I coach my daughter's rec league soccer team and we are making the move from 4v4 to 7v7 with a goalie this fall. Does the board have any tips on drills that I can run in practice? We will have 10 girls on the roster with most, if not all, having played before. Any websites that offer videos on how to structure a practice or books that yall recommend? Thanks!

Ttt as I have same questions.

1. Find the five drills the kids have the most fun with and do them repeatedly.
2. Have practice close to a Tex-Mex restaurant with good margaritas and get one parent to lead the charge there every night.
3. Get the kids to pour water on themselves right before the parents show up from the bar so they're drenched with a smile and the parents are buzzing.

<LOCK THREAD>

I coached my sons soccer teams through elementary school. I moved them into club soccer as they reached middle school. Looking back, I had more fun and laughs in those rec games then I did at any other point in their soccer "careers" and I really do miss the simplicity and innocence of those times.

There are lots of videos on Youtube for U9 soccer but I would keep a few things in mind when selecting a few. Pick drills that keep everyone moving. There are some really good ones you see being done by highly trained academy kids. However, when trying to do them at the rec level with novice soccer players, you will simply lose half your kids. If they start standing around confused and getting bored, you will have a hard time reeling them back in.

Pick drills that focus more on individual improvement as opposed to positing and team play. If your kids can win most of their 1v1s, you wiil have a more successful year but more importantly each player will get better. One of my most successful drills was dividing the team into two and pairing up opposing players at midfield of a shortened field with 2 pop up goals at each end (you need to invest in some pennies BTW). The opposing players/pairs line up back to back holding a ball between thier shoulders. When you say "Go", all the pairs turn around at the same time. Players have to quickly find and win the ball from the person they were paired with and then drill past and shoot. Once a pairs' ball is out of play, they then help their teammates. The team with the fewest balls in net has to collect all the balls. Its good drill because the kids get used to contact and using their body to shield the ball. It then combines dribbling into space and shooting (or defending and counterattacking) and then finally looking around for the next play to get involved with. No one is standing around. Make your better players go against better players and weaker vs weaker so even the weaker players can get a sense of success.

Designate a player to handle all throw ins. Preferably a defender, never attacker/forward, who can throw the ball far and can then run back into defensive position. Otherwise, you will have everyone either standing around waiting for someone else to do it or two teammates fighting about whose turn it is. Instruct that player to throw the ball towards the opponents goal every time, as far as they can, and as fast as they can. Do not throw backwards and do not wait for someone to "get open". Speed kills. If your kids can win 1v1s, it won't matter. I can't tell you how many easy goals we scored catching the opposing team flat-footed. You can create easy opportunities to win a ball in front of the others team net with speed of play on throw ins. Those players you designate are the only ones you need to work with on that skill which will save valuable practice time working on ball handling skills for everyone. Additionally, your attacking players will start to anticipate the play and will be lining up for the run as soon as the ball goes out of bounds.

Most importantly, have your snack schedule set up and make sure it is followed. Your kids won't remember the score of the game the next day. However, they will ruminate about how some jerk forgot their snacks all week.

Enjoy the ride and cherish the memories:

A couple of quick things:
1. Teach the concept of space. It's no longer herd soccer on a small field. Once they get the concept of running to space instead of to the ball carrier, the world opens up! Watching them learn to pass and see runs is a thing of beauty!
2. Always keep them moving and active. The step up really requires a lot more fitness.

Thanks for the tips! I like the idea of the back to back drill, I will be implementing that this week. I definitely struggle with how to teach the players but not have the rest just standing around watching while giving one on one attention.

I was able to coach the girls in 4 on 4 last year and totally agree on fast throw ins. I taught them that whoever was closest to the sideline was to throw it in as quickly and as far downfield as they could, even if no one was there, and it lead directly to multiple goals. Will definitely keep that strategy going.

I had a suggestion to play the best players on defense, which I wasn't 100% sure about. I'll probably try and play 1 forward, 3 midfielders, and 2 defenders, though we will see how well they keep their positions. I thought that I would play one of my best players at each level.

We only have 8 girls for 7 on 7 (2 of the 10 dropped out before the first practice), so I think they'll end up in good shape no matter what.

