U10 Week 5

 ISLAND HOPPING

COACHING POINTS

  1. BE AWARE! - Keep your head up and scan to find the open space and the defenders

  2. USE BODY FEINTS - Quickly move your body to a different direction to evade the shark!

  3. CHANGE SPEED! - Change your speed from slow to fast to trick the shark

  • ✅ 20x25yd area up to 15 players - make it larger for more players

    ✅No ⚽ until level 4

    ✅Pinnies for sharks

    ✅3 cones for triangle islands

    ✅Ensure there are 1 or 2 more triangles than players

  • Island hopping is a movement and tag game, without a ball, with the goal of developing awareness, thinking one step ahead, and soccer-specific movement.

    ✅Cone triangles are set out around the playing areas. The players can be explorers or pirates visiting islands.

    ✅Within the 10-minute warm-up, you can split the exercise into 4 Levels

    🏆LEVEL 1 - Warm-up - 🕜90 secs

    Players move freely around the playing area, jogging to each triangle. The aim is for them to start thinking 1 or 2 steps ahead. Ask them to see if they can think of which triangle they’re going to in 2 moves, so they move fluidly and efficiently without stopping and thinking. You can add a ‘hop or jump to the next island’, or a fast and slow command.

    🏆LEVEL 2 - Soccer-specific movement - 🕜2 mins

    Players jog around the area, when they enter a triangle, they should enter the triangle slower, feint to go one way - get low, drop a shoulder to go one way, and accelerate out of the triangle in another direction as if they are trying to trick an opponent.

    🏆LEVEL 3 - Shark feeding time! 🕜3 mins

    1 defender per 4 players. Sharks try and tag the attackers. Attackers need to be aware of moving defenders while still trying to find space. Pirates can stay on a triangle island for 3 seconds before moving on. If tagged, the players have to perform 10 toe taps of a ball on the side of the field. Change the sharks after 1 minute

    🏆LEVEL 4 - Cannonballs! 🕜2 mins

    In addition to defenders, the coach rolls a ball into the area trying to ‘tag’ players. If tagged by a defender or ball, 10 toe-taps for the hit player!

  • ✅Make triangles smaller.

    ✅Add more sharks (defenders)

    ✅Take away or add islands

    ✅Add the goal of seeing how many islands players can visit

  • Decision-making and awareness when dribbling and movement into space are vitally important in being able to move the ball and get away from defenders in the game.

    Awareness has been often overlooked in soccer coaching but is now important to the success of developing the individual, so fun tag games can help with that.

    Playing without a ball helps players develop and be coached on their awareness and soccer-specific movement without thinking about keeping control of the ball.

Island hoppIng 2

COACHING POINTS

  1. BE AWARE! - Keep your head up and scan to find the open space and the defenders

  2. USE BODY FEINTS - Quickly move your body to a different direction to evade the shark!

  3. CHANGE SPEED! - Change your speed from slow to fast to trick the shark

  • ✅ 20 x 25yd area up to 15 players - make it larger for more

    ✅1 x ⚽ per pirate, 0 x ⚽ for shark

    ✅Pinnies for sharks

    ✅3 cones per triangle island

    ✅Ensure there are 1 or 2 more triangles than players

  • Island hopping 2 is a dribbling and tag game, with ball, with the goal of developing awareness, thinking one step ahead, and soccer-specific movement.

    ✅Cone triangles are set out around the playing areas. The players can be explorers or pirates visiting islands.

    ✅Within the 15-minute exercise, you can split the exercise into 4 Levels

    🏆LEVEL 1 - Warm-up - 🕜3 mins

    Players move freely around the playing area, dribbling to each triangle. The aim is for them to start thinking 1 or 2 steps ahead. Ask them to see if they can think of which triangle they’re going to in 2 moves, so they move fluidly and efficiently without stopping and thinking. You can add a toe-taps and turns as fun, ball mastery commands.

