Soccer teamwork game for coaching young players
Team games from other sports can be adapted so they have a use in your soccer coaching programme. It is ideal to use team games because not only are you coaching individual skills you are also encouraging team bonding.
This game of soccer baseball gets your young players working together in teams to find ways to improvise and move the ball where they want it to go.
In this version of baseball players are not allowed to use their hands they must use soccer rules for all aspects of the game, pitching, batting, stopping the ball and so on.
It is a game that is all about competing in a fun environment and about building team spirit. It will help you develop your players’ kicking accuracy and passing under pressure. It is basically baseball or rounders using a soccer ball and feet instead of hands and bats.
Set up the soccer drill
- Set up a square using cones as bases.
- You need a home base with a strike zone and bases 1, 2, and 3 with players guarding them.
- The sides of the square should be around 20 yards for U12-16s but half that for younger age groups.
- The pitcher’s mark should be in the centre where the ball is kicked from towards home base (strike zone).
- The game is best played with a size 3 or 4 ball for all age groups.
How to run it- The pitcher must pass to the batter using their feet.
- Outfielders must control the ball and pass to the base players with their feet unless the ball has been kicked in the air without bouncing - my rule is that if the fielder can head the ball in the air the batter is out.
- Play until both sides are out or put a time limit on each side.
- The strike zone for the batter should be 2ft either side of the home base, and 1ft high. Any serves outside these boundaries is a no ball.
- The batter has only one touch.
- Runners are out if the ball is passed to the base and theplayer on the base controls it with their feet and hits the cone before the runner gets to it.
- Runners hit with the ball below the knee are out if they are between bases.
- Runners may not advance more than one base on an overkicked ball from one of the fielders.
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Click here for a small-sided soccer game for young players, which includes a touchdown twist.
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