Adding, thank you all for the suggestions to keep them moving, 1v1 and some of the drills/concepts!!

Quinn, curious to see how your experience on better/weaker positional players work out. We start practice Aug 26, first game Sep 14 (2 practices until games start, but will get in some scrimmages in last few).

First time coaching soccer (I have twins in u8 and 1 in U10, both coed) and never played. So keeping it simple and fun (for them and me) while building some positive skills and character is my goal.

I'm a big fan of using a rectangular training area for everything we do. It's between 15 yards by 25ish yards and we can do everything within that rectangle. We work on dribbling in the area, around the area, and play games that require dribbling. Passing works as well.

Everything is built around not standing in line and getting as many touches on the ball as possible. I also want them to work primarily on 1v1 moves. Americans love passing but the 1v1 is more important for long term development. Passing to teammates is pretty easy.

I'd do the following structure:
1. warm up

2. skill practice: have them dribble and do a skill (skill difficulty depending on level of group; emphasis on keeping head up)

3. open play (beneficial for kids to learn creativity, responsibility and overall understanding of the game):
4v4 (3 players on field 1 goalie. switch goalie so every player plays goalie) this is where opening to space plays a role and you can communicate that to players and freeze play if need be

4. 5v3 (4 players on field, one keeper vs 3 defenders on field. keeper on big goal and set up 2 smaller goals for the attacking team to score on) switch and rotate players as needed.

I may do 5v3 first and then do 4v4 at the end of practice just to let them play and have fun at the end. It all depends on skill level and objectives for the team. even though it's rec and they're falling in love with the game, you'd still want them to develop competitiveness in case they want to go to the next level. I like doing a lot of playing and not coordination or standing drills. I want to keep the players moving at all times and have them learn through trial and error.

This thread is fantastic! I really wish I could forward this to my daughter's (8) coach. She had a fantastic coach last year and this year is 90 minute practice with about half being the coach talking and team standing around

**eyeroll**

Rick Rambis said:

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This thread is fantastic! I really wish I could forward this to my daughter's (8) coach. She had a fantastic coach last year and this year is 90 minute practice with about half being the coach talking and team standing around

**eyeroll**

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You might want to remind him that the person doing the work is doing the learning.

Sorry I missed this thread earlier. Lots of great advice already. Like some have said, the more touches to a ball you can get kids, the better. When I coached younger players we started off doing individual ball control drills to get warmed up: dribbling, juggling, toe touches and bells (tapping the ball back and forth with the insides of the feet), tossing it up in the air and trapping it. Then we'd stretch a bit and continue our ball handling practice with partners now: short passes, toss to trap, longer passes with all foot surfaces and moving around the field together. Lots of dribbling and chase games, some tag or elimination games, but never letting kids sit out long if they got "out."

Minigames are also great at this age. 4v4 or 5v5 with no keepers. Score in small goals or by stopping the ball on a line. String six passes together or something like that. If you need to incorporate a keeper, have team defending a large goal and a team attacking. Defending team can score by winning the ball and progressing it under control past a line of cones. Teach restarts line goal kicks and corner kicks and throw ins using those games too.

Lots of movement, no waiting in lines.

Should I teach offsides at practice this week or not worry about it? I assume most teams will play a defender way back, so I'm thinking that I won't worry about it until its called. I'll tell a few of the players playing forward, but not spend time in practice teaching the entire team yet.

Lots of great input here!

I agree with what jeffk says above. Limit lines, keep things moving, and I also do the juggle / skill dribble / trap warmups every couple practices with my youth teams. But I don't spend too much precious practice time dribbling through cones, etc. I teach them the skills, then encourage them to spend time at home working on these.

Rotate keepers at this age. I usually rotate at halftime, and change it up game to game. Usually tougher with girls at this age. Less will want to do it. And you don't want to throw someone in there scared. The boys are typically more willing to do it.

In theory, passing is easy. But decision making is not. I like to practice scenarios that will happen in games and give my players dozens and dozens of opportunities to deal with these decisions. Building out from the back for example. Attacking situations (counter attacks, crosses). Odd man small sided games are good, 5 on 3 for example. 4 goal games using pugg goals are great and help teach the spacing concept mentioned at the beginning of this thread.

