U10/U11 - Covering for Coach John

Tonight after our U13 session I ran an hour of the U10/U11 group.   The U11 group was missing their coach and were to train with the U10 group.  The U10 group had their parent meeting tonight so the call came.

I wasn't sure what to expect as I have never worked with either group.  There were 21 players in total.

I set up a 25x25 grid, 10 players on the inside with a ball each and 11 players around the perimeter of the grid.  The players on the inside find an open player on the outside, pass and take their place.  The player receiving the ball makes a long first touch into the grid and seeks another player on the perimeter to pass to and take his place.

Coaching points:

• Communication between passer and receiver (verbal, visual).
• Players around perimeter checking out and in, attacking the ball.
• Players in the grid make the pass when the pass is on, no extra touches.

We then progressed to dividing players into 2 teams and you were only allowed to pass to player on your team, no forcing them to locate teammates.  Same coaching points.

We then progressed to having only 3 players of each team in the grid and the rest on the perimeter.  With that setup there was only one ball and they were playing possession.  When you used a support player from the perimeter you took their place and they came into play.  5 consecutive passes gets the other team 5 push-ups.

Additional coaching points:

• Look for near AND far support
• Do not dribble the ball towards a teammate with everybody chasing you
• Use turns to move towards open space and see options for far support

I then progressed it to a 6v6 game  before the coaches took over again.  The only condition I put on the game was no on touch play (blindly striking the ball).

The session was very enjoyable for me and the kids were great.  I hope to see them again soon.