Transcript
U8 Soccer Games Handbook by Steven McNalley. ©
Points to Consider •Be aware of physical and mental limitations at this age level. •Keep in mind that this is a community soccer league not a competitve league. •The kids are here to have fun, be with their friends and be active. If they learn some soccer skills along the way, then that’s a bonus.
Choosing games for the U8 age group •This age group can be typified as being fastidious! They only are interested in what they consider to be good and are easily turned off to what they consider to be not worth their time. • Children are competitve and some are more physically aggressive than others in their age group. •The gap in skill level between children of the same age can be remarkable. You will get kids that have played for 3 or so years along side ones who have potentially never kicked a ball before. •Choose games or skills that give lots of touches on the ball. •Choose games that have a competitive element to them. •Avoid complicated descriptions. Instructions should be simple. •Use parents to help set up games. •Start to introduce some drills, just don’t use too many of them in one practice. •Do not spend too long on one game. •Choose games that are fun but also give the children a skill.
Fire Dance Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet •A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. •Have them start with the sole of one foot on top of the ball. •Now have them switch feet, placing the sole of the other foot on top of the ball. •Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed. •Once they are comfortable ask them how many they think they can do in 30 seconds. Time them and get them to count how many touches they get in that time period. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.
Rainbow Roll Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet •A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. •Have them start with the sole of one foot on top of the ball. •Now have them roll the ball with the sole of their foot so the ball moves across their body to the other foot. •The motion should follow from the inside sole of the foot to the outside sole of the foot. •Once the ball has rolled to the other foot they place the sole of that foot on top and repeat the motion back to the other foot. •Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed. •Once they are comfortable ask them how many they think they can do in 30 seconds. Time them and get them to count how many touches they get in that time period. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.
The Box Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet •A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. •Have them start with the ball between their feet. •Now have them tap the side of the ball with the inside of one foot so the ball moves across their body where they repeat the same motion with the other foot. •Tell them to keep their kness bent so they don’t look like a stiff puppet. •Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed. •Once they are comfortable ask them how many they think they can do in 30 seconds. Time them and get them to count how many touches they get in that time period. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.
The Triangle Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet •A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. •Have them start with the ball in front of their body and the sole of the right foot on top of the ball. •Now have them pull the ball back towards them with the sole of the foot. As the ball comes back have them tap the ball with the inside part of the right foot so the ball moves to the left foot. •When the ball comes to the left foot have them use the inside part of that foot to gently pass it in a forward diagonal to the right foot where it is stopped with the sole of that foot to complete the triangle. •Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed. •Once they are comfortable ask them how many triangles they think they can do in 1 minute. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful. •Now get them to go the other way starting with the left foot on top of the ball.
Pull back - Push Forward Objective: improve ball handling, dribbling and promote ankle flexibility. •A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. •Set up two cone lines 15 yards apart. •Have them start at one cone line with the ball in front of them and the sole of the right foot on top of the ball. •Now have them pull the ball back towards them with the sole of their right foot. As it comes back towards them get them to push it forward with the shoelaces of the same foot. •As the ball rolls forward the right foot comes to the ground and they take one step forward with the left before placing the sole of the right foot on top of the ball again to repeat the motion. •Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed. •Get them to go between the cone lines using as many pull back-push forward touches as they can. See if they can count the number they get. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. The good thing about this skill drill is that it is not the one that finishes first that wins but the one that takes the time to do it right. •Once they have the right foot mastered get them to use the other foot.
Variation:
•Switch feet after each pull back - push forward sequence.
Inside-Outside forward dribbling Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet •A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. •Have them start with the ball between their feet. •Now have them gently tap the side of the ball with the inside of one foot so the ball moves diagonally forward across their body. •As the ball moves across their body have them follow it and then get them to quickly cut the ball with the front outside part of the same foot so the ball moves diagonally forward in the other direction. •Get them to quickly follow it again and cut it back the other way with inside of the same foot. •Tell them to start slowly towards the cone line keeping the ball close and getting as many touches as possible. •The point is to do it right first then increase speed. •Once they are comfortable ask them how many touches they can do between the cone lines. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. The good thing about this skill drill is that it is not the one that finishes first that wins but the one that takes the time to do it right and get the most touches. •Once they have one foot mastered get them to use the other foot.
Gates Objective: Controlled dribbling. •A good warm up you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. •Use your cones and set up a series of gates in an area no larger than 15 by 20 yards. •A gate is two cones that are seperated by 2 feet. •All the kids have a ball. •On your go have them dribble through as many gates as they can in a 30 second period. Count down the last 10 seconds to get them going faster. •Ask them how many gates they managed to get through. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.
Red Light, Green Light Objective: controlled dribbling and learning skills. •A good warm up you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals. It has limitless add-ons depending on the skill of your players. •Set up two lines of cones (20 to 30 yards apart) that they know not to go beyond. When they get to these cone lines tell them to turn around and go to the other cone line. •All the kids have a ball. •The basic commands are; Red light (ball stopped with the sole of the shoe), Yellow light (dribbling slowly) and Green light (dribbling fast but in control). Transistioning from green light to red light will show which children are keeping the ball close. •You can add however many commands you like. Some suggestions; U-turns (turning the ball and moving in the opposite direction), Donuts (dribbling in a tight circle then dribbling straight again), Hot Rod (get them to do a fancy move that they make up), Backing up (pulling the ball backwards with the sole of the foot while walking backwards), you could set up a square of the same coloured cones and call it a parking lot (Blue parking lot for instance), place your net at one end and call it The Mall (they will naturally all try to pile inside!), add parents to the field and have them stand with their legs apart to become car washes (children pass their ball through the legs and collect it on the other side). •The skies the limit to what you can add to this game, just use your imagination.
Mud Monster Objective: Defending and heads up dribbling.
A good game to use at the begining of the U8 season but replace it with King of the Ring after a few sessions. •Mark out a 7 X 15 yard rectangle with your cones. •One Kid is the Mud Monster and does not have a ball. •The rest of the kids all have balls. •Everyone starts inside the marked rectangle. •The kids with the balls dribble around inside the rectangle trying to avoid the Mud Monster. •The Mud Monster tries to take the other kids balls away and kick them out of the rectangular area. •Once the Mud Monster kicks a kids ball out that kid becomes stuck. The kid will run and collect their ball, come back inside the rectangle and stand with their feet shoulder width apart holding the ball behind their head. They then start calling out “I’m stuck”. •The other children that are still dribbling around can free the stuck child by dribbling their ball through the stuck childs legs. Once one ball is dribbled through the legs the stuck child is free to dribble around again. •If everyone gets stuck the Mud Monster wins and another round can begin with a new Mud Monster.
Easier Version (for Mud Monster) •Make the area smaller. •Add another Mud Monster.
Easier Version (for dribblers) •Make the area larger.
King of the Ring Objective: shielding, dribbling, defending and shooting. This game is an elimination style but the players eliminated are still able to be involved. •Make an 18 yard square with cones. •Every kid has a ball and starts dribbling around inside the square. •On your command kids will try to kick other players balls out of the square while still protecting their own. •If a players ball is booted out of the square that player leaves the square and stands next to the coach just outside the square. •Eliminated players get sent back into the square by the coach as sharks for a certain length of time. During this time they will try to kick the remaining players balls out of the square. The coach should say loudly “David, Shark in!!”, to let the players inside the square know who is coming in so they can look out for him. When you want the player out say loudly, “David, Shark out!!”. •Other kids can be cannonballs. For example on a command of “Chris, Cannonball!!”, Chris would shoot a ball from the outside the square trying to hit a players ball inside the square hard enough that it will bumped out of the square. •Continue playing like this until there are two players left in the ring. When there are two players left have them battle it out without sending Sharks or Cannonballs into the square. •The last remaining player is King or Queen of the ring.
Defend the Castles Objective: defending, dribbling, shooting and working in teams. note: the game is described for two teams but also works quite well for teams of three–just add another set of castles. •Divide your kids into two teams. •Set up two 15x7 yard coned areas seperated by 20 to 30 yards. •Now place three to four cones inside each rectangle each with a ball on top (the castles). Have the castles spread evenly in the middle of the rectangle. •In the middle between the rectangle areas place three balls. •Both teams start outside their rectangle. •On your go both teams will run out to get a ball. They will use these balls to shoot at the other teams castles trying to knock them over. Have a parent close to the caslte area so they can collect the fallen castles. •Both shooting and defending has to occur outside the rectangle area. The only time a player is allowed to enter the rectangluar area is to retreive a stuck ball and only at his or her own castle. •The team that can knock all of the other teams castles down first is the winner.
Numbers Objective: Defending, attacking, dribbling and shooting. A game that allows you to create 1v1,2v2,3v3 or XvX situations. •Place two nets (use pilons for one if you don’t have two), 25-30 yards apart. •Divide your players into two teams. Have them line up on opposite goal lines. •Get both teams to identify which goal they are attacking and which goal they are defending. That way if you do not have different coloured pinnis the teams at least know which goal they are to score on. •Go over to each team and assign each kid a number from 1 to X. Make sure each kid remembers their number. •The coach stays on the half way line with a pile of balls. •The coach then calls out a number and serves in a ball. •Upon hearing the number called out the kids with that number come out and battle for the ball trying to score on the opponents goal while also defending their own goal. •The coach can add more players by calling out more numbers. •Once a goal is scored or the round has gone on too long without a goal (times up) get the kids to return to their starting positions for a new round.