Most importantly, you and others on this thread seem to have the right perspective that this is supposed to be fun. Challenge the girls to better themselves, but remind them to smile and enjoy it too!

Quinn said:

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Should I teach offsides at practice this week or not worry about it? I assume most teams will play a defender way back, so I'm thinking that I won't worry about it until its called. I'll tell a few of the players playing forward, but not spend time in practice teaching the entire team yet.

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Offside is tough. Most won't get it initially. Grab an assistant coach / parent and demonstrate a few scenarios. See if the kids can guess whether it's offside or not. Keep it relatively short of course, you'll lose them if it turns into a lecture. Then let them play 4v4 but with offsides in play. And freeze them if it occurs, and quickly explain it. They'll eventually get it. Scrimmages are good to work on this too if you have another team you could pull in, that way they can see how it looks in 7v7.

Most 7v7 leagues have a build out line, and you can't be offside before the line (works like the midfield line in 9v9 or 11v11). Generally good to know so you don't mistakenly call your player back or nudge the ref about a perceived "missed call."

What kind of drills do you do for building out from the back?

I coach my son's U6 team and a local academy put on a free coaching clinic for U9 and under. He grew up in Ireland(played low level pro soccer there) and his assistant was a young guy from Malta who had coached one of their youth national teams.

Many coaches trickled in late and inevitably their first question was about passing drills. It was pretty funny to watch more and more lifeforce drain from their face every time it was asked. Short answer, they never work on passing or tactics. Only individual skill, and to a lesser extent, space as they get a little older. When asked how old before they'd work on passing, he said 13. I think he was exaggerating for effect, but only a little.

The kids they were using for demonstration that day were U7 boys I think. They did try to get them to spread out but they didn't let it bog down the practice. They would be doing drills and quick games, when the kids packed up too much they would stop, tell the kids to find space and throw the ball in to the kid that found the most space. That's it. Don't overthink it and don't preach.

The biggest takeaways

1. The goal is as many touches as possible.
2. No passing or tactics.
3. 1v1 time is important
4. Keep them moving and working. Not standing around listening to you. If your instructions can't be given/understood quickly, they're bad instructions.
5. SCRIMMAGE - Always have the last big chunk of practice as controlled scrimmages.

As someone that only played organized baseball that last one was totally foreign to me. We almost never scrimmaged because it was a waste of time and prevented everyone from getting work in. We took infield/outfield, batting practice, and worked situationally all the time. That's because baseball is impossible to play if you can't do those things.

Every baseball player in America knows tactics and situational baseball by the time they're 7 years old, because that's the ethos of the game. The action stops for several seconds with every pitch. You can look around and asses what's going on. Outs, the count, men on base, score etc. Football too. Play stops, you can look around and assess personnel, down and distance, the clock, the score etc.

Soccer is not that way. It's a 3D geometry problem that never stops and where all the variables change by the second. An 8-9 year old can't learn that from a coach's lecture. They can only learn it under live fire repetitions.

Quinn said:

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What kind of drills do you do for building out from the back?

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Line up for a goal kick. I recommend splitting the field to start (so if you play a 2-3-1, that would be a keeper, 1 center back, center mid, 1 wing, and the striker), then working up to your full 7 (you'll eventually want to work on switching the field).

Play it out against air, with a focus on key principles like getting the ball wide and taking the space that's given. Give the team a goal to meet, such as getting the ball to the striker and scoring in a pugg goal on the other side of the field.

Then you can start adding opposing defenders 1 at a time. Make sure they start behind the build up line, but then just let them pressure the ball, and force the offensive team into quick decisions. If they steal the ball, they can try to score on the keeper. This whole exercise will also help your team learn how to press high as a team. They'll realize that 4 players swarming to the same spot isn't the best strategy.

This is helpful, thanks! I think I'll work on the goal kick situation today. Trying to introduce a few things today that will happen during the game so that they aren't totally confused when those moments come up.

Interesting that passing doesn't seem to be taught at all. We do a little bit, just bc I need the girls to actually be able to kick the ball correctly, but that's fascinating that club teams aren't even worrying about it.

Their overall point is that from a development perspective, they can teach anyone tactics or how to pass. And any kick of the ball effectively works on your passing skills.

