U9 Boys - Pelham - receiving the ball

Few situations are more rewarding than watching the instant improvement of younger players.

Tonight I went to run a session for my nephew's U9 team in neighbouring Pelham.  I always felt silly running around doing sessions for people and never working with my nephews.  My brother helps with this team and I also wanted to support his coaching endeavours.

Tonight's topic was receiving the ball with the inside and outside of the foot and moving the first touch away from pressure.

I started them off with a small sided game for my own diagnostic purposes.  We had some fun and I saw what I needed to see.

We ran them through various passing drills focusing on the way they receive the ball and move out from their first touch.

Coaching points throughout were:

• Attack the ball
• Look-touch-look-play
• First touch out from the feet
• First touch away from pressure

I enjoyed the session and a lot of players quickly picked up on what we were doing.  We let them play enough, but next time I think I would let them play more or have more competitive challenges.

I kept the practice on an individual level for a few reasons: it supports LTPD to do so and I am not aware of their coach's philosophy during games.  Some coaches are not comfortable with certain styles of play and I respect that.

If I get the chance, I would like to work with this group again on footwork and turns.

Tonight reinforced what I people say regarding coaches going back and working with younger age groups to stay sharp.