Pre-season fitness and warm-up routines can be very demanding on young players, so amongst all the hard work it’s important to remember to add some elements of fun into your sessions. A bit of fun can transform the attitude of your players when they turn up for pre-season – it can make the difference between them just coasting and really putting the effort in.
For younger age groups, fun games are an ideal way of getting players to repeat techniques and skills that will be needed when they start playing matches. My two favourite at Under 7 and Under 8 are Star Gates, which gets teams working on passing and forward play with first touch and possession skills to the fore, and Bumper Cars, which covers dribbling the ball and running with it while keeping it under control.
Another excellent source of games for pre-season can be found in the EasiCoach Curriculum sessions for different age groups. Games like Dribble the ball 5 yards and turn are great fun and help develop your players as they get ready to start the season.
For the older age groups, I play games like Shrinking goal, which creates equality between teams no matter who you pick on each side. It is a game that focuses on skill and accuracy, which is vital for pre-season.
Finally one of the games that professional teams use with their players to get their skills up to speed is Soccer Tennis. I love this game and so do my players, we play it long after the training session is over because it is such fun and it develops skills, so it’s a win-win situation!
This is a great game since it provides a natural handicap that makes even the most unequal of teams (in terms of player skill) equal. So let your players choose their own teams, if necessary, and enjoy the game’s effect! MORE
Get those soccer brains ticking over with this great game that covers dribbling, running with the ball, accurate passing, changeovers, first touch into space. MORE
In this game when you say “go”, each dribbler aims to dribble his ball from the big square into one of the smaller squares. The three middle players must try to win the balls from the dribblers. MORE
A soccer tennis drill is an excellent way of developing juggling skills and first-touch for your young players - and the big bonus is that it’s great fun to play as well. MORE
The 4-3-3 is a great system to study if you are looking for a system of play for your team. No matter the age or the numbers of players involved the principles are the same. Good width, good support play, and fantastic attacking moves. MORE
My Under 9s team won a match that when you look at the result it seemed like a big win but that didn’t tell the story of the game. Both teams played well and had some great combination play but my team had an end product which unfortunately the visitors didn’t. MORE
It brought it home to me last Saturday when one of my Under 9s had played a fantastic match creating three goals and generally running the game... "but I didn't score!" he said with a face fighting back the tears. Kids don't appreciate the importance of an assist. MORE
Dribbling is the key to unlocking an opponents defence creating space to score goals either by crossing to a team mate or shooting themselves. Beating a man with a quick drop of the shoulder or with tight control is fantastic to watch not only with the top players but also with your own players – but the skill takes practice. MORE
Warm ups or arrival activities are the best way to get fuzzy minds focused on the game ahead. Afterall you don't want to be 3-0 down after 10 minutes before they wake up and react to the fact they are playing a game. MORE
What kind of shape does your team have on match day? Getting players to fit a formation can be a tricky business especially at the younger age groups, it's all about getting the players to understand how the formation works and their role in it. MORE
“I took a free trial and I was blown away by the drills; it made my training sessions so much easier. ”
