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
Standing on the touchline not a week goes by without me hearing an opposition coach bemoan a poor throw-in or the loss of the ball from a weak goal-kick. Use these sessions so that doesn't happen to you MORE
Goals from outside the box are always a spectacular way to hit the back of the net. It is often seen as a waste of possession but in youth soccer young goalkeepers will find it hard to keep out an accurate shot hit with power. MORE
There’s nothing more beautiful in soccer than seeing a well executed through ball. You could make this core skill really work for your team if you run the training sessions in this post MORE
It’s rare that I advise coaches to set up games and drills that require props, such as a wall, because not all soccer coaches will have access to one, but Slam is one game where it’s worth making the effort. Game to improve players’ kicking skills If you want a game which can improve kicking... MORE
