Warm-Up (5 min): Pick Up Soccer
Activity 1 (10 min): Creative Dribbling
Activity 2 (10 min): Fast Food Drive-Thru
Activity 3 (15 min): Sharks & Minnows
Activity 4 (15 min): Small Sided Games 4v4
Warm-Up (5 min): Pick Up Soccer
As players arrive, divide them up and let them play!
Activity 1 (10 min): Creative Dribbling
Setup: 1/2 of game field, all players have a ball
Instructions: Coach instructs players to “move the ball around anyway you like”. Every 15 - 20 seconds, have them pick a new way….then another…..then another. Tell them to “be creative”.
1. Coach then provides instructions on how to move the ball. Ex. right foot only, left foot, laces, inside of foot only, outside of foot only.
2. Coach then instructs players to “stop the ball using different parts of your body”. Every 15-20 seconds, have them pick a new way….then another….then another. Tell them to “be creative”.
3. Coach then provides instructions on how to stop the ball. Ex. knee, left ear, forehead, bottom of foot. Coaching Points: Instruct players to keep ball close so that they can move it and stop it quickly.
Activity 2 (10 min): Fast Food Drive-Thru
Setup: 20x25 field. Setup 5x5 squares/fast food restaurants on each corner of the field and one in the middle. 5 total. Have the kids pick names for the fast food restaurants/zones.
Instructions: All players have one minute to dribble through as many fast food drive-thru/zones as they can. They cannot go through same drive-thru twice in a row. How many can you get?
1. Add a defender to close a drive-thru; all other players now try to find the open drive-thru. Defender can move from drive-thru to drive-thru. Players should always try to spot open restaurants. Play two or three rounds.
Coaching Points: Keep head up and ball close while dribbling to find the next restaurant to travel to.
Activity 3 (15 min): Sharks & Minnows
Setup: 1/2 of game field. Two goals on the sides.
Instructions: All players have a ball except for 1 shark. Coach is also a shark to start. Minnows start at one end of the grid. Sharks on the opposite line. Minnows try to cross to the other side without losing possession of their ball. The sharks defend their area by trying to steal the minnows’ ball. Once a ball is stolen, the sharks must dribble it into one of the goals. If a minnow looses ball, they can try to steal it back from the shark before it gets into the goal. Minnows who successfully dribble across the sharks’s line continue to round two. Each minnow who loses their ball will join the sharks. Last minnow with a ball is the winner. Play two or three rounds.
Coaching points: Keep soccer ball close and under control. Don’t leave ball to avoid being caught by a shark. Players must turn away from pressure into space.
Activity 4 (15 min): Small Sided Games 4v4
Setup: Entire soccer field, divide players up to form 2 or 3 teams of 4 Instructions: Rotate players/teams out every few minutes
Coaching Points: Have fun and encourage your players to keep the ball close!