Football: 5 year olds

i need a training plan for 5 year olds in football

Hi all, I've just started coaching a soccer team of 4 and 5 year olds and would like to discuss with my fellow coaches any drills which you have found to be safe, fun and valuable to the younger age group. I have my level 1 course under my belt and have difficulty in applying what I've learnt to the small kids. They get bored very quickly and are only interested in playing a match at the end of the session. They have no interest in passing the ball or shooting at goal whilst doing drills. Running with the ball is no problem as they are keeping active and all have a ball at their feet. As soon as they line up or have to share a ball, there are problems. I have a variety of drills which I run through with them, traffic lights, robin hood, alamo, sharks and fishes to name a few with variations of each but I crave more as everywhere I search caters for U6 upwards. I coach an U8 side midweek and have no problem with these lads as they are that bit older and have a greater level of concentration. (not by much mind). So I'm asking for advice from anyone who has coached 4 and 5 YOs and would like to know what has worked for you. PM replies welcome.  Marc

Some 11 year olds are joining our team and are moving from 7-a-side to 11-a-side. What should I practice with them to help this transition?

I am used to coaching older players and am finding this a challenge .Only 4 to 6 children and difficult to keep them engaged.A big thanks for some help. Kieron .Hong Kong

I have a group of 5 year olds and technically they're not the greatest and I'm really at wits end with what kind of games to give them that will improve them - they still have the mentality of playing games not football related.

Hi, I have been asked to run a coaching session of 4 to 5 year olds tomorrow, I am trying to find good idea of simple games to keep the kids interested and have a good flowing session. Thanks.

hi Guys, i have a question about 5-6 year olds getting ready for next year when they start playing their football matches against other teams. i will use my son as an example,so i can use as a guide for some other parents in the team. average training is ball mastery and a trafficlight game and then into matches for the last half of the session. my sons ball mastery is as good as youd expect for a 5 year old and that always improves with repitition. my difficulty lies when we go into the matches. theres a lack of 'competitiveness' or confidence with my boy, compared to some of the other boys, skills-wise theyre on the same level, but the more confident boys will shine thru and theyre not nessesarily better, he has flashes in games where he will do good, drive with the ball, he is always involved, but im not sure if its confidence or maybe just not as good in the match situations. is there any advice that can be offered in terms of practice that we could work on at home?

Hi all, I've just started coaching a soccer team of 4 and 5 year olds and would like to discuss with my fellow coaches any drills which you have found to be safe, fun and valuable to the younger age group. I have my level 1 course under my belt and have difficulty in applying what I've learnt to the small kids. They get bored very quickly and are only interested in playing a match at the end of the session. They have no interest in passing the ball or shooting at goal whilst doing drills. Running with the ball is no problem as they are keeping active and all have a ball at their feet. As soon as they line up or have to share a ball, there are problems. I have a variety of drills which I run through with them, traffic lights, robin hood, alamo, sharks and fishes to name a few with variations of each but I crave more as everywhere I search caters for U6 upwards. I coach an U8 side midweek and have no problem with these lads as they are that bit older and have a greater level of concentration. (not by much mind). So I'm asking for advice from anyone who has coached 4 and 5 YOs and would like to know what has worked for you. PM replies welcome.  Marc

Disciplining for misbehaviour? 8-11 year olds, they dont really get bored because i know that sometimes that can be the cause. How or what can i apply a bit of strictness into the team.

I am coaching 11 7 to 8 year olds what is the best way to teach them about positioning

Hello all! My kids aged 9 and 7 are very slow when compared to their peers of the same age. They don't seem to fight for the ball and get and watch others play their game. They seem to lack the urgency (heart) needed for the game. (They LOVE football). How can make them move around and react faster. Any help you are able to provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks O

What is a good way of disciplining Under 6's. The characteristics of a 6 yr old means they are excitable, enthuiastic etc which is good, but i have a couple of boys that can be extremely disruptive. I have sat them all down at the end of a session and laid down some rules, but the same couple of boys break these rules week after week. How do i discipline without causing them not to want to attend the fun session?

Hello, I am currently coaching an u9's boys team and a majority of them are well behaved and want to play football, but the odd 1or2 tend to mess around at training which distracts the others. I have sat them out in training and spoken to the parents but still this goes on. Do I decide to kick them out of the team altogether or does anyone know the miracle cure to stop this happening?

Team keep getting thrashed every week - where to start? Having been the sole coach/manager of a little league team for the past two years, this year I lost all my senior players. I was therefore presented with 10 brand new lads, some of whom have never played competitive football. We are 8 games in and my lads are getting thrashed every week. The main problems are that they cannot get the ball out of their half, positions are usually a mess, finishing and chance creation are non-existent, and they don't apply any pressure or are unable to tackle. The main problems are keeping the ball as a team, getting it in the opponents half and staying there, and creating/finishing chances. I only have 1 and a half hours a week with them. I don't really know what to do, and I'm a little desperate. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks for literally anything.

I am used to coaching older players and am finding this a challenge .Only 4 to 6 children and difficult to keep them engaged.A big thanks for some help. Kieron .Hong Kong

This is my first season coaching u12's - I have a lot of experience with coaching younger children in which I concentrated on skills, ball work etc (90%). Just wondering does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on how much fitness work is req'd for 11 and 12 year olds.

What is the best warm up routine for U9 boys before a game? Thanks Coach Heath

Hi, I coach u13 team and most of them really have poor shoot power. I tried to show them proper way to shoot the ball, we worked on approaching the ball with small steps, and now after few months their shoot technique is mostly satisfying, but they simply lack power. There are 3 or 4 players who can shoot the ball well, but others can't shoot on goal from 15 or 20 metres out which is really worrying because in other teams we play against almost all players can shoot the ball much further than my players. I think 13 years old is too early to start with any serious strength trainings. Any ideas?

Hi I have quite a large squad (11) for my U9s team. Sometimes not all of them turn up but when they do managing the substitutions can be a nightmare. Have tried planning it out and making 3 subs on a rotation every 6 or 7 minutes. This works OK, just wondered how others do it? Thanks! Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

I took over a under 8s team 2 years ago unfortunately soccer is not my game and I did as there was no other option other than to fold. Im a good coach in terms of developing a good team (discipline, teamwork , sportsmanship fun etc) but I think my lack of knowledge about the game is holding the team back . I have a 12 players who are about to move up to the under 10s level , they skill level ranges from timid to very skilled, I try to give each player equal time and the lower skilled players are improving (just not at the same pace as the opposition). Unfortunately the opposition we face seem to be light years ahead in terms of playing a scheme and we are often found out during games (i have used a basic zone defense to try and stop the team becoming ball magnets). I think its a mixture of me insisting all players get equal playing time and the fact I dont know enough about the game to be able to coach an effective scheme and to react to opposition schemes. They are good kids and I want to give them a taste of success (you can only say it was bad luck so many times) but cant seem to get our club to take it to the next level. The drills on sportsplan are helpful but a lot of drills are too complicated for the kids age or can simply go wrong very quickly in reality. We dont get thrashed in games but we cant seem to eke out a draws or wins (I know its not all about winning but try explaining that to the kids when they lose on a regular basis)Any suggestions