Coach development: A program is only as good as its coaches: These plans cover all aspects of the fundamentals of the game and should provide you with a good base of ideas to work from. They should help you in your preparation for your team’s practices and consequently play a positive role in your team’s preparation for games. However, hopefully this program goes even farther than that and facilitates the development of your own ideas and training methods.

When using these practice plans don’t be afraid of inserting your own ideas to make the games and activities more fun, more difficult, or simpler depending on the progress of your players. Use your imagination, be creative, design your own games or practice using these plans as a foundation.

Beware of any exercises that keep players in lines or waiting for their turn. If you have an assistant coach or two, get a couple of practice areas going at the same. Try to make sure you use every minute of your practice time to the maximum.

Volunteer Coaches: we are in process of providing you with a list of games and drills that you can simply “plug in” to the PRACTICE TEMPLATE below.

Semi-Professional Coaches: We expect that a higher level of planning/preparation and sound educational principles will go into a “professionally run” series of soccer lessons. It is not enough to simply run a few drills and then scrimmage. Use a combination of your own ideas and the educational/pedagogical concepts that are consistently presented in MRYSL (and CYSA/USSF etc) Workshops. Remember: you are a TEACHER and FACILITATOR more than “A great player who can demonstrate all the soccer skills”.
Please pay particular attention to the Under-10 themes identified below.

THE SIX STEPS
 

All Coaches should PLAN ahead (Lesson Plan on Paper) using the following Mandatory STEPS.

1. Select a lesson Theme (such as “Kicking technique” or “First defender-Defensive footwork”). Spend 20-30 minutes on your lunch hour with paper and pencil Planning for SUCCESS.
   You will be glad you did this!
   
   

2. Preliminary or Warm-Up Activity. Start your session on time with whoever is “ready”. Do a FUN, low-aerobic activity that stragglers will WANT to hustle to so as not to miss out. Soccer-tag games (many are listed both here and in MRYSL Cricket Curriculum) are an ideal choice (especially if your THEME is dribbling!!)
   
   Coaching Tip: Get them moving and smiling right away. Select a game that can be explained in 45 seconds or less(as in) “Tag game. Susie is IT. Stay inside the square please. If you are tagged, get a yellow pinnie. Ready? Go!”
   
   
3. Stretch.  Explain why we stretch (cue words: muscle and flexibility) and why we stretch when we are already WARM. Allow players to have input on which stretches. Hold 20-30 seconds (longer is better, but attention spans are short!) on each muscle. Encourage a slow-yoga-breathe-relax mentality (i.e. NOT to force the muscle beyond comfort zones).

   Coaching Tip: One advantage of yoga stretches is that many poses are “animal shapes” which children really enjoy. Use this quiet time also to verbally introduce the theme and tasks for the day…in 60 seconds or less! Hydration: good time to sip-sip-sip as we transition to next Step.
   
    

4. Technique activity: Players work one-to a-ball or in pairs. Select only one THEME. Select 3 simple COACHING CUES.

   Sample Coaching Cues:(On your toes-receive with a cushion-change the angle of the ball). (13 words…but 9 words are even better!)

   Use the ratio of 1 minute talk for every 3 minutes action. Avoid having players stand in lines.

   Coaching Tip: Look ALWAYS for “tricks” to make the skill activity motivating to young players. For example: instead of playing (boring) kick back…let’s go BOWLING FOR DOLLARS!! As we try to aim at pylons/cones using our new kick technique. However, a really good coach will be able to make even ‘boring” drills come alive through enthusiastic, clear and positively loaded presentation…
   
   

   4(b). Game, Quasi-Game or Mini-Game Activity: Best if (cunningly disguised) combined with technique activity (see #4 above).The object here is to present a game that has REALISTIC & DYNAMIC SOCCER SITUATIONS occurring very frequently…that require use of the “Specified Technique of the Day/week”.
   Avoid Coaching ANY episodes that are NOT central to your THEME.
   (Most coaches will need to re-read this last sentence daily!)
   Coaching Tip:(It is simply not appropriate or productive to even mention poor defending if your “Theme for Today” is Passing!!!)
   It is ok to add neutral players (e.g. 3 vs. 3 plus 4N = 7 vs. 3) to ensure successful repetitions, and it is also ok to impose one or two carefully selected conditions (such as 3-touch soccer if (IF!!!) the Theme is passing).
   
   Coaching Tip: Tell the players what they are doing RIGHT! A positive sandwich ratio of 3:1 in Positive Specific Feedback (PSF) loops. (These concepts are covered comprehensively in MRYSL Coach Workshops)
   
    

5. Game/Scrimmage. All Under-10 scrimmages at practice should be 2v 2 or 3 v 3.
   Rationale: This is (a) to create maximum repetitions (b) to reinforce the USSF recognized Themes (for this age) of : 1st-2nd attacker and 1st-2nd defender. At least 20 minutes per day of this should be an UNCOACHED 2 v 2 or 3v3 Tournament. It is permissible for some restrictions (such as 3-touch play in a passing lesson) to be imposed.

   Coaching tip: In the first 15 minutes of these games, reinforce using PSF attached to the Theme of the Day.

   “That’s great Anton, you remembered to force the player wide”

   Coaching tip: In the final 15 minutes of these scrimmages, Coach MUST leave the playing area, go sit down, and watch silently as the players find their own way. The only reason to intervene would be a player safety issue. This may be your most difficult task as a Coach and potentially the most enjoyable for EVERYONE on your team1!
   
    

6. Closure: this is a key part of any quality lesson, and should ALWAYS be conducted in a circle. Time to review/ask questions/What did we learn today? Time to give and receive compliments. Time to look ahead to the next team event. It also time for the players to “clean up their room” by collecting all the equipment as a sign of team cooperation. It is NOT the Coaches job to clean up the mess!

   Coaching Tip: Allow your team to leave practice when EVERY player in the circle has either given or received a sincere/specific compliment to/from a teammate. This is a priceless positive Coaching tool that takes a little rehearsal, but is worth working through the kinks.
   “I want to compliment Maria because she has really improved her power shot today”
   
   

CYSA Note: There is a 9-Step Format for practices that is very well explained throughout all CYSA Curriculum. Some of it is incorporated here, other pieces have been dropped in favour of Curriculum researched through successful CA Clubs/Leagues such as Pleasanton Ballistics (BUSC).