Pleasant Hills Soccer Association
Winter Session 6, February 10 - 16, 2003
 
 

Dribbling Introduction (Under 9 and up)

Suggested Winter session for week 6 of the Under 9 and up. The theme of the Winter session is dribbling and shooting as described in the introduction.  As with all the Winter sessions, we will begin with the introductory dribbling skills associated with this session.  This is our sixth session indoors. Much of the material from week 6 will be geared toward shooting accuracy.

We will continue to use the walls in our indoor training environment and combine the dribbling skills with proper shooting technique.  The walls will provide for repetitive demonstrations and practices. Also, we will continue with the 1 vs 1.
 

Warm-up: Introductory Dribbling and Shooting Session

Go over each of the dribbling skills with the players having their own ball.
The moves for this week deal more with turns and are not as useful for setting up shots as in the previous two weeks.  Thus, go over these moves to give them an idea and quickly move on to the shooting techniques.

With the shooting technique, we want to concentrate on accuracy more than speed or power.  Instruct the player that the most accurate shot is with the inside surface of the foot (like a pass) since the surface area is quite large.  However, all players must also practice accuracy with the front laces of the foot as well.

Set up cones around the outside (about three yards) of the outer boundaries of the playing area. Have the players dribbling in space. Upon the coaches command, they must quickly attempt to knock over as many cones as possible.  Continue the game until all the cones have been knocked down.  Ask the players how many they were able to knock down.  Repeat the exercise several times, giving them hints or ideas of how they can increase their accuracy of shot.
 

Pac Man Game

Create a five yard square area.  This may be adjusted based upon the success of the players.  Select one of the better players to be the Pac Man to begin the game.  All other players begin within the square area and must stay within this area.  These other players do not need a ball.  All the balls are near the playing area. The coach may help with the collection of balls as they get away.

The object of the Pac Man players is to hit any of the free players with the ball below the waist. Here the Pac Man must concentrate more on accuracy and touch rather than hitting the ball hard.  Once a player get hit, this player joins the Pac Man as another Pac Man player.  Play continues until only one player is remaining.  This player becomes the Pac Man to begin the next game.

Barrel Soccer Game

Barrel Soccer is a team game.  You may have two or more teams and you may begin with one or more balls.  It is a continuous non-stop game with lots of opportunity to shoot at a target with accuracy.

The field consist only of a barrel (plastic garbage can) in a central location and surrounded by a coned off area which is approximately three yard in diameter.

The object of the game is to shoot the ball at the target barrel in the center of the field.  Each hit is a score and the game is non-stop.  Thus, after each hit, the ball typically comes off the barrel and back into play. Often times the direction of the rebound is a challenge.  Keep track of each team's score.  You may start with more than two teams and you may start with more than one ball.

The one major rule is that no player is allowed within the circle containing the barrel.  This prevents the teams from just standing in front of the barrel to block shots and it also prevents players from getting to close for shooting; making the shooting accuracy more challenging.

As play continues, you can remove balls if you played with multiple balls.  You can also reduce the number of teams down to two if you started with more than two teams.

Game: Shooter's Game

Play 4 v 4 or 5 v 5, depending upon numbers. A team may score on one of the large goals placed on the center of a wide, but short field. At every position on the field, the player's first decision should be to shoot at the large goal and score.  The game represents the attacking third of the soccer field. This game is good for shooting and finishing themes.

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Warn Down: Homework Dribbling

Review the dribbling skills covered at the beginning of the session.