Football: warming up

My under 16 team just cant seem to get going in the first half but come out strong in the second! I feel this is a bit of a sports psycology issue! I have heard a few of them say." Well, we know what the opposition are like after 40 mins! I need to install belief!

hi all ,im after a good warm up session for under 14 girls ,bear in mind  there is only two adults that have to put up goal nets as well as the warm up.and the girls get there 30 mins before kick off.

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

Hi, can anyone suggest an effective warm up routine / drill for an under 12's side before a match?

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

I coach under 7s and i was wondering if anyone has any warm up drills to do at the start of training since i feel that we do almost the same every week and want to try something new has anyone any ideas

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

My Under 9 team keeps starting games slowly. Normally by half time they are just getting switched on and playing like they can. What's a good pre-match warm up to get them switched on and ready to go right from kick off?

hi all ,im after a good warm up session for under 14 girls ,bear in mind  there is only two adults that have to put up goal nets as well as the warm up.and the girls get there 30 mins before kick off.

Hi has anyone got a good warm up routine for a under 18 team before a match?

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

What does your average training session look like.. in terms of time spent 1) warming up/fitness 2) drills to aid technique or hands-on coaching for specific areas you want to improve and 3) SSGs? I read somewhere to spend roughly equal amounts of time on each..

Do you have a basic warm up routine for primary PE lessons?

I have always coached players between the age of 17-21 , but now I coach a set of U-12s and it hasn't taken much time to realize that it is altogether a different ball game . I have noticed motive related fun activity during warm-up looks good on paper but I don't see my kids having fun , which is most primary part during warm ups for kids . if anyone could suggest me with a few fun related warm ups it would be of great help .

Does anyone have any good warm up exercises to do with u10 teams that involve a ball?

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

I usually plan my session the Friday night before Saturday training . I anticipated 12 players but then this sequence of events happened. Friday 8.36pm, parent texts amp; says child can't come as he is doing 11+ mocks (did he only just realise this?). Saturday 8.57am, another parent texts amp; says as they went to a wedding the night before, child is in no fit state to train (again, was this something that only just occured to them may happen?). Saturday 9.26am, parent phones amp; says child is throwing up (fair enough, I guess). Saturday 9.57am, parent texts, another puking child (a bug perhaps doing the rounds? Bit late notice though as we start training in 18 mins). Saturday 9.58am, another text from another child's parent to say child is throwing up (Hmmm, another one. Late notice again?). Saturday 10.15am, training starts but another child is missing. I give it 5 mins then phone. Parent says they are off to theme park amp; he sent me a text. I said that I never received text amp; asked if I sent an acknowledgement to aforementioned text to which he said no which I said meant his text wasn't receieved. I went from 12 players training @ 8.36pm Friday to 6 by start of training in under 10 hours. My session plan went in the bin. I realise the sickness is one of those things but think the last 2 were rather late in notifying me. As for the other 3, I feel these to be lame excuses. What can I implement to try to stop or reduce these issues? Fines? Suspensions? Nothing? #frustrated

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?

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

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