The purpose of a recreational program is to introduce children and parents to the game of soccer by developing their motor skills, ball skills, listening skills, while playing fun games and engaging in activities. A majority of leagues include first time parent/volunteer coaches who may little to no coaching experience. We understand that a player or coach stepping into an unfamiliar roll can be both intimidating and stressful. We're thankful for you and we appreciate your interest in the game we have grown to love. To help get coaches started, we have developed a training guide to help assist you as you step into your new role. These are only general recommendations.
Coaching Equipment: 20+cones, pennies, pug goals, balls
Player equipment: ball, cleats, shinguards, water
Coaching Equipment: 20+cones, pennies, pug goals, balls
Player equipment: ball, cleats, shinguards, water
5v5 Practices Frequency: 1-2 times a week Length: 90-120 minutes including adequate water breaks. o edit. |
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ICE BREAKERWhenever you have a new team, during the first practice you'll always want to spend 5-10 minutes on an ice breaker. Ice breakers are fun activities that help players to get to know one another.
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3 THINGS Divide your team into small groups of 3 or 4 people. Instruct each group of team members to find three things they have in common with one another. Encourage them to find weird or funny things they have in common, if possible. After 10-15 minutes, regroup and have each small group share what they found in common with each other. After every team shares, have everyone vote on the funniest or strangest commonalities! This exercise is a great way to help individual players get to know one another and is a great confidence booster since each player gets a chance to see that they aren’t the only one with quirky, awkward, and weird qualities. |
SPEED, AGILITY & CONDITIONING
Agility is a major component of soccer competition and can also help to reduce injuries and increase coordination. A player's ability to stop, start and change direction is a huge advantage and can be trained. This is called agility.
Speed is another major component of soccer and that refers to different attributes like: physical (top running speed), technical (ball control) and mental/reactive (footwork). Incorporating these 1 or combination of these things into every session for 10-20 minutes is great way to help lay a solid foundation for a great athlete and soccer player. Recommended equipment: cones and a ball |
LINE OF CONES Agility/Footwork: Lay 6-8 cones in a row approximately 18-24 inches and a single cone 7-10 yds away. create another line 5 yds away. Have players single file behind cone furtherest from the single cone. Each player will shuffle in and out to the end of the group and then sprint to the open cone. proceed to jog to the end of the line. Ball Control: Have player dribble in and out of the cones. Creating restrictions is a great way to challenge players and force them to work with both feet. Make it fun by creating a competition for a prize... example: losers have 5 jumping jacks. |
BALL CONTROL
The first fundamental skill you'll teach in soccer is ball control. Players should become familiar with the surface of a ball, soccer terminology and technique. Passing, trapping and dribbling are the most important fundamentals of soccer.
TRAP: how to stop the ball with their foot PASS: how to use their foot to accurately move the soccer ball from one player to another DRIBBLE: how to run with the ball at their feet Players get better through repetition. So don't expect things to look perfect. Effort is key! |
PASSING/TRAPPING Have players get in groups of 2 and stand bout 5 yds away from each other. Have them pass/trap the ball back and forth to each other using the instep of their foot. The technique is to lock their ankle, plant foot even with the ball and making contact with the middle of ball so that passes stay on the ground. (if the ball is going in to the air, the player is most likely hitting the bottom third of the ball, if a player is tripping over the ball then they are most likely hitting the top third of the ball). |
GAMES
Getting to play in a game setting is what every player looks forward too. This is a great time to introduce positions and create scenarios that players will experience in a game. This will help you identify a tentative lineup as you get to know your players strengths and build chemistry.
small side: 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4 large side: 6v6 or bigger. Encourage players to be open minded and to try new positions. Create restrictions to help players focus of different aspects of the game. For example, 2-touch only. |
IDENTIFYING POSSIBLE POSITIONS Goalkeeper: only player on the field that can use their hands. Defense: players closest to goalkeeper. Players who tend to stay closer to their goal and are aggressive to the ball. Midfield: generally have good ball control. They can dribble, pass and like to run. Forwards/Strikers: generally like to dribble and shoot. They tend to stand near the opposing teams defense and generally don't like to defend. |