U8 season goals

Since we moved to a large group training approach for the U8 in 2018, we have developed a set of season goals for the age group that are developmentally appropriate. I have listed them in sections below and then added some detail about the most important elements. 

Skills: 

• Passing
• control of bouncing balls
• dribbling skills- pull back, outside foot push, inside/outside, inside/inside

Team shape

• Head/ Wings/ Tail

Tactical goals

• Head stays high (in the attacking half of the field)
• Find the head- complete a pass to the head. 

Team goals

• Bananas split- concept is to keep players from bunching up. 
• Visual cues: if your teammate has the ball, don't go towards the ball. 

Individual goals: 

• when the ball is in a clump of players, pull back
• dribble around defenders, not through them. 
• Go to the side, not forward first.  

In making the transition from U6 to U8, we move from

• One player and her ball
• Find the ball, go to the ball

to a team shape for the first time (Head, Wings, Tail) where the players will have assigned positions with defined roles. Instead of clumping up and chasing the ball, we ask the players to have a shape and solve problems in pairs. 

In order to achieve those goals, the primary skill that is added is passing. The concept of passing is very difficult for the players to understand because it requires that they no longer simply go to the ball, but instead have to make a judgement about whether or not to go to the ball. The player with the ball has to have both skill (control the ball, make the pass) and composure to look for a teammate before making the pass. 

The transition is hard and most 6 year olds will not be able to do it with consistency. The cognitive load is very high, especially for players new to the game. There are some cues that the coach can use to see how players are progressing. 

• The first cue is that the player doesn't reflexively go towards the ball and no longer steals the ball from a teammate. Instead, the player moves away from where the ball is and asks for the ball from a teammate. This player recognizes that he is involved in the game, but is not near the ball. 
• The second cue is what a player does when she receives the ball with space to play. Most players will take this opportunity to kick the ball away in the general direction of the goal. If the player controls the ball and then looks up or around for a teammate. 

Regardless of the player's mental stage of development, the player needs to be able to make a pass. So passing skills need to be a part of the development cycle. Most coaches opt for a static exercise where pairs of players get 5-10 yards apart and pass the ball back and forth really poorly. While players may get multiple attempts to pass the ball, they are only involved 50% of the time because they make every other pass. 

Instead, what we practice first is self-pass. In this activity, the player chooses a spot about 10 yards away and tries to make a good quality, accurate pass. After completing the motion, the player sprints to retrieve their own ball and then repeats the activity with their other foot. This helps them to understand that passing involves both passing and moving to a new position. 

When we do go to pairs passing, we give them a bunch of small goals to pass through and challenge them to pass through as many as they can in a set time (like 1 minute). We also have them use passing to move to different parts of the field (like a series of safe zones). Both of these activities are more game like, but do not involve the pressure of the game situation. 

Team Shape

The most important player in U8 is the target forward or "head." This player is supposed to provide depth to the attacking team. She has to wait for the ball to get into the attacking half before participating in the game. She has to keep her eye on the ball, but not go to the ball until the right time. Initially, most players simply stand by the goal or the midfield line. It is only through repeated practice that players begin to get the idea of the position. If the player is seeing the ball and in the right position, she should get multiple chances to score a goal.

The concept of keeping the head in the attacking half of the field is known as "the head stays high." This has been received well by players, even if they don't actually do it very well. 

If players have the head up high, then the second goal can also be achieved, "find the head." This is where a teammate actually passes the ball to the head. The goal is to do this multiple times in a game with different players in the head position receiving balls from different teammates. 

Dribbling

Like U6 players, U8 players most commonly attempt to solve the problem of getting the ball out of a clump of players by repeatedly kicking at the ball with little thought to where the ball will end up going. As we did with passing, players need some direct instruction and some game like situations to figure out how to solve this problem. 

Repetition of a few dribbling skills at each session is the best approach. Running through a bunch of dribbling skills without any reference as to how and when to use them in a game may make them look better, but focusing on solving a couple of problems that they will regularly encounter in the game is a much better strategy. 

For each move (like a pullback), practice without pressure and then add some kind of pressure (other players, adults, coaches) within a confined space. Focus on when the skill would be used in a game. 

Controlling the ball

Players need to be able to gain control of a ball when it comes to them. While most balls will be on the ground, some balls will be bouncing. Regardless of how a ball gets to the player, the player needs to settle it and then do something else with it (dribble, pass or shoot). 

A player who cannot control the ball, cannot also do any other soccer skills with the ball. We focus first on juggling skills as a way to introduce ball control. While some juggling is done when the ball is in the air, we also incorporate bouncing balls that the players have to alternately kick or catch with their laces. 

In games, throw ins and goal kicks are the most common times when a player will have to deal with a bouncing ball. We incorporate bouncing balls in our scrimmages when we play new ball and the coach tosses in the next ball to the players sometimes in the air or like a throw in. 

Coaching approach

Players are still very sensitive to criticism and quickly grow tired of repeated corrections. Instead, try to identify when a player has done something right and comment on that. For example, during a scrimmage, every time a player does something well, you can say "YES." 

When you are offering a correction, remember to provide a positive comment as well. For example, "when the ball comes to you and no one else is around, instead of kicking it away, can you show everyone how well you can dribble? I know you can. Let's try. I'll give you another ball. Show me what you can do."