U12 Week 1

Free Dribble

  • ✅ SMALL TOUCHES

    Keep the ball close to maintain control

    ✅ HEAD UP!

    Keep your head up so you can see where you’re going and you don’t bump into teammates

    ✅ BE BRAVE!

    Try new skills, challenge yourself to go faster and you will get better!

  • ✅20 x 25 yd area for 10-15 players - make larger for more

    ✅ 1 x ⚽ per player

    ✅Each rep lasts 2mins - ask guided questions in a quick break - e.g. ‘why do we use small touches?’

  • As with FREE DRIBBLE in week 1, players use the whole area to practice dribbling. This exercise introduces new skills and turns to help players become more efficient turning and changing direction

    LEVEL 1 - 🕜 90 secs - FREE DRIBBLE

    Players dribble around the area, allow them to express themselves. You can call out a couple of commands, like toe-taps ‘freeze’.

    IN BETWEEN SKILLS, TAKE A MINUTE TO TEACH THE SKILL

    LEVEL 2 - 🕜 2 mins - PULL-BACK

    While dribbling, plant one foot on the turf while placing the other on top of the ball with the sole. Then drag the ball backward … while pivoting and keeping an eye on the ball the whole time. Dribble with speed into space

    LEVEL 3 - 🕜 2 mins - INSIDE/OUTSIDE CHOP

    While dribbling, plant one foot on the turf while in a quick chopping motion on the side of the ball, moving the ball to the side to change direction

    The inside-chop uses the inside of the foot on the ball, chopping the ball across the body.

    The outside chop uses the outside of the foot on the ball to move the ball away from the body.

    Both moves should be done with a quick motion and body feint to ‘fake-out’ the defender.

    LEVEL 4 - 🕜 2 mins - SCISSORS

    The aim of the scissor move is to feint one way and go the other, fooling the defender by using one leg as a decoy and a quick body feint.

    While dribbling the player brings one leg over and around the ball. As they bring this leg around the ball from the inside to the outside of the ball, they should feint that way. As that foot is planted, the other foot should be used to knock the ball in the opposite direction with the outside of the foot.

    💡TIP - at varying age and skill levels it’s important to let them have a go themselves. If you’re confident, jump in and help if a player is really struggling. With the scissors, you can take another minute or two to practice or teach.

  • ✅Make the area smaller for more challenge/larger to make it easier

    ✅Challenge the group or particular individuals to speed up, change direction, challenge themselves with a skill, or use their non-dominant foot.

    ✅Add cones or obstacles to make more of a fun challenge

  • Soccer is full of 1v1 matchups against the opposition, so ball manipulation is very important to keep possession. There are 100s of skills and tricks to help players more adept in 1v1s, but these 3 are perhaps the simplest and give a foundation for other skills and ball mastery.

    It’s important to focus on individual technique at a young age and adding skills to help the players become more efficient and quicker can help them become more adept in 1v1 situations against an opposition player.

    With a lot of the skill moves, the emphasis is placed on quick changes of body movement, feints and quick footwork to help the moves become more effective.

Traffic Jam

  • ✅20 x 20yd area

    ✅Cones or objects spread around in the center - as many as you think will challenge

    ✅1 x ⚽

  • ✅On ‘go’, players must dribble to the opposite corner, through the cones and pass the ball to the opposite player.

    🏆LEVEL 1

    ✅Dribble through and pass to the opposite player

    🏆LEVEL 2

    ✅Dribble through and bounce/1-2 pass

    🏆LEVEL 3

    ✅Include 2 skills like a scissors move or a chop each time

  • ✅More cones in the central area

    ✅Use non-dominant foot (left if right-footed)

    ✅Change direction - when the player gets to the center, they must go to a different corner (not opposite)

    ✅Make opposite corners (the players you dribble to are part of your team) a team - how many can times can they cross?

  • 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. With other dribbling players and cones, this helps them to be able to make quick decisions in confined spaces, just like a game.

  • ✅ HEAD UP

    Keep your head up when dribbling

    ✅ USE BOTH FEET

    Dribble with both feet - allows better ball manipulation

    ✅ FIRST TOUCH

    Get your first touch away from your body into space - faster dribbling in space, smaller touches in traffic

Dribbling Decisions

COACHING POINTS

  • ✅ BE AWARE

    Keep your head up and scan to find the open space and the defenders

    ✅ USE BODY FEINTS

    Quickly move your body to a different direction to evade the shark!

    ✅ 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.

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.