Welcome to AYSO Region 253 Serving the communities of Bentley, Halstead, Kechi, North Wichita, Park City, Sedgwick, Valley Center and Whitewater.
	Coaching U5 and U6 Characteristics of 4 and 5 year olds: Developmentally, 4 and 5 year olds are very different from children who are just two or three years older. For example: Most of your players will cry immediately when they get hurt. Some cry even when  they are not hurt. No matter how loud you shout, or how much they "practice" it, they cannot or will not pass the ball. Somebody will come off the field in need of a toilet. Somebody will stay on the field when they should be going to the toilet! The only player to hold a position is the goalkeeper (if you play with one.) Don't even consider teaching positional play, Twenty seconds after the start of a game, every player will be within 5 yards of the ball. Several players will slap at the ball with their hands, or pick it up. Several parents will yell at them not to do that. A model rocket that is launched from a nearby field will get 99% of the player's attention. By all means, stop whatever you are doing and watch for a couple of minutes. During a season, you will end up tying at least 40 to 50 shoelaces They will do something that is very funny. Make sure that you laugh. Five and Six year olds can't play competitive team sports. They lack the experience to understand cooperative play and the real meaning of winning and losing. Here soccer is a means to an end, a way to introduce social and motor skills to young children who are just beginning to experience the world outside of home and school. Some of the children may experience a new form of conflict, the difference in what adults say and mean. One example is between the "just do your best and that's good enough" mantra and the realization that sometimes "your best is not good enough." Another is when the coach instructs them to take the ball away another child, (which isn't nice) while their teachers insist on sharing and being nice. This can lead to confusion about what adults, authority figures, really want. The basic game format (2, 4 goals or use targets) allows the children to learn direction. 2v2 and 3v3 mini-tournaments allows for team work on their scale. Using an appropriate field size (too big and there is no pressure, too small and players will experience conflict and stress) can help teach the consequences when the ball goes out. Goals in unusual positions (in the corner of the pitch or at an angle) can help children to get their heads up and to see beyond their feet. All of the technical skills will come along with the games and the basic lessons of "work together, keep the ball on the field and let's try going the right way" can be learned. Kids at this age do not "play soccer"; they play while at soccer. Practices must be kept active with fun, imaginative games. Each player works with his or her own ball for most of the practice. Coach should exert minimal pressure but strive to provide an environment where kids can experiment and learn. The concept of team is non-existent at this age. Instead of 3 vs. 3, it is really 1 vs. 5! Practices shouldn't last longer than 45 minutes (60 minutes with good breaks). Focus on dribbling and fundamental movement skills (running, leaping, hopping, bending, stretching, twisting, throwing, catching, and kicking). In practice players should never wait in a line more than 30 seconds. They should not run laps. The coach should not lecture for long perio ds of time. Keep players active in the practice. Develop a "flow" in which a flurry of activity is followed by short rests or less demanding activities. Players will learn by copying other players. Kids at this age barely understand rules and boundaries (sidelines). Don't emphasize boundaries in your practices or games. Keep the rules very simple. Kids need generous praise. Curiosity should be stimulated through games of their own devising. Ask them what they want to do. Let players demonstrate skills or accomplishments. Go with it. Examples of activities for 4 and 5 year olds: “Try this” The Coach does coordination exercises without ball--clapping, stretching, twisting, jumping, balancing, skipping…and asks players to try. Later, have players come up with ideas for other players to imitate. Same as above but with a ball. (Okay to use hands and feet. Progress to ball movement exercises, toe touches, rolls, etc.) “Body part dribble” Players dribble ball with different parts of their body as designated by the coach. Switch quickly between commands. Get players up and down quickly. Use verbal commands first, and then point to the area that you want the player to use. This teaches the players to look up. “Hit the bear” Players dribble around and try to hit coaches (or parents). Who can hit the most in 30 seconds? “Red Light, Green Light” All players start in a line at one end of the grid, while coach is in the middle. When coach says "green light" players dribble forward. When coach says, "red light" players stop with a foot on the ball. On "yellow light" players move forward slowly. "Reverse" players go backward. After a few rounds, use hand signals instead of verbal commands.  Individual, Technical and Tactical Issues for U5 and U6 Coordination and Basic Motor Skills Very young children (four and five year olds) are learning to coordinate and control their body movements and dynamic balance, and are generally not very nimble or agile. Practice activities that develop these basic motor skills, with and without the soccer ball will be beneficial and fun for all young children. In addition to soccer-specific activities, practice activities for five and six year-olds should target directional sense, spatial awareness, and basic motor patterns, such as hopping, skipping, jumping, bounding and running.      