    🏆LEVEL 2 - Soccer-specific movement - 🕜3 mins

    As before, players dribble around the area. As they enter a triangle, they should slowdown, feint to go one way - get low, drop a shoulder to go one way and accelerate out of the triangle in another direction as if they are trying to trick an opponent. Can they do a scissors move in a triangle?

    🏆LEVEL 3 - Shark feeding time! 🕜5 mins

    1 defender per 6-8 players. Defenders try and tag the attackers. Attackers need to be aware of moving defenders while still trying to find space. Pirates can stay on a triangle island for 5 seconds before moving on. If tagged, the players have to perform 10 toe taps of a ball on the side of the field. Change the sharks after 1 minute

    🏆LEVEL 4 - Cannonballs! 🕜2 mins

    In addition to defenders, the coach rolls a ball into the area trying to ‘tag’ players. If tagged by a defender or ball, 10 toe-taps for the hit player!

    TIP - If players are having difficulty dribbling and changing direction, make them ‘un-taggable’ and work with them, getting them to slow down and focus. Ensure they are using all parts of the foot to manipulate the ball and keeping it close

  • ✅Make the area larger so it’s easier for the attackers to find more success

    ✅Introduce more defenders to make it more difficult for the attackers

    ✅Shorten or lengthen the time attackers can be ‘safe’ on the island.

    ✅Challenge the players to see how many islands they can make it to within the time limit

  • Decision-making and awareness when dribbling and movement into space are vitally important in being able to move the ball and get away from defenders in the game.

    Awareness has been often overlooked in soccer coaching but is now important to the success of developing the individual, so fun tag games can help with that.

7v7 build-out

COACHING POINTS

Attacking: Look to get the ball forward when you can, get open for a pass & get wide and make space!

Defending: Get compact, pressure the ball, and work together!

Both: Be brave, encourage teammates and do your best!

  • ✅7v7 half-field

    ✅1 x ⚽

    ✅1 7v7 goal, 2 mini-goals 🥅 (2 cones work too, if no goal)

    ✅Attacking team - 1 GK, 2 defenders, 3 midfield, 1 striker

    ✅Defenders - 1 striker, 3 midfield, 2 defenders (or as many players as you have

    ✅Ball restarts with goal kick when the ball goes out of play.

  • The 7v7 build-out recreates a game moment from a goal kick.

    The Build-out is the action of getting the ball from the defensive 3rd through the field. There are many goal kicks in a game, so it is good to practice. The players must reset to their original positions every rep.

    The game is played on a half-field as this is the area being developed. Two attacking mini-goals represent a good area for the team to aim at, to get forward through wide areas.

    ✅Attackers should look to use attacking principles:

    1. WIDTH - or getting into space

    2. SUPPORT - help a teammate with the ball

    3. PENETRATION - look to get the ball through the opposition toward the goal with a pass, dribble, or run!

    TIP: The animation shows a good starting position for players and movement. But it’s a great time for the team to play the game and experience the building out from the back

    TIP: Switch positions after a few reps to give players experience in other areas.

    TIP: You can explain that the team with the ball is always the attacking team, no matter, if the GK has the ball or the attacking team are in front of their own goal. Alternatively, without the ball, the opposition striker is a defender!

  • ✅Less defenders make it easier for attackers

  • The more experience players get in real game situations, the more they will understand the game and how they can find success. Also, how all of the different skills they’ve learned will fit into the game.

    The goal is to allow players to experience, have fun and build confidence in this game-like situation with lots of reps to allow for development.

GAME TIME!

What you need:

✅ 1 x⚽

✅ 2 teams (different colors)

✅ 2 goals

✅ All the rules of the game - throwins, goal-kicks, corners, kickoffs and fouls. So they can practice for the weekend!

TIME TO PLAY! ⚽ Allow the players to have fun, be competitive, and express themselves. At this age, don’t impose too much structure. Don’t force passing or stop the play. Encourage and give positive comments on the goal of the session (dribbling) and coach sporadically as the game goes on.