Tiki Taka Objective: passing, receiving, moving to support (the Barca way) and communication. •Mark out the corners of a 4 yard box with your cones. •In the middle of the 4 yard box mark out with cones the corners of another box measuring around 2-3 feet. This area represents a no pass zone. The area between the inside and outside boxes are passing channels. •Each 4 yard box you set up will have three players and one ball. •Get the three kids to stand on the inside of the 4 yard box each infront of a corner cone so that they form a triangle. Place the ball in front of the kid that forms the apex of the triangle. In other words the ball will be in front of the kid who has two passing options. •The object of the game is to maintain two passing options all the time. This means that the kid who does not get the pass should be moving to the corner which provides the reciever of the pass with a second passing option. •At first the kids will be slow to react and will make mistakes. Place a parent in the inside box to coordinate things. •Have the kids talk to one another so that they are mentally engaged in what they should be doing. Calling out their passes and calling to those who have to move. •For begining players have them do two-touch passes (one touch to receive one touch to pass). •For more advanced players they can try one touch passing.
Changes in direction relay race. Objective: dribbling, changing direction, passing and receiving.
•over a length of 15 yards place 4 sets of 4 cones seperated by four feet (see diagram below). Ideally every set would be a different colour. You will now have three racing lanes. •Divide your group into three teams each team will have a ball (get each team to give themselves a name). •Get each team to line up at the starting cone of their racing lane. The first player in the line has the ball. •It is a good idea to get everyone to jog the relay course first so that everyone knows the sequence of turns before you run the competition. •Using the letters from the diagram below each member of the team will dribble from A to C, C to B, B to D and D to B, from cone B they can pass the ball to the next team member who is waiting at cone A who runs the same sequence. •The first team to have all it’s players through and sitting down wins. •If you have uneven numbers even things up by making the smaller teams run a person twice.
Ultimate soccer Objective: promote movement off the ball, improve quick decision making and increase the speed of play. •Set up a playing area 20 yards wide by 30 yards in length with your cones. Place a net at either end, use pilons if you do not have nets. •Divide the players into two teams. If you do not have any pinnis at least get each team to know who is on their team and which goal they are to score into. •Get the teams to start on their own goal line. •To start the game throw a ball into the air more towards one team than the other as this will start the game more cleanly. •The team in possession will now try to score by moving the ball towards the opponents net by throwing and catching the ball between each other. Once a ball is caught by a player that player can only take two steps before they have to find another teammate to pass to. •If the team defending tags the person with the ball the defending team gets possession and can start an attack. •If the ball is thrown outside the playing area by one team the other team restarts the game with a throw in. •After each goal is scored get the goal scoring team to tag their goal line while the other team immeadiately starts on an attack. •The winning team can be the first one to a score a certain number of goals.
Note: Do not play this game for too long as kids may start to think that soccer is
like basketball. It is merely meant as a tool to promote the objectives stated above.
Soccer Tennis Objective: increase ball control. This game is a good one to play at the begining of a practice while you wait for everyone to arrive. •Set up a 30 by 15 yard rectangle with your cones. Place a line of cones across the middle to be the net. You should now have two squares 15 by 15 yards. •Divide your players into two teams and have each team go to their side of the court. •The game starts like tennis, with a serve. The serve can be taken by anyone on the team and by any method (it can be thrown over, kicked from the hands, kicked from the ground or, probably the best method, kicked from a cone–like a ball from a golf tee), it just has to make it over the net. •Once the ball has been served the receiving team has to get it back over the net before the ball stops bouncing or skips out of the court. •Let the receiving side use Volleyball type rules before returning the ball over the net. •Points are scored like tennis. You could have 3 games per set and play to the best of three sets.
Passing Competition Objective: improve passing and receiving. •Divide your players into groups of three. If you do not have enough to make teams get parents to fill the empty spots. •Now make equalateral triangles, one per team. Just mark out the points of the triangle with your cones. Each triangle should have all sides measuring 4-5 yards. •Now get all the teams to go to their own triangle and have each player stand on the inside of each point. •Each team has one ball. •On your go the teams will pass the ball around the triangle in one direction. Each team counts out the number of passes it makes. The first team to make 30 passes and be sitting down wins the game. •Have the last team perform a silly act. •Once they have gone in one direction have them go in the other direction. This will force them to use the other foot. •Each individual can decide whether to do one-touch or two-touch passing.
