WEEK 1 - Exploring Different Surfaces of the Foot
WEEK 2 - Running With the Ball
WEEK 3 - Stopping & Changing Directions
WEEK 4 - Skill Moves to Beat an Opponent
WEEK 5 - Skill Moves to Beat an Opponent II
WEEK 6 - Running With the Ball II
WEEK 7 - Stopping & Changing Directions II
WEEK 8 - Skill Moves to Beat an Opponent III
WEEK 9 - Shielding and Protecting the Ball
WEEK 10 - Intro to Passing
In order to make practices and games run smoothly and be fun, it is important for us to have a basic understanding of the intellectual, emotional and physical developmental stage of the players we are coaching. Here are some typical characteristics of the Under 6 player.
· Focused on themselves – reality to them is based on what they see and feel
· Unable to see the world from another’s perspective
- They cannot comprehend “pass to your partner”
· Everything is in the here and now
- If you say “we will do that in 5 minutes” they do not understand that time value
· Cooling systems are less efficient - need frequent water breaks
· Enjoy playing, not watching. Every player should have a ball in practice
· Limited attention span – Keep directions short, concise and change the activity often
· Effort is performance – if they try hard, they are doing well
· Active imaginations – utilize their imagination in activities.
For example, use cartoon characters to describe a game (Sharks and Mino Dory and Bruce). Make practice fun and they will want to participate!
· Look for adult approval – be encouraging when they say “Coach, look what I can do!”
- Do not ignore their effort to ‘show off’. Try giving them an area during warm up they can go to and show coach their skill
· Unable to think abstractly – spatial relationships are a mystery
- “spread out” does not make sense
· Typically have 2 speeds -- extremely fast and stopped
· Usually unaware of game scores – keep it that way
· Ratio of Player to Player per age group
· U6–1:1
· U8–1:2
· U10–1:3 or 1:4