U6 Training Themes for Developing Creative Coaching Sessions
By John T.H. Germanos, NYSL Technical Director
The following are general themes that could be FUN when looking for ways to cater to the imagination of your U8 team during training. Just having these sorts of FUN topics on your season practice outline will spark curiosity and lead players to look forward to their next soccer “play day!” Your challenge (with my help if you’d like!) is to come up with creative activities with names and exercises that fall within the FUN theme of the day – here are few ideas if you’re looking for possible themes: ?
Practice 1: Lord of the Rings.
Practice 2: Jungle Wars.
Practice 3: A Day at the Beach (Finding Nemo as another alternative).
Practice 4: Learning to Drive (just like mom and dad!).
Practice 5: Math Challenge Day.
Practice 6: Colors Day.
Practice 7: Cops and Robbers
Practice 8: ABRA-CADABRA! (Harry Potter Day).
Practice 9: Cowboys and Indians (Wild, Wild, West!).
So, how do you organize a theme-based training session? Easy! Just get your imagination in focus and have some FUN! Here’s an example:
“A Day at the Beach” with developmental emphasis (hidden objective for the day) on dribbling, coordination, and FUN!
Warm up: Beach Dribbling. Players dribble around freely on the beach (inside a grid). If the ball gets away from them and goes outside the grid, it gets swept away by the waves, and they have to turn themselves into seals to go into the water and retrieve their balls by pushing the ball back with their heads like a seal would - coach demos!! Once back inside, they get to dribble again
First Activity: Jellyfish! Players dribble around the grid, but this time there are Jellyfish in the water (discs, vests, etc.). Players try to avoid “getting stung” by the jellyfish by dribbling (swimming) around them! If they get stung, they do 3 “OUCH-jumps” on the ball (toe touches on top of ball). Who gets stung the least? Applaud creativity in how they swim with the ball (arm movement, etc.)
Second Activity: Crab Soccer. Progression from above where the coach and/or parent-volunteer becomes the crab inside the grid/beach (yes, belly up, walking on hands and feet!). Start with one crab on the beach – if the crab gets your ball, you become a crab until only one player is left on the beach as the winner! Winner picks crabs for next game!
Third Activity: Sharks-n-Minnows. Two players start out as Sharks without a ball – they are in the water (inside the grid). The rest of the players start on Happy Clam Beach (outside the grid on one endline) and try to dribble their balls across the shark-infested waters to safety on Sunshine Beach. If a shark kicks their ball outside the grid, they also become sharks in the water. Who is the sole survivor?
Fourth Activity: Fish in the Net. This is actually a 3v3 game just like they play on Saturday. Team A tries to get as many fish into Team B’s net as possible (goals), and Team B does the same the other way. Team with most goals (fish in the net) wins!
Active Rest Activity: Usually something less dynamic that they can do on water breaks or at the end of practice. This is something where it may be ok for them to be a little less active as a break in the action (recovery period). For example, perhaps on a water break, give each player some equipment – ball, vests, cones, water bottle, etc. and see who can build the coolest sandcastle (i.e., any creative structure/design they come up with)! Admire them all, and enjoy!
Try this and have some FUN with them! Experiment, create your own themes, and encourage parents to play, too. You could even “assign” parents a theme so they can participate by coming up with fun ideas for you! The more imaginative, participative, and fun, the better!!