But by 14 or 15 if they haven't learned great on the ball control and how to win 1v1, they're not going anywhere.

Sorry if this has already been mentioned. I coached my daughter's youth team several seasons. And got lessons from coworkers from Europe that really knew there stuff.

Let's see what I remember.

First no lines at practice. Use drills where all players are constatnly involved. Ball on their foot the entire practice. There are plenty of websites to find drills at this age to accomplish this one. Individual. Partner, group drills.

Goalie. Take turns with every player playing goalie. At this age no one knows where they might play one day. Players need to play every where. Also have fun coaching goalie. Tell them this is their chance to act crazy. Get big. Get nuts.

Make it fun. My last practice of the season, we did a scrimmage where everyone played. You just might need to remind some adults this is fun. Don't relive their glory days.

There is a club near me that uses this philosophy. It's impressive to watch the young players that are very skilled. But it's definitely not for everybody. And I wouldn't recommend this approach for rec or grassroots levels.

The club I've seen that does this, doesn't teach passing because they want each player to advance the ball with the dribble, which means winning a lot of 1v1 battles (or often times 1v3). Their games are interesting to watch. It's just a different way to solve the 3D geometry problem that is soccer, like you referenced.

Their older teams do well, but a lot of kids burn out on this program long before then. But this approach is geared more towards kids that are going on to play at colleges and professional academies, so the club is achieving its goal.

Quinn said:

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Interesting that passing doesn't seem to be taught at all. We do a little bit, just bc I need the girls to actually be able to kick the ball correctly, but that's fascinating that club teams aren't even worrying about it.

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This is not the case for most club teams. Yes there are some that focus heavily on individual foot skills, and are successful. Passing is taught at clubs - the difference between passing to a teammate's feet & a through ball, crosses, playing out from the back under pressure, making the right soccer decision quickly.

I will say tactics are different. Passing does not equal tactics. We do limit tactics until the older age groups (U13 or so). For younger age groups, we have a formation or a shape, and rely on general principles, such as find space, get the ball wide, get crosses into the box, introduce the concept of playing negative.

I do like to incorporate first touch drills into training sessions, just because it's so important. But it's built into the passing and team drills we do. Then I tell them to go work on their own - kick against a wall for 20 minutes a day, or whatever they can do to get as many touches as possible.

First game went well - we tied 2-2. The coach for the other team told me afterwards that they won 9-0 last week, so that made me feel pretty good about things. Need to work on a few situation things (goal kicks and getting the ball upfield, spacing and keeping your position especially), but happy with how the girls' first 7 on 7 game went!

a good quote to coach by:
"The problem in football is you learn how to play the wrong way round - first execution, then decision making & perception last."
-Arsene Wenger

Passing is key for soccer, but knowing why, when and where is more beneficial then the how. I grew up in Mexico and played in concrete courts for a big part of my life. Never joined a club once I made it over here as we didn't have the means, but skills and perception are still there. You cannot teach perception by talking, the kids HAVE to feel the pressure, see the spaces and be creative to pass to those spaces. Game like scenarios under stress is what opens their eyes to creativity.

Quinn said:

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First game went well - we tied 2-2. The coach for the other team told me afterwards that they won 9-0 last week, so that made me feel pretty good about things. Need to work on a few situation things (goal kicks and getting the ball upfield, spacing and keeping your position especially), but happy with how the girls' first 7 on 7 game went!

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For spacing and keeping position, line them up in their positions on half the field, play the ball to your keeper and have them work it out of the back to the front by passing, switch the field and have them work it back to the keeper and then repeat. Once they have the spacing and passing down, apply pressure with 1 or 2 of your additional players so they can see how it looks in a game. If the defenders steal the ball, let them try to score so your 7 have to get used to transitioning from offense to defense.

The team has played two more games - won 4-0 (could have been way worse) and lost 4-1 (without our best player). The team that beat us yesterday was skilled and kept good spacing - I doubt that they'll lose a game based on the scores so far. Still trying to figure out how to teach spacing, as the current coaching and drills aren't catching on (left midfield ends up way at the right defense, forward is back in the defensive box, etc). Overall a good experience and the girls are getting better, just need to keep improving.

