Soccer Milestones 5-6 y/o

Soccer Milestones for this age group are quite simple but the method of delivery is the art. Be creative and confident. 5-6 y/o vary in maturity, exposure, and interest. They don't need know why they do as long as they are doing it. repetition is physical movement is key and at this age a routine in practice begins to take shape. They may have a foundation of some sort of soccer exposure and now we begin the road map to technical skill mastery.

5-6 y/o

Dribbling - Children this age should be able to comprehend the overall game and be able to comfortably dribble with inside feet. They should be touching the ball at least 80 times within 15-25 minutes when practicing technical skill. They should be able to answer these two key questions.

What controls the ball in soccer? answer-THE BODY

First step in soccer to everything is? answer - CONTROL

Turns

At this age we will focus on two turns to master in non-pressure environment.

Cut-in turn and Walk over turn. Knowing these two turns will provide an excellent foundation for whats to come. After they can perform it in non-pressure environemnt we change it up and add pressure in many forms to challenge them.

Defending- At this age they should be able to grasp that taking the ball away from the other team is part of the rules. they should be able to understand to take the ball away they need to get in front of them (first step of defending) also called getting goal side.

Verbal cues for defense during play is "get in front of them"  &  "pressure".

Match Play- they can tell you how many teams,goals, and balls soccer is played with. Understand they don't chase or take a ball away from their team. Although, Bunch ball may be more frequent than not they are able to play real soccer and use body to keep ball in play. soccer scrimmage is fun and they should be asking to play. Heavy emphasis on playing real soccer at this age. I recommend no less than 20 minutes of scrimmage during practices.

Passing -
We introduce Control - Push - Pass methodology of passing. This is practice and in time will translate to the game. Be patient...soccer is not drill driven, it's an art! Teach the process first. Verbal cue "control".

Shooting- Control - Place - Shoot is introduced. They may not get the "place" part of the striking process so replace "place" with "push". The process itself will force them to get on the ball ans use laces eliminating the toe kick. Verbal cue "point toe down..use laces"

Learning how to play soccer needs to be imaginative, FUN, and still technical... a good practice is a perfect balance between the three.