It is of paramount importance that the kids know well in advance as to what they have in store in terms of drills or exercises even before they get to the field. When they do, they are better prepared for it mentally as well as physically. As it is, it is always advisable for the coach to do his homework in advance. It is not just deciding about the drills in advance but also the organization of the session such as how many groups will you make, what equipment is needed, or which group will undertake the drill first and so on.
There are other factors that need consideration too. The duration of the drills, how much time will each activity take and what is the best way to move from one drill to another are points that must be given adequate attention. If you know what you are going to do and how you are going to do it, you will make your job much easier and the game of soccer interesting for your kids. When you are thorough in your approach, it also carries forward an impression that you are disciplined and do not tolerate acts of indiscipline. Hence, you end up having more control over the players which is important.
You do not need to make elaborate documentation for all this. Just maintain a small diary and keep adding notes to it that you can refer to at will.
As has been said so many times earlier, maintaining some sort of documentation or notes of sessions is highly recommended. You can be innovative; bring your experience into play, take ideas from different sources and combine them to draw out practice plans that are interesting as well as productive. At the same time, it makes no sense at all to continue with a plan that doesn’t work or has stopped giving results. Also, it makes sense to keep a few plans handy so that you can always experiment. With just 1 plan, you may be stuck with it even if it is ineffective.
Let’s discuss a few soccer practice plans that will help you enforce the points we have discussed above. While you conduct them, you will also get an idea of how well the plan should be designed so as to sustain the interest of the kids.
Passing Numbers

This game is simple but at the same time teaches a lot of skills and is interesting. In it, the player passes the ball to someone who has a number higher than him. For example, player number 2 passes to player number 3. In this fashion, the entire team passes the ball between players. Initially, it is fine to allow unlimited touches to the ball but as the game progresses decrease this ratio to 2 touches, then one and so on. You can also add variations such as using only the left foot, outside foot etc to increase the complexity of the game.
This drill is very effective in teaching kids how to pass effectively and also improving their reflexes alongside.
Last but very important point is making sure that the kids not exhaust themselves too much in this drill. It is a simple drill that should focus more on the development of skills than speed.
Pass and Defend

For this drill, you must divide the kids into groups of 3. Every group must have a ball. Then the first player, say player A tosses the ball to one of the fellows, either player B or C. Player B takes control of the ball and passes it to C. While B is trying to do that, A must begin to challenge B so as to win back the ball from him. When C receives the ball, he passes it to A while B tries to challenge C. Whoever is successful in either winning back the ball or passing it successfully gets a point.
It is important to make note of the following points while the players are doing this drill:
• See that the player who receives the ball closes the space quickly and acts fast. This puts pressure on the challenger.
• The player who receives the first touch should be away from the defender.
• The player who receives the pass should move so that a passing lane is created.
• The receiving player must not be allowed to touch the incoming toss.
This drill serves to warm up the kids as well as ones who act as defenders.
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Yours in soccer,

Andre Botelho

Andre Botelho’s Soccer Coaching Blog
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