Cause and effect
Other's point of view
Exert control over environment
Feel success
Self-monitor (practice habits)
Fairness
Expression of thoughts & feelings
Relationships
Longer attention spans
Four Players & One ball
Can move with and without the ball
Kids should leave u10 with the ability to dribble, run with the ball, pass and receive
ALSO MUST HAVE A LOVE FOR THE GAME TO GET THEM INTO U12!!

Attacking: Dribble- feint, scissors, cross, see ya, drag the ball, pull it back; Pass - inside & outside of foot; Receive - inside & outside of foot, thigh; Shoot - instep; Head - introduce it between partners for technique; Combination play - wall pass; Support

Defending: Immediate chase, pressure, cover.

Dribbling coaching points:
· Body mechanics - keeps ball close to body, use all parts of both feet, When turning, lift the toe to wrap the foot around the ball
· Body shape and balance - knees bent & low to ground, arms out
· Change of pace / direction
· Deception
· Protecting the ball
· Vision of field
· When to beat a player and when to pass

Running with the ball Coaching Points
· Use laces of shoe
· Point toe down, and turn foot a little to the inside
· Touch ball every step, keep it close

Passing Coaching Points:
· Non-kicking foot pointed at target
· Lift toe of kicking foot
· Bend knee of kicking foot
· Step into the pass for some momentum
· Follow through straight ahead
· Pass power is from hip down
· Weight of pass
· Accuracy
· Timing of pass with timing of run

Receiving Coaching points:
· Body mechanics
· Body shape & balance
· Early selection of receiving surface
· Eye on ball; read flight of ball
· Body in line with flight of ball
· Relax with ball
· Control to ball to a new space, not stop it dead
· Preparation touch away from pressure to pass, dribble or shoot

Shooting Coaching Points:
· Body mechanics - non-kicking foot points at target, lock ankle
· Body shape, balance, weight transfer - snap leg, finish on shooting foot
· Eye on ball
· Preparation touch
· Vision
· Placement vs. power

Heading Coaching Points:
· Body mechanics - eyes open, mouth shut!
· Body shape
· Eye on ball
· Read flight of ball
· Body In line with flight of ball
· Area of contact - forehead, right at hairline
· Use of upper body to drive through ball

Warm up / cool down:
Bowling - put a small goal of cones between two players. They start out 1 yard away from the goal & pass it through. After each successful pass, back up a step. If a pass doesn't go through the goal, take a step forward. See who can be the first to score from 15 yards, or score the most goals in a minute, etc. Change partners.

Ball Retrieve in Fours - Group brings a ball to the coach who picks it up and tosses it away. Then coach calls out a number from 2-20 which is the exact number of passes that the group must use to return the ball to the coach. The coach can move around too.

Elbow tag - In pairs, link elbows. Coach breaks up one pair, and gives one player a small cone. This player is it and chases the other partner. If tagged, the chaser drops the cone and runs away while the other player picks up the cone and starts to chase. A runner can get on base by linking elbows with any pair standing around. The player on the other side of the linked group now must run. You can break apart more than one group to have chaser / chasee as the game progresses.

Plus passing - Make a plus sign with cones, 10-12 yard between cones. At north and south points, have 2 or more players. At east and west have one player. At the center have 2 players. South passes to the middle. The middle turns and passes to west who dribbles to join the north line. This also happens simultaneously - north passes to middle who turns and passes it to west who dribbles and joins the south line. After passing, all players move up one station.

Then as the east or west player is dribbling to join the line, add a defender to play 1v1 against in that area.

Then have east and west receive the ball to dribble and then shoot on a goal & keeper.

Main Activities:
Hurricanes & Ladders - Two teams of at least 5 players. One team is hurricane and one is the ladder. When coach tosses the ball away, the ladder group must run to the ball, form a line, and start to pass the ball to the end of the line in an over the head / between the legs fashion.
Meanwhile the hurricane group forms a tight circle while one member runs around as many times as possible before the last member in the ladder line gets the ball and yells, "Stop!" Count the number of circles run, switch roles, and see who can reach 10 first. You can also send one of the hurricanes out to stop the ball coming back.

1 v 1 tournament - set up a series of 8x8 grids so it looks like a ladder. Put a pair of players in each box. One player stands on one side with the ball facing the player on the other side of the grid. To start, the first player passes the ball to the other player who tries to cross the opposite line with the ball. Ball restarts like this each time. Keep score. At the end of 2 or 3 minutes, the winning player moves up one spot on the ladder - except for the top player who stays put and the loser in that battle goes all the way to the first rung.

Team knockout - in one half of the grid, a team has a ball for each player. In the other half are the defenders. On coach's signal, the defenders rush in to take away the balls. They can simply kick them out, or they can get the ball back to the midfield line and kick it over the line to work on long balls.

Central goal shooting - Put a flag goal between two teams, each player has a ball. One player from team A starts in the goal. A player from Team B dribbles at the goal then shoots. After shooting, the Team B player becomes the keeper while the first player gets a ball and rejoins the team. Keep score & have several teams playing on different fields.

Triangle goal - Have a keeper inside a triangle goal 6 yards on each side. Two teams play around the goal trying to score.

Hospital tag - All players in a grid with a ball each. Mark out another grid, the "hospital," 10-20 yards away. Players run around and try to tag each other. If tagged, the player must hold that body part and keep dribbling. If tagged three times, go to the hospital, perform a soccer skill & return.

3v2 + 1 - 20x25 yard grid. Attacking team has three players who try to score by dribbling over the endline. Defending team has two field players and one who stays on the endline to defend. When possession changes, new team sends a keeper back to the line while new attacking team gets all 3 to attack.

4v4 + 1 into end zones - Neutral player is on offense always. Ball must go into end zone to meet a running attacker. (Cannot stand in end zone waiting for pass.)