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Bumper cars

Objective: This game improves dribbling skills, passing technique and encourages players to keep their heads up.

Age group: U5s to U9s (you also need a few willing adults)

Number of players: Whole team.

Set up: Create a 20×30 yard playing area with flat cones and a smaller rectangle just outside the playing area.

How to play: The players and the adults dribble a ball around the playing area. The children try to bump (pass) their “car” (the soccer ball) into an adult’s “car.”

If an adult’s car is “bumped,” the adult must take their car to the repair shop (an adjacent, small area designated by cones), and cannot leave until they count to 10.

Adults (coaches and parents) should encourage the children (“you can’t catch me” etc.) so that the kids try very hard to bump their car.

As many parents as possible can play – kids LOVE to send their parents to the repair shop. Older siblings also are great targets.

Quick fire

This game encourages link up play and finishing. It is also a simple exercise for improving your goalkeeper’s technique.

Objective: To improve shooting technique and to practise goalkeeping.

Age group: U7 upwards.

Number of players: Whole squad.

Set up:

Divide your players into groups of five. Set up a a small goal with flat cones for each group of players. Have three or four balls per group positioned next to the goal.

How to play:

Put one player in each goal with the remaining four players in two pairs (pair A and pair B). Have each pair about 20 yards away on either side of the goal.

The goalkeeper passes a ball to a player in pair A, who lays off a pass for his partner to run onto. This player shoots. If he scores, the ball is retrieved by a player from pair B on the other side of the goal. He then provides a pass for his partner to run onto and shoot.

If a player misses the goal, he retrieves the ball and puts it with the spare balls you put next to each goal. The goalkeeper uses one of these balls to pass to a player in the other pair and the game continues. If the goalkeeper saves the shot, he turns and passes it to one of the other pair of players.

Make the game competitive by challenging each pair to score as many goals as possible in a set time.

Soccer coaching note: You can play this game with groups of four by having the soccer coach and/or assistants make up the numbers.

You can also play in groups of three by having the goalkeeper provide a pass for the shooters to run onto.

The box game

Objective: To improve passing, vision, movement off the ball, communication and transition from defence to attack.

Age group: U9s upwards.

Number of players: Whole squad divided into two teams of four or five (if you have more than ten players, make four teams and play two games).

Set up: Create a 40×30 playing area with flat cones. Mark out a five square yard box at each end.

How to play: One player from each team (the target player) goes into an end box. The rest of the players try to get a pass to their target player. To score a point, the target player must one-touch the ball back to one of their team mates.

Progression: When a point is scored, both target players sprint to the other box and their team attacks that end.

Quick! Shoot!

Objective: To improve shooting skills and fitness.

Age group: U8 upwards.

Number of players: Whole team.

Equipment: Flat cones to mark the playing area, a normal sized goal (or poles), a dozen balls.

Set up: Mark out a playing area about 40 yards long x 20 yards wide. Place a goal on one end line. A marker cone is placed about 15 yards from the centre of the goal for seven year olds, further out for older players. I suggest you put it about 25 yards away from the goal for eleven year olds.

How to play: Divide your players into two teams. Team A stands on the end line about 5 yards away from the left goalpost. Team B stands 5 yards away from the right goalpost.

You stand on the edge of the playing area with about a dozen footballs.

On your signal, the first player in team A runs to the marker cone. At the same time, the first player in team B runs round the left goalpost and becomes the ‘keeper. As the A team player rounds the marker cone, you play a ball into the playing area.

You decide if the player in team A has one touch or more to control the ball and shoot. This will depend on the age of your players and whereabouts in the playing area you serve the ball.

As soon as the first player in team A shoots, the second players in both teams start their runs.

If the shot goes in or is saved, the goalie returns the ball to the coach. If the shot misses the goal the player who missed has to get the ball back to the coach.

Team A has to score as many goals as possible in a given time or until you run out of balls to serve

Team B becomes the shooters when time is up or you run out of balls to serve.

This is a very competitive and popular way to improve your players’ shooting skills!

Goal wars

Objective: to improve dribbling and shooting skills

Age group: U5 upwards.

Number of players:Whole team.

Set up: You need a minimum of one ball per child and preferably more.

Place two goals next to each other on the same line, about five yards apart.

