December 2, 2008

Hey Coach! is published every Tuesday for all AYSO coaches. Send questions, story ideas or comments to HeyCoach@....

Thanks!
John Ouellette
AYSO National Coach

Ask The Coach...
Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask
 

Coaches have to deal with all sorts of scenarios week in and week out. Each week John will address a question that has been sent in by an AYSO coach. In the upcoming weeks, John is going to be answering follow-up questions to questions he's already answered. This week's question is:

"I'm a U-8 coach and I've noticed that my players have variances in skill. What would be the best way to get the most out of each player?"

Click here to the audio link for John's answer.

Training Activities Spotlight

"The Race" is an activity you can play with your U-8 team
 

"The Race" is an activity that will work on your U-8 team's dribbling and passing skills. All you need are 12 or more cones to mark the circle and one soccer ball per player. 
 
Organization: Using cones, layout a circle 20 to 30 yards in diameter. Number the players starting at one (1). Position all the players on the perimeter of the circle in a clockwise numerical order.
 
How The Game Is Played: The coach calls out a number, and that numbered player - the Dribbler - immediately starts dribbling counter clockwise around the outside of the circle. The player that is two players clockwise from the Dribbler becomes the Chaser and leaves his or her ball in place in order to chase and tag the Dribbler before he/she returns to his/her starting position. (Note: If number one is called, player #1 is the Dribbler and player #3 is the chaser.)
 
Variations: Change the size of the circle as needed. Change the chaser to be three players clockwise from the Dribbler's starting position. Have both players dribble.

Click here for more training games and activties.