advisory System provide a Severe Weather Warning or make the suggestion to stay indoors, Coaches must not hold the workshop outside. - Speak with the school/center supervisor to inform them about the weather concern. 1) Discuss the possibility of moving the workshop inside in an appropriate space. This should have been previously discussed prior to the beginning of the 8-week program as a precaution. 2) If moving the day s activities inside is not a possibility, discuss the rescheduling of the workshop with your owner/ manager as well as the school/center supervisor.
N Zone Junior Drill Diagrams Soccer Week 1 Drills 1 and 2: Soccer Week 2
Soccer Week 3 Soccer Week 4
Soccer Review Diagram 1: Diagram 2: