under 9`s need help

[gaz]

hi i am new to coaching only been doing it about 3 months.
the problem is that i have taken over the so called 2nd team who have been together for about 18months and not really progressed(from the feed back from other parents it seems that the manager/coach wasn`t reaslly interested in them only the 1st team.
i have had them play a few frendlies lost them all.the main reason i think is the lack of passing to each other.in training i can get them to pass to each other and it works well but they don`t seem to take it into games with them. any ideas on how i can change this would be most welcome.

[Val]

The last couple of years I've started playing a lot more team handball with kids. It works well in America because of the preponderance of hand games, but since the kids usually throw and catch better than kick and trap, it is a good way to get kids moving and looking for each other, which are the first two requisites for passing. And since the ball tends to be held waist or chest height, the kids are more likely to be looking up, which is another prerequisite.

Basically, handball is running with the ball (I use a smaller ball that they can catch, like a volleyball) and they have to throw the ball to their teammates to advance. If the ball hits the ground, its a turnover, and the other team gets the ball. Starting out, a player with the ball can run until a defender steps in his way. Progressions you might have after that: player can only take three steps with the ball or to advance the ball, you it has to be thrown, headed and then caught. Starting out, to score, you throw the ball into the net, but after a while I let kids do a running drop kick (a big hit with say, 10 year old boys).

I got a lot more movement with my girls last year after a steady diet of team handball.

[gaz]

thanks val will give it a go.

[Jerzy]

Souinds like you need to set yourself apart a bit from the previous regime. If the coach didn't care, he didn't have much in the way of enthusiasm, so you have lots of room to improve. These are still just kids, so play as many fun games as you can. You need to concentrate on just having fun, so that you can have a rapport and an excitement as you try to better their skills.

Here's one game I did once, but the kids loved and remembered the game all season.

I divided the team into groups of 3 or 4. I kicked the ball maybe 30 yards or so, and I'd call out how they had to bring the ball back to me. First time, they can only use their heads. This means that your groups will run out to the ball, get down on their hands and knees and head the ball back. Then next time, they can only use their back, so the kids are scooting backwards on their butts pushing the ball back with their backs. Lots of laughs. Then the game progresses and you call to have the kids bring the ball back passing back and forth, or just using the right foot and then the left. Last one I called out was to bring the ball back with just 4 touches. I'm fairly socratic, so I'd ask the kids the difference between the experiences, like how different it was to bring it back in three kicks.

I'd also end the practices with lots of contests. One year we did this every practice: who could punt the ball the highest, or kick it the hardest, or throw the ball in most accurately. They loved that.

One thing that I also did, when I first introduced the concept of grids to my coaching was to let the kids design a drill for me, and some of them were pretty hilarious. I ran into a kid that I had 11-12 years ago when he was 10 and after all that time, what he remembered most was the team making me dribble through cones and try to score on goal with my eyes blindfolded.

[gaz]

thanks jerzy sounds like fun

[David J A]

Hi to everyone

A quick reply to Gaz my team have just finished under 9's now 10,s and the problem has been similiar where they are not passing. I have studied hard to find a good way trying many differnt angles but find 3v3 or 4v4 small sided games are best on small pitches. Let them have plenty of fun and touches bringing in a topic every 2 weeks eg shooting, passing, support. Make it simple, let the game teach the players.

David

[mcolwell1959]

You need to practice your passing in a game envronment, i.e 6 v 6 in a 40 x 40 grid. But you need to work on the basics really and give them confidence in their basic abilities. If they cannot control and strike a ball well they will always struggle and in England we do not work on this enough. Get them comfortable on the ball and then move on to movement, passing and organisation.

[Old Soccer Guy]

Maybe you can change the approach a little and break the game down for them. At U9, they are capable of working well in pairs. If you start out by giving them a problem to solve as a pair. For instance, put them all in an area, the size of which is determined by the number of pairs you have. Too big and it's too easy, too small and it's too hard.

Each pair has a ball. Ask them how many times can they complete a pass to their partner in 30 seconds. When they begin, they will stand next to each other and pass it back and forth. Fine. Then say, "Can you do it while you are moving around the area?" "Good, now can you do it in a group of 3.?"

So, you have given them a problem and made them think of a way to solve it.

Another one is "Paint the field." Tell them to imagine that their ball is covered with paint and their job is to pass the ball with their partner and "paint as much of the field as possible."