U8 Soccer Drills

February 3, 2010 · Filed Under Uncategorized 

Coaching U8 soccer players can be like herding cats. You need to use soccer drills that are:

  • Quick to set up
  • Have a lot of movement
  • Keep everyone involved
  • Fun

Any drill that requires more than five minutes of explaining is lost on u8 players. Probably three minutes is ideal.

Keeping movement into the drills is important because it simulates game situations and improves fitness

I see so many teams working out where there are twenty kids and four balls. While four kids are dribbling, everyone else is just standing around. And they are not paying attention.

Here are three tips to keeping everyone involved:

  1. Have enough soccer balls for everyone
  2. Have an assignment for kids not doing the skill. For instance, they can count how many dribbles one player makes. Or they can exercise/move during their resting time.
  3. Three kids in a group at the maximum. More kids and they will get squirrelly.

Look at your favorite drills next time you are at practice. Do they follow these guidelines? If not, change some things around until they do. Your team will improve faster and they will have more fun.

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