U6 Practice Games

Let your players interest level guide your choices for practice. Make it fun, and supportive! Avoid drills that involve standing in line. Having a ball for every player is ideal. Invent your own games. A good name can make a big difference!

Volcano Island

Put out a bunch of tall cones. Players dribble and knock over cones with their ball. How many can you do in 30 seconds? Coaches can stand up the cones during the game,.

Pac-Man/Goal Fever

Spread pairs of cones around an area, each pair about 4 feet apart. Each pair is a goal – see how many goals you can dribble through in a minute? Later, how many can you and a partner pass through in a minute?

Dragons and Knights

make a large circle with cones. Dragons dribble around in the circle, while knights try to kick out their balls. Dragons who lose balls become knights. Or vice versa?

Dragon’s Nest

The knights form a circle holding stretched out arms, or slightly wider. A few dragons are inside with the balls, trying to kick them outside the circle. Knights use their feet and bodies to block the dragon’s eggs.

Cheetahs

Everyone Start with a ball at their feet, next to the coach in a circle around her. On a signal, dribble away from the coach as fast as you can. Who can get the farthest in 10 seconds? Now see who can dribble back to coach the quickest.

Fire in the Forest or Tsunami in the Sea

Like sharks and minnows: Everyone lines up at one end of the ‘forest’ with their balls. Each gets to choose a forest animal they will be. The coach (or player) is a grabbing tree in the middle of the forest; call out animal names and they dribble forward to the other side of the forest. If the slow moving tree kicks out a ball that player becomes another tree. Call out names for another round. Call “fire” and all the animals go at once. Can also be tsunami in the sea with ocean animal names.

Freeze Tag - Blob Tag – Hospital Tag – Gopher Tag

and other infinite varieties – ask the kids.

Falling Down Practice

Literally practice falling down, and getting up right away. Emphasize the normalcy of falling down, and the importance of getting up right away, so your hands don’t get stepped on.

Shadow Buddies

In pairs, each with a ball, one follows the leader as closely as possible. May start without balls.

1v1 with a friend

Play 1v1 with cone goals. Rotate to a new partner. Option – use one tall cone, and knock over the cone with a ball to score a goal.

2v2

You can use the last third of practice playing 2v2 while the other players rest. After two minutes, switch; field players rest, the resting players play. A good time for coaches to play on the field with each team. You can group the players by ability so newer/younger players get more touches on the ball and build their confidence. This is especially good when players are tired and need a rest.