• Introduce yourself. 

• Explain what occurs at a typical practice. Examples include warm-up routines, technical/tactical drills, ball-handling exercises, fun mini games & possibly an informal, instructional ‘match’, aka ‘scrimmage’.

• Go over age-appropriate COVID-19 Mitigation Plan guidelines for players & parents.

• Encourage appropriate parent participation

• Explain your goals & expectations, such as coming on time & picking up players on time. Coaches should not leave if a player is unattended after a game or practice has ended. Parents should remain at practices & games when possible.

• Prioritize having a good time, but also explain that you will focus on learning skills such as teamwork, support for one another, positive attitude & good sportsmanship. In the registration process, every participant accepted a sportsmanship commitment. The start of the season is a great time to set this tone. 

• The following are general guidelines & suggestions for a typical team practice:

• When everyone has arrived, do a warm up routine for no more than 5 minutes.

• Work on skills like trapping, ball control, passing, shooting, & restarts (throw-ins, free kicks, goal clearances, corner kicks