Place a cone (or an adult/coach) about 15 yards in front of the goals, and centered between them.

Place half your footballs next to goal A and half next to goal B (making sure there is at least one ball per child).

How to play: Divide your players into two teams and have each team line up next to a goal each.

Players dribble a football round the cone, then shoot at the opposite goal (for instance, team A shoot at goal B and vice versa).

After several minutes, the whistle blows, and the team with the most balls in “their” goal wins.

Key soccer coaching tips: This game improves ball control and encourages players to keep their heads up while dribbling.

Youngsters will figure out they can score more quickly if they start with a couple of big kicks that get them to the cone, then use more control to approach the goal and take a shot at the goal.”

No way past!

Objective: To practice individual tackling and defensive skills.

Age group: U7s to U12s.

Set up: Create a 20-yard square with a goal at one end.

Three or four defenders stand next to the goal and three or four attackers stand at the end of the playing area opposite the goal.

How to play: On your signal, a defender passes a ball to one of the attackers. As soon as the attacker touches the ball, the defender runs out quickly and tries to stop the attacker shooting at goal.

The defender is awarded a point if he/she successfully tackles the attacker or manages to keep the attacker from shooting for 10 seconds.
The attacker gets a point if they can get a shot at goal.
Attackers and defenders change places every three or four plays.

Coaching points:

You can either play this as team game and play first team to 10 points wins or set individual targets.

Emphasise the need for defenders to close down attackers quickly and for attackers to shoot as soon as they can.

Progression:

1. Award two points to defenders who can keep an attacker away from goal for 15 seconds without tackling.

2. If a defender wins the ball, he/she can shoot at goal.

3. Play two attackers against one defender.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coach Weekly.

Triangles

Objectives: To practice support play, passing and receiving.

Age group: U9s to U15s.

Set-up: Create a 20-yard square for every five players in your squad. Mark out a triangle with cones, poles or flags in the centre of each area.

Split your players into groups of five (four attackers and one defender).

Note: You can play this game with two or three attackers plus one defender if necessary.

How to play: Attackers pass the ball around the area, keeping the ball away from the defender. They score a point every time they can pass through the triangle to another attacker.

Make it competitive by challenging each group to get to a certain number of points first or see how many points they can score in a set time.

Coaching points: Good communication (both verbal and visual) is important. Attackers must “stay out of the defender’s shadow”, pass the ball around rapidly and make decisions quickly if they are to succeed.

If your attackers find the game difficult, make the triangle bigger or add more attackers.

If they find it too easy, make the triangle smaller or add a defender.

Progression: Restrict the attackers to two touches (one to control the ball, one to pass).

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coach Weekly.

Pass!

This game is a great way to improve passing and receiving skills as well as the ability to spot and execute a through-pass.

Age group: U8s and upwards.

Number of players: Whole squad.

Set-up: Create 20-yard square playing area.

Divide your players into two equal teams of between five and seven players.

Note: If you have more than 14 players, create four teams and play two games of Pass! It doesn’t matter if teams are not equal in size.

How to play: A player from team A stands on one end line and a player from team X on the opposite end line.

The rest of the players compete for the ball and try to pass to their team mate on the end line. If they succeed, they join their end player on the line.

The team that gets all its players on their end line first is the winner.

Note: To be counted as successful, a pass must be controlled by the end player.

Progression:

The end lines are now called jails.

The game begins in the same way as before – with one player from each team in jail (i.e., on their end line) – but now if you make a successful pass, you don’t join your team mate on the line.

Instead, you get to send a player on the other team to their end line – in other words, send them to jail.

The winning team is now the team that can send all the players on the other team to jail first.

Coaching notes

Generally, the more players you have, the bigger the playing area needs to be.

If I had ten U10s playing this game, I would begin with a 20-yard square playing area. If I had 16 players, I would use a 30-yard square.

But regardless of the number of players you have (or their ages), it is good practice to progressively shrink the playing area.

Making the space smaller requires players to play faster, more accurately and is a good way to build the tempo of your coaching sessions.

With my ten U10s, for example, I would start with a 20-yard square but as they got used to the game I would gradually move the cones inwards until they were playing in a 15-yard square.

For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coach Weekly.