Contacting the Ball There are six surfaces (inside, outside, instep, sole, toe and heel) used for kicking, dribbling or controlling a soccer ball. For most U-5 and U-6 players, the toes and the laces are the most commonly used surfaces. Practice activities should encourage these players to experiment with different surfaces and ask them to “imagine” new ways to kick and dribble the ball. Games that cater to discovery learning and imitation are the recommended approaches to “teaching” new skills to young children.   Dribbling Dribbling the ball is arguably the most important soccer skill at any level, and practice activities should encourage all young players to dribble and stop and turn the ball with different surfaces and to move in different directions with the ball under control.   Passing Players as young as five will look to pass the ball to teammates, and they will do so with purpose if they are given enough time and space to consider their options.  In many cases, young children are still learning how to coordinate their perception of a game situation with the muscle actions necessary to make contact with the ball. It is important to encourage beginners to take extra touches when controlling the ball so that passes (or dribbles) are attempted with a purpose in mind, rather than as a means of kicking the ball to safety.     Shooting A player’s first thought in possession should always be “Can I score a goal from here?” Goals in practice should be wide and high enough to encourage shots from various distances and angles, and coaches should reinforce to players through their practice activities that the objective of the game is to score more goals than the opponents in the time allowed. Soccer games and other activities with no stated “outcome” are less motivating than activities that provide a way to win.      Ball Control Time, space and repetition are the most important elements for improving comfort level and reducing the number of touches necessary to control the ball. Small-sided games and complementary one-player/one-ball activities provide opportunities for young players to begin to associate the techniques of dribbling and controlling the soccer ball with the three tactical applications of dribbling: moving away from pressure, running into open space, and dribbling towards goal. Beginning level players will rarely try to control balls coming out of the air, and bouncing balls present another very difficult coordination and emotional problem for five and six year-olds. The secret of good ball control is a soft first touch; the most damaging coaching advice to give five and six year-olds is to kick the ball away.  Heading Five and six year olds will not head the ball.    Support Young players should not be restricted in their movements on the field and moving should become a natural extension of passing. Passing to other players should be expected and encouraged at this age, although dribbling the ball is the most likely method of advancing the ball. Instruction that limits players to a particular area of the field does not allow for the natural emergence of supporting positions and angles that become so important for positional play in later years.     Spaces versus Positions  For all players under the age of eight, positional coaching of any kind is irrelevant and detrimental to their fun, enjoyment and progress. Rather than be told what position to play, young players should be encouraged to “find” new supporting positions away from teammates so that passes can be exchanged.   Vision Most young players have little or no visual awareness of their immediate surroundings, and, in particular, the proximity of teammates and opponents not directly in front of them. Receiving passes when facing away from the opponent’s goal is a difficult skill, even for accomplished players, and most children will not look up until they have received the ball, secured possession, and turned to face forward. Often, young players will simply let the ball run past them into what they hope will be open space.   Defending  “Defending” at this age should be no more complicated than encouraging the children to try and win the ball back when possession is lost. Players will often naturally transition from attack to defense and recover towards their goal, but it is also true that young children will often stop playing when the ball is lost. While these players should be “gently” encouraged to participate in the game, they should never be scolded for their decision to “take a rest.” When the ball comes their way they will become involved again. Because players should be encouraged to move forward when attacking, there will be many situations when no one is at the back of the team when the opponents gain possession. This should be anticipated as a natural aspect of play for young children and one reason why scores are generally much higher in small-sided games.    Transition When the ball turns over from the attacker to the defender or from the defender to the attacker, the game offers chances to demonstrate awareness of two very important concepts: immediate recovery of the ball and immediate counter-attack to goal.  Players should be assessed on how well they understand these concepts and encouraged to react as quickly as possible to any change in possession.    Creativity Because five and six year-olds are learning to coordinate ball manipulation with body control, “creativity” is more likely to appear as good ball control or faking or feinting movements. Players who can change speed and direction and retain control of the ball are applying their techniques in a creative way. Players who can move their bodies from side to side in an effort to unbalance a defender are showing signs of creativity. Players who experiment with different parts of their feet or control the ball with different body parts, are showing signs of creativity. At this age, allowing children to think and to fantasize and to create their own solutions to the game’s problems is a critical element of coaching.
Last Updated 9/9/2007