How to train
5 Year Olds Soccer
Coaching youth soccer using fun soccer games for the under 6 soccer player
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hello and welcome to soccer coaching
blog.com my name is Paul walmsley
delighted that you visited our website
today and hopefully become a member of
our soccer coaching community I want to
ask answer a question that we have polls
on the blog just recently from Emma and
she was asking about coaching beginning
players three four five six year olds
I've got a lot of experts in the area I
set up a mini soccer program years ago
they had about sixty eighty kids on a
Saturday morning we built that up over
time with eventually about three hundred
kids a week in the clinics the main
thing with the little ones the babies or
the future whatever you want to call
them is to make sure you keep them
active and you keep them with a ball at
the feet obvious things to have avoid
are standing in lines lecturing them
because as soon as you start talking and
they start drifting away mentally I'm
picking their nose and whatever else
they're gonna do you've lost them so a
few things to give you some ideas some
ground rules one of the first things I
would do is talk to the parents and set
expectations and set standards of
behavior that's the right term what I
put across to the coach the parents was
for the next 45 minutes or an hour these
kids are mine you can have a cup of
coffee go under your grocery shopping
whatever you want to do but for 45
minutes to an hour just to enjoy the
fact that you're not responsible for
your kids I've got them that's hard at
first because parents want to still be
in control the little ones and be
yelling instructions from the sidelines
that kind of thing and that that's not
what we're looking for so the rules I
would give the parents are get them here
on in plenty of time don't have them
show up late make sure they have their
own soccer ball make sure they have a
water bottle make sure they got the Sun
cream on if necessary if it's the
opposite it's cold you know I was
working with one little girl one time
and I touched her hand it was like a
block of ice no wonder she wasn't
interested
that day so get the kids there early
suitably dressed suitable be prepared
have breakfast that kind of thing so
that's the responsibility of a parent
sounds the basics but I promise you it's
worth recapping once the players arrive
you've got to be full of enthusiasm
there's only one thing more is
contagious than enthusiasm and that's
the lack of enthusiasm so make sure
you're up for it make sure you're fired
up have your coffee whatever you need to
do they arrive immediately get them
effective so what I do is a technique or
a tip instead of using soccer balls we
get tennis balls out put them on the
floor they can't use their hands and
just give them a tennis ball what
that'll do is we'll get their attention
first of all it'll focus them and it'll
stop them just booting it and chasing
after it because you can't do that with
a tennis ball
as they arrived hey how's it going you
know high five you're looking great
let's go here's your tennis ball and
then get them doing that as the other
kids arrive they're gonna see what's
going on they're gonna be wanting to do
that as well and we immediately then
you've got the control of a bunch of
five and six-year-olds and you look like
a genius
do a lot of your skill work with the
tennis balls because the whole idea at
that level is to teach them not to just
smash the life out of the ball is to
teach them to do the opposite and to
have the lightest touch on the ball as
possible so by working with tennis balls
that gets them to touch the ball lightly
it gets them to use the bottom of the
feet sides of the feet the inside the
outside maybe the toe a little bit but
we're trying to avoid using that big toe
so that's your first tip very first few
tips actually talk to the parents how
the poets stay quiet from the sidelines
get the tennis balls out when they
arrive then when everyone's arrived and
you're ready to go let them go for a
quick drink we could just do whatever
need to do and then the parents are out
of the picture then tell the parents
that is the kid needs a drink it cannot
come running over to them until you say
otherwise you'll be working on some
great stuff you look to the side a half
of your kids that we are kid goes
running over for a drink catch the kid
I'm into a fun game we all end up doing
drills don't like with the ball
basically means moving the ball around
the officials are basically reacting
game
they're basically walls the players
being chased and they have to get to
somewhere to be safe the one I would
always start off with swimming and again
that doesn't mean they get the ball to
smash hit the chase after it they are
swimming with the balls so again you can
do this with tennis balls for the
appropriate sized balls a little mini
ball skills ball or size three and
they're basically taking little touches
and they're swimming in the sea you're
the shark you're the coach you're the
shock so what you're gonna do all of a
sudden you're gonna shout shark attack
and all the kids are gonna giggle and
scream and they have to dribble their
ball swim with their ball back to the
island and put their foot on the ball
then they're safe if they just kick the
ball towards the island it's gonna go
right through the back of the island
they're gonna be back in the sea so
again that's why we're doing this we
want them to be able to turn with the
ball lots of little touches get on the
island put the foot on it they're safe
you as the shark you're gonna chase them
you're not going to slide tackle and
hopefully you're just gonna chase them
and if you get a chance to pulp their
ball away out of the sea out of bounds
they then become a shock and they
immediately turn and chase after the
other swimmers it's a real basic game
the kids love it it gets the energy
going but the coaching points are
fantastic keep the ball close keep your
head up so you look at where the shark
is and you know where the island is when
the shark comes after you get there as
quick as you can but don't just boot
