Football: under 9 defensive soccer

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.

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

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?

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 have a fantastic group of U12's (9 a side), who I encourage to play with the ball on the floor, quick passing football. We are a very attacking minded team, but that is our weakness - we need to remember that we do not have 8 strikers.Does anybody have any drills or tips for making sure that midfielders remember midfield?

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.

Does anybody had make any session based on the topic creating space for yourself to receive the ball ?if yes would it mind sharing it with me ?Yousef Best regards

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

Hi, I have taken on my first U11 football team and we are building a squad from scratch for all comers, we have picked up some good players with a few who have hardly ever kicked a ball. I have always promoted everyione is welcome but it seems some of the better players are now making comments that they wont stay if the lesser players continue! What do i do?

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, Need help with training my U9s with passing during the game. I have one player (centre mid) that knows how to pass at the right time during the game. The rest of my team, meaning LM and RM and striker put their head down and just run with the ball. What can i use during training to make them think about passing during a game. Thanks in advance

every game we play the team always bunch up leaving space on the pitch, is there any session or drill i can do that will get them to space out on the pitch ?i coach u10 girls team