From: The Myers Family [myer@sgi.net]
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 11:07 PM
To: coach@pleasanthillssoccer.org
Subject: Week 4 of U8 summer session
Pleasant Hills Soccer Association
Summer Session, July 22 - July 27, 2002
 
 

Receiving Balls From the Air with the Foot (Under 8's)

Suggested summer session for week 4 of U8's. The theme of the summer session is "Its in the Air" and receiving a ball out of the air using the foot is within this summer theme.
 

Warmup: Goal on the Move

First start off with some touches out of the air with the foot.  Every player should have a ball in hand.  Have the player jog lightly around and self serve the ball to themselves in order to touch the ball up in the air with their foot and catch the ball out of the air.

Activity in Pairs:

Have the players pair up with one ball between and approximately three yards apart. The players will serve the ball to one another in the air so they can attempt to do the following:

Game Related: Zone Passing

Divide the players into two teams.  Set a field that is approximately 30 by 40 yards. Divide the field up across the width with four zones, each of ten yards. Place an equal number of players on one team into every other zone.  So two zones are X players and two zones have Y players.  Start the game by having one player with a ball.
 

         ___________________________________________
        |          |          |          |          |
        |          |          |          |          |
        |    Y     |          |     Y    |          |
        |          |          |          |          |
        |          |          |          |   X      |
        |          |          |          |          |
        |    Yo    |    X     |          |          |
        |          |          |          |          |
        |          |          |          |          |
        |          |          |          |     X    |
        |          |          |          |          |
        |          |    X     |    Y     |          |
        |__________|__________|__________|__________|

The team in possession of the ball has to attempt to pass the ball to their teammates in the other zone without the other team gaining possession.  No player is allow to leave their respective zone. Each time they are successful, they score a point.  As coach, you may want to place a time limit on the passing the ball to the other zone in order to keep the game going and for the players to take more risks with their passes.

or more teams with two teams playing at a time with one ball between the two teams.  This game is a game of hand ball, the players use their hands to pass the ball between them.  The player is allowed five steps to move in order to pass the ball with a hand service to a member of his team.
 

Game Related: The Moat Game

Divide the players into two teams.  Set a field that is approximately 30 by 40 yards and place regular goals at each end of the field.  Directly in the middle of this field, place another field which is approximately 20 by 20. This middle field is a moat. The coach is to select one (or two) players into the moat.  These are the only players that may go into the moat.
 

         ___________________________________________
        |                                           |
        |                                           |
        |    Y      _____________________           |
        |          |                     |          |
       _|      X   |                     |   X Y    |_
      | |          |                     |          | |
      | |    Yo    |    M                |          | |
      | |          |                     |          | |
      |_|          |                     |          |_|
        |          |                     |     X    |
        |          |_____________________|          |
        |               X          Y                |
        |___________________________________________|

The team in possession of the ball attempts to score on their goal.  However, each time a ball hits the ground in the moat area, it must be picked up by the moat player and served to a player on the opposite team with an air ball.  This is not to say the player cannot attempt to pass over the moat.  In fact, the coach should attempt to adjust the moat size in order to encourage this.

In any case, there is a large number of air balls in this game either played with a long pass over the moat, or served up in the air by the moat players.  The players can also attempt to go around the moat on the sides.  The usual soccer scoring applies.
 
 

Game: The Dutch Four Goal Game

           _____                             _____
         _|_____|___________________________|_____|_
        |                                           |
        |                                           |
        |    Y                                      |
        |                       Y                   |
        |      X                               Y    |
        |                                           |
        |    Yo         X                           |
        |                                           |
        |                                           |
        |                                      X    |
        |                                           |
        |               X          Y                |
        |___________________________________________|
          |_____|                           |_____|

Warm down: Forward Touches Out of the Air in Pairs

Have the players in pairs with one of the players in the pair with a ball in hand. Line all the players up so that the all move in the same direction across the field.  Have the pairs face each other about three yards apart.  As the player without the ball moves toward the player with the ball, the player with the ball serves the ball up to his or her partner and moves backward to maintain their distance.  The partner player attempts to touch the serviced ball out of the air back to their partner to catch.  This service-receive continues all the way across the field.  The partners reverse roles and come back the other way across the field.

You may do this a second time with the laces of the foot or you may choose to do the side of the foot.