your ball take it on the control get
your foot on it and you're safe
so that shark attacks great beginning
game the kids love it
then you have there's a million other
alternatives to crab soccer space
invaders Pirates of the Caribbean you
can make them up you can make up
whatever is topical and current with the
latest Disney movie if you want so very
little games on you're in this area and
you're dribbling with the ball you've
got to get over there and you're gonna
get chased don't scare the life out of
them
yes I've had kids cry like kids maybe
even pee their pants I hope not but stop
slide tackling after the third week when
I got complaints obviously joking about
that one but but just get them in there
you've let the game of shark attack
they're buzzing well done maybe do it
two or three times and then right water
break you go running over to parents you
get between they get whatever they need
to be done to them straight away let's
go get my killing it back maybe a little
bit more skill work with the tennis ball
I get the side to two threes out or to
work with
another wall to break back in do another
fun game crap soccer that's a great one
that's one where you have them in two
you have an area and they start on one
line
and they've got out Vance dribble the
ball over to the other line and in
between you can start off with one of
the crabs and you're in that position
where you're a crab on the floor the
dribbling past you you kick the ball out
they become a crap excuse me a million a
million permutations of that once it
played the second non-directive games at
this point they've had a little bit of
skill at first with a tennis ball to get
them focused they've had a fun game like
shark attack they've had a wall to break
a bit more skill work another fun game
then you scrimmage now the scrimmage at
the end is what it's all about
especially the first thing that's what
it's all about and that's when you
really do talk to the person say no
yelling such as kick the ball obviously
the worst one I think is wrong way you
see a kid he looks up there's seven
players in front of him there's no space
the kids clever enough to think okay I'm
gonna go I'm not gonna go through that
pile of people I'm gonna come back here
a little bit and maybe go down this side
as soon as that kids smart enough to
come the other way
all the parents yell wrong way and he
goes okay fair enough I just go right
into trouble if the kids smart enough to
turn the opposite way into space
don't let the parents shout wrong way
he's doing the right thing or she's
doing the right thing if that kid turns
the opposite way smashes the ball in his
own call big deal celebrate the goal
well done the culture run over bad away
a balloon head next time stick it in
that goal that's all you need to say if
the kid smashes the ball on the net and
all sort of parents shout what are you
doing how fun is that for the kid so I
give him a break at the three and four
years old it couldn't stick getting the
wrong net
alright so in the 'scrimish what I do I
say you have 12 players nine players of
the mother no matter what it is three
teams so three threes or three fours
reds vs yellows blues on the sidelines
reds and yellows are played and you're
the coach you can play you can be
involved again don't beat seven players
and smash in the top corner I've done
that before I got in trouble as well
look good on video though I really did
so what you do is you help them
scrimmaging they're gonna be like
bumblebees of course and all you're
doing is talking to them a little bit
and maybe knocking the ball into some
space because they're all a bunch ball
around the ball there's all this space
around there just get in there and flick
it into some space they all go running
over and they do it again so you're just
managing that let him go off a couple of
minutes three minutes maybe if there's
been a goal scored great if not doesn't
matter then stop it yellows off Blues on
yellows are getting their water break
reds and blues are going for it do two
or three minutes get the Reds off bring
the yells back on so you're just
rotating don't have it were the team
that scores stays on because then you
get one team that dominates and there
were two teams ahead to drop we're not
keeping score we're just keeping them
busy if you get a chance in the
scrimmage to show off a video skills
have some fun of course do that do
something so fun with them they want to
see you be able to play the parents want
to see that you can play but it's not
about you it's just about them the kids
having some fun at the end of the
session once you'd done bring them in
high fives
make a big fuss of them maybe give them
some homework to do and I don't mean 30
laps around the block looking like that
but some ball work where the tennis ball
maybe because remember here in the US
they're gonna gonna practice once a week
maybe then
- they're not going to do it on their
own unless they're motivated to do so
because they've got video games and
computers and TV and all that kind of
stuff so maybe he before next week if
you get a chance can you practice little
this little simple skill give him a real
basic thing to work on if they haven't
done it when they come back next week
don't yell at them it's not a big deal
they're just little ones so that's a
typical mini soccer the future soccer
tots whatever you want to call your
basic obsession welcomed them with a big
grin and a lot of enthusiasm give them a
tennis ball to focus with do a
non-directive game water break bit more
skill work non-directive game scrimmage
high-five
get them out of here you want them
leaving reading the cheeks talking a
million miles an hour
parents thinking that's a great a great
session and telling their friends about
it for next week so that's what I would
do for the two three four or five year
olds and please leave us some comments
again we don't have all the answers
that's just what I've learnt over the
years if you have other ideas for us
please share them with us leave a
comment on the blog spread the word
using the social network buttons and
let's talk soccer
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