Our goal is to develop players’ basic skills. We can’t expect these young players to master everything all the time, they will get it over time.
Objectives
- Have fun
- Get as many touches on the ball as possible
- Basic skills
- Individual and pairs activities (mostly individual)
A focus on helping players develop basic skills and very basic tactics is critical as it will serve as the foundation for skills and tactics that will be introduced when these players move on to the next age group. The key focus is still the technical aspects of the game and to ensure all the players are having fun.
Technical Skills
- Dribble with all sides of both feet (inside, outside, sole)
- Dribble out of trouble
- Dribble past someone
- Changes of direction and turns
- Soft first touch
- Introduction to shielding – Players should develop proper technique to shield the balls from opponents
- Introduce proper shooting technique (with inside of foot and laces)
- Introduce passing
- Introduce juggling with both feet (allow one bounce between juggles if needed) – needs a lot of homework!
Players should spend equal time developing both feet – this is very important but difficult to implement!!!
Dribbling is the Technical Focus Area
The most important skill for young players is dribbling. The ability to dribble the ball is absolutely critical for young players as it is the foundation for all the other basic skills of football such as receiving, passing, and shooting. When a player is comfortable with the ball at his or her feet, the game becomes easier and more fun. It takes many years to be a confident dribbler and the process takes a lot of trial and error on the part of the young player. In the beginning, there will be a lot more failed attempts at dribbling than successes in both training and games. But the truth is that with each attempt to dribble the ball, the player is figuring out what works and what doesn’t work.
We need to be patient with the young players as they learn how to dribble. There will be many times, especially during games, when we will have the urge to yell “kick it away” or something like that to the player, but we should refrain from this as it will likely send the wrong message and discourage him or her from learning this very important skill and using it in a game-like environment.
We also need to encourage players in this age group to take risks and be creative in their dribbling.
Tactical Skills
- No Game Tactics
There is, however, some time spent to encourage problem-solving and making decisions for themselves. These are critical tactical elements in young players.
Simple 1v1 games/duels can help and these are used in most sessions to allow the players to get plenty of opportunities to figure out how to dribble past an opponent and how to stop one.
Psychological Development
We want to have an environment where players can grow in confidence, express themselves, try new things and have fun while doing it.
- Keep it fun
- Young players need adult approval
- Positive coaching
- Encourage imagination and creativity
- Part of the group
The most important aspect of psychological development for young players in this group is for them to have fun. We strive to create an environment where the players, and the coach, are all having fun.
Young players are constantly seeking adult approval. As such, positive coaching is critical for this age group. In addition, positive coaching can help build the young player’s confidence, which is very important in their psychological development.
Physical Development
- This is not a priority
- Just play