We also added three U8 girls a few weeks ago, so I'm working to get them up to speed. It's a good group of girls and I think this season should be a good learning experience for all of them as we make the step up to 7 on 7. I've been subbing a lot during games to try and keep them fresh.

I've used this in the past with success.

Quinn said:

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The team has played two more games - won 4-0 (could have been way worse) and lost 4-1 (without our best player). The team that beat us yesterday was skilled and kept good spacing - I doubt that they'll lose a game based on the scores so far. Still trying to figure out how to teach spacing, as the current coaching and drills aren't catching on (left midfield ends up way at the right defense, forward is back in the defensive box, etc). Overall a good experience and the girls are getting better, just need to keep improving.

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Well, the kids will let you know where they're comfortable if you listen to them. It's not always verbally. Try the left mid at right back for a half. See how it works. Try the forward at defense for a game. See how it works. Then coach them in practice about the importance of playing their position, doing their responsibility and trusting their teammates to do their roles also. NOBODY should be locked into a certain position at this age. This could also help teach spacing as players see the field from a different POV.

Some of the best professionals in the world have position flexibility and aren't locked into one spot. Sergio Busquets started as a center mid before dropping back to center defense and now he's back at center mid, for example. Tyler Adams has played 3-4 different positions for USMNT over the years.

I shared this with the dads coaching my sons 8u team. He wasn't super keen on it but he was out of town last night so we did it anyways. Boys seemed to like it. Tried to keep them popping the ball around.

I think I must have worded things poorly. I don't have anyone locked into a position - every girl plays all of the different positions (forward, midfield, defense). The thing that I want to work on, which I think the video posted above will be a good drill for, is once they're in that position is staying in that position to try and maintain some spacing on the field. There are often times where we steal the ball while the other team is attacking, but every single player is below the build out line, so we don't have a midfielder or forward to pass the ball to. I know this is a learning year, which is mostly how I am treating it.

Thanks for sharing - I will try this at practice this week.

Buy cones, practice pinnies, and two pop up goals

Keep the long game in mind. Many people will give you advice on how to win more games but that is not always the best way to develop your players as soccer players. An example of bad advice: "On throw-ins only throw it towards your goal and get the ball and throw it in fast." This is helpful to get more wins but it doesn't teach them to think like soccer players. Many times a thinking soccer player will make the same decision but they will know why they made the decision. Someone that is just taught to throw it in fast and toward the other goal won't ever learn how to make good decisions. Yes when U9 kids are given choices to make they slow down and make poor decisions, but those are teaching moments that will make them better players long term.

Avoid lines as much as possible.

As they arrive, have them play small sided scrimmage with the pop up goals. This encourages them to get to practice early so they can play before practice starts. It also helps you to avoid the dreaded line of kids taking turns taking a shot on goal with a stationary ball at the goal while you wait for everyone to show up. (this is valuable time that can be used developing skills with the ball, don't waste it)

Do a warm up at the beginning of every practice. Ideally they learn to do it mostly on their own which gives you the freedom to set up the next drill or two. They will need to be watched and re-taught the drills at first and then you still need to keep an eye on them or they will get lazy and do them poorly. Don't let them get lazy and do them halfway. Use this as an opportunity to teach them about the importance of paying attention to the details and always doing their best.

Make the warm up you do at the beginning of every practice the same warm up you do at the beginning of every game. This helps them to calm their nerves before the beginning of a game because they know exactly how to warm up.


Suggested warm up:

-A few dynamic stretches: Sweeps, high knees, butt kicks, open the gate/ Close the gate (lines are only 2 deep, first group go, second group go)
-Toe Taps and Tick Tocks (also called foundation)- these are two of the foundations of ball control. I had my team do 20 toe taps at the end line, dribble with speed to the 18 (top of the penalty box) do 20 toe taps, dribble with speed to the halfway line 20 to taps. Then do the same thing on the way back. Have them do this twice.
-some kind of dribbling around cones. (again line is only two deep)


Drills that are mostly games. As much as possible, make the drills you do have an element of competition. That encourages speed of play and makes it more fun. Remind them to do it as fast as they can and slow enough to still do it right.


A few drills that work well

My top two for that age

Dribble around a cone & pass-

Dribble across a square -