Soccer academy teaching proposal (U6 - U8)

Goal:

Summary

Kids' approach to soccer and to sports in general is an important and sensitive stage of their growth

Organization

Kids' approach to soccer and to sports in general is an important and sensitive stage of their growth. For a balanced psycho-physical growth, the kid needs to be carefully monitored on their path, with a training schedule that takes into account all sporting aspects:

motor skills and basic postural patterns;
coordination skills and joint mobility;
technical skills;
cognitive and attention skills;
educational goals;
soccer-related educational goals;
social-emotional development;
athletic aspects, and so on...

It's important that kids have fun, experience, discover, accept. Coaches should give them time and opportunities to fail and learn! During each stage of their growth path they need to be helped to understand and improve their individual abilities.

Each stage of this growth needs a specific teaching proposal, that depends on the age group. This, however, is part of a multi-annual growth process that the kid follows to learn and improve soccer skills in order to become a well-trained adult soccer player.

This series of articles will present some ideas to create a long-term training programme considering age and skills.

U6 – U8

Characteristics:

Physical growth: kids' skeletal system is still fragile.
Motor development: kids don't have proper motor control and general coordination, they find it difficult to organize space and time and their movements are not very effective.
Social-emotional development: kids are in the middle of an “egocentric” stage and are not fully able to cooperate.
Cognitive growth: kids find it difficult to focus their attention and to understand abstract concepts.

EDUCATIONAL GOALS	TRAINING GOALS
Social-emotional area: socialize (live a positive relationship with other people) overcome fear of contact with the playground and other players learn to be tidy, on time and considerate with the equipment	Fundamental soccer rules: do not play with your hands try to win the ball without pushing or pulling your opponent do not kick your opponent
Cognitive area: learn and comply with the rules organize a personal project considering space and time	Fundamental soccer principles: attack the opponents' goal defend your team's goal learn how to resume the game (ie. throw-in)
Psycho-motor area: basic motor skills perceptive abilities coordination skills conditional skills quickness and joint mobility	Become familiar with the ball and the game: drive the ball stop the ball kick the ball learn to move to pass or receive the ball learn to manage duels (1>1 - 2>2 - 3>3)

AT THE END OF THE TRAINING PERIOD CHILDREN SHOULD:

KNOW WHAT TO DO: move forward with the ball, stop it, kick it, move without it.
UNDERSTAND: the game's goal, the attacking and the defending phase.
ACCEPT: respect teammates, respect opponents, comply with the rules, accept the contact with the ground, the contact with the opponents.

EXAMPLE OF INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION FORM

GENERAL EVALUATIONS	INADEQUATE	ADEQUATE	GOOD
Interest in the game
Initiative and resourcefulness
Compliance with the rules
Acclimatization
Basic motor skills
Ball control
Coordination skills
Space-time organization
Quickness and joint mobility
Ability to choose (Solutions)
Learning ability

Photo Credits: woodleywonderworks, USAG- Humphreys

Topic:

Soccer Technique