Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 U- 7 Coaching Guide

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Purpose This guide is designed to be an aid to all coaches, but especially the first timers. It is tailored for the U-7 age group, and can serve as your week-by-week recommended practice guide. Feel free to strictly follow this guide or discard it. It is an aid.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Thank You! We really appreciate you volunteering your time. Without your assistance, the season doesn’t happen. The kids win, when we all pitch in.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Getting Started Call all your kids as soon as possible. Ensure you tell the parents each child should bring their own size three soccer ball for practice (Adults play with a size five), shin guards, and a full water bottle. We recommend buying some cones, ten should be enough. Kelly Sports on Rt. 202 at Matlack Street sells them for about $1 each. It is not imperative, but the cones make setting up smaller practice fields much easier. Parents will have a million questions, do your best to answer them, if you cannot, call the age commissioner. Joe Grady – DO NOT GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PARENTS. If parents want to contact me, tell them to me at

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Game Rules and Strategy Five kids on the field at a time. Play eight minute quarters, with three minutes between 1st -2nd and 3rd-4th quarters; take about five minutes at half time. Shin Guards must be worn or child cannot play. Any arm casts must be heavily padded. This is to prevent injury to other players who may be in the path of a swinging arm. Everyone should play an equal amount of time ( at least half the game ) and at a number of different positions. One good way to set the team up is shown on the next page. In a diamond shape, use a stopper, two midfielders, a forward and a goalie. The kids will want to gravitate towards the ball, but try to encourage them to play their position - this will need constant reinforcement throughout the game. Coaches are expected to be on the field, but only one coach from each team. Designate the stopper to always stay back on defense. Encourage the midfielders to go up and down the field, (both offense and defense) but designate one midfielder as primarily DEFENSE. If you want to win the game, you first must keep the other team from scoring.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 The Field End line Touch line Goal Area F M S M G F - Forward M – Mid-fielder S- Stopper G - Goalie Half Line

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Game Rules and Strategy Tell the forward, who is primarily out there to score goals, and the midfielders that they must help on defense. When the other team has the ball EVERYONE should be defense. Stress passing to each other to get around the defenders Ball over the end line last touched by a defender results in a corner kick; over the end line last touched by offense, restart with a goal kick, on edge of goal area. On goal kicks, all defensive players must be across the half field line. Players on kicking team do not have to be across mid-field line. If the ball goes over the touch line, restart with a throw-in. (proper throw-in: both hands on ball, both feet on ground, must come directly over head) Do not let kids throw one handed, etc. Try to work on this a little bit in practice. Allow child to repeat throw-in if done grossly incorrect. Do not play with off sides, but discourage an offensive player from hanging around the other team’s goal area.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Game Rules and Strategy If you see a foul, call it - no tripping, no pushing, no touching ball with hands. If you call a foul, restart with a kick at the spot of the foul. Collisions are not permitted, even if “he couldn’t control himself”. Running into another player should result in a severe warning…if it continues, ask coach to remove player. Do not get into a situation where the game is getting rough. Soccer is a contact, but NOT a collision sport. Substitutions can be made at any throw-in, goal kick, quarter, or injury, but must be done quickly and not impede the flow of the game. Highly recommended to prepare a line-up, with proposed substitutions before the game. This minimizes your on-field decisions when all the kids are nagging you to play a certain position. Ask parents to let you know if a child will miss a game.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Week One - The Basics Housekeeping - introduce yourself to the parents and ask for volunteers to help coach, hand out schedules and picture forms, etc. Ask someone to coordinate a snack schedule. It is wise to enlist as many parents in the process as possible. They’ll help if you ask. Some of your kids will not have played soccer at all, so it is important to set some of the rules at the very beginning of practice - No hands (except for the goalie), no slide tackling, no kicking the other player, ABOVE ALL - stress fair, safe play. Also stress that we want no one to get hurt. Warm up - A little warm up of stretching the muscles is a great way to kick it off. Have the kids form a circle or a straight line (good luck) and stretch their muscles a little. Start with some jumping jacks, then stretch their leg muscles, ankles, maybe some trunk twists. Not longer than five minutes or so - they want to play. Finish up with a trot around the field. This introduces them to the dimensions of the soccer ‘pitch’. Running with ball. Each player has a ball. Make a circle or a square with cones. The first drill should be simply running around with the ball in a small circle about yards in diameter. Stress running, not walking. They should try to keep the ball close to their feet, while not going out of the circle. Observe who seems to be comfortable and who does not. Assess players skills minutes. Every minute or so have them stop the ball with a body part (head, foot, bottom, nose) on your command. This will get them to keep the ball closer. And its fun!

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Week One - The Basics Basic Passing/Trapping. One ball per pair. Pair players off in twos for passing back and forth. Stress proper striking of the ball - inside of the foot, with kicking foot at right angles to the plant foot - NOT the toe. Stress passing to your partner, so he/she can control the ball. Stress trapping with the instep (same as passing). Should do this drill every week. Sharks and Minnows. Start in circle of cones, pick one player to be shark. Only minnows have ball. Shark in middle. Object is to keep your ball away from the shark(s). As shark kicks minnow’s ball out of the circle, minnow becomes shark. Continue until all balls except one are kicked out of the circle. Last minnow is winner and gets to start as shark next time. Do this three or four times. Throw-ins. A throw in is how you restart after the ball goes over the touch line. One ball per pair. Pair players off in twos for throwing back and forth. Stress using two hands straight over the head, both feet must remain on ground. Move to the field and practice throwing the ball up the field - never towards the middle, until yu get real close to the goal. (This keeps them moving towards the other team’s goal.) Scrimmage - Let them play - four v four.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Week Two Warm up. A little warm up of stretching the muscles is a great way to kick it off. Have the kids form a circle or a straight line (good luck) and stretch their muscles a little. Start with some jumping jacks, then stretch their leg muscles, ankles, maybe some trunk twists. Not longer than five minutes or so - they want to play. Finish up with a trot around the field. This introduces them to the dimensions of the soccer ‘pitch’. Running with ball. Each player has a ball. Make a circle or a square with cones. The first drill should be simply running around with the ball in a small circle about yards in diameter. Stress running, not walking. They should try to keep the ball close to their feet, while not going out of the circle. Observe who seems to be comfortable and who does not. Assess players skills minutes. Every minute or so have them stop the ball with a body part (head, foot, bottom) on your command. This will get them to keep the ball closer. And its fun! Shielding. Shielding is placing your body between the defender and the ball. When done properly, the defender would have to go through the kid with the ball, hence committing a foul. Demonstrate first with one child trying to get the ball off you while you constantly move to keep your body between the defender and the ball. One ball per pair, have first one, then the other practice shielding. Dribbling and passing. Two lines, facing each other from about yards apart. One ball. Player starts dribbling ball towards the other line, stress keeping the ball close while running - not a simple jog. When close to the other line, deliver soft pass to the first player in the other line. After the pass, get in opposite line from which they started. Run through the lines until each player gets 4-5 turns to dribble the ball. Goal Kicks - This is a re-start after the ball goes over the endline. Set the kids up to receive the goal kick and ensure the kicker kicks it up the field to one side - NEVER up the middle of the field. Stress never kicking the ball across the goal area. It is very easy to mis-kick at this level and if the ball is kicked across the middle, it’s easy for the other team to intercept the pass and to get a goal. Scrimmage - Let them play - four v- four.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Week Three A little warm up of stretching the muscles is a great way to kick it off. Have the kids form a circle or a straight line (good luck) and stretch their muscles a little. Start with some jumping jacks, then stretch their leg muscles, ankles, maybe some trunk twists. Not longer than five minutes or so - they want to play. Finish up with a trot around the field. This introduces them to the dimensions of the soccer ‘pitch’. Running with ball. Each player has a ball. Make a circle or a square with cones. The first drill should be simply running around with the ball in a small circle about yards in diameter. Stress running, not walking. They should try to keep the ball close to their feet, while not going out of the circle. Observe who seems to be comfortable and who does not. Assess players skills minutes. Every minute or so have them stop the ball with a body part (head, foot, bottom) on your command. This will get them to keep the ball closer. And its fun! Defending. The basic position for a kid to play defense is to ensure he is between the goal and the attacker. Can’t tell you how many times, even at a U-10 or U-12 level this is not done properly. No drill for this, this is a talking piece. Simply point out where the goal is, who is the attacker and ask the kids where should you be positioned if you are trying to keep the attacker from scoring. What I always do: I’m on the sideline, simulating a restart by throw-in. Have one kid be on your team (the attacking team), and another kid be the defender. Tell the attacker not to move and ask the defender to get into the position that would best position him to prevent the attacker from scoring a goal. Invariably, the kid will position himself between you and the attacker. When you ask him if he’s ready simply throw the ball over the defender’s head and the attacker is off to the races, clear to goal. Point out that the defender should always position himself between the man and the goal – this is often referred to as being ‘goal-side’ of your man. Sharks and Minnows. Start in circle, pick one player to be shark. Only minnows have ball. Shark in middle. Object is to keep your ball away from the shark(s). As shark kicks minnow’s ball out of the circle, minnow becomes shark. Continue until all balls except one are kicked out of the circle. Last minnow is winner and gets to start as shark next time. Do this three or four times. Heading the ball - pair off, one ball per pair. Demonstrate for kids how to head the ball. Striking the ball with the forehead, while snapping the neck forward. They’ll be very timid at this, so don’t spend a lot of time, just expose them to the concept. Have them stand about four feet a part a easily toss the ball to their partner’s head. Stress striking the ball with the head and NOT simply letting the ball hit the head. Scrimmage - Let them play - four v- four.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Week Four Warm up - A little warm up of stretching the muscles is a great way to kick it off. Have the kids form a circle or a straight line (good luck) and stretch their muscles a little. Start with some jumping jacks, then stretch their leg muscles, ankles, maybe some trunk twists. Not longer than five minutes or so - they want to play. Finish up with a trot around the field. This introduces them to the dimensions of the soccer ‘pitch’. Running with ball. Each player has a ball. Make a circle or a square with cones. The first drill should be simply running around with the ball in a small circle about yards in diameter. Stress running, not walking. They should try to keep the ball close to their feet, while not going out of the circle. Observe who seems to be comfortable and who does not. Assess players skills minutes. Every minute or so have them stop the ball with a body part (head, foot, bottom) on your command. This will get them to keep the ball closer. And its fun! Basic Passing/Trapping. One ball per pair. Pair players off in twos for passing back and forth. Stress proper striking of the ball - inside of the foot, with kicking foot at right angles to the plant foot - NOT the toe. Stress passing to your partner, so he/she can control the ball. Stress trapping with the instep (same as passing). Should do this drill every week. Sharks and Minnows. Start in circle, pick one player to be shark. Only minnows have ball. Shark in middle. Object is to keep your ball away from the shark(s). As shark kicks minnow’s ball out of the circle, minnow becomes shark. Continue until all balls except one are kicked out of the circle. Last minnow is winner and gets to start as shark next time. Do this three or four times. Heading the ball - pair off, one ball per pair. Demonstrate for kids how to head the ball. Striking the ball with the forehead, while snapping the neck forward. They’ll be very timid at this, so don’t spend a lot of time, just expose them to the concept. Have them stand about four feet a part a easily toss the ball to their partner’s head. Stress striking the ball with the head and NOT simply letting the ball hit the head. Scrimmage - Let them play - four v- four.

Last Updated March 2004Property of West Chester United Soccer Club Copyright: Joe Grady 2001 Weeks Five - Onward Mix up the drills learned already. By now you’ll have found what works and what does not. Improvise. A few places on the internet has other soccer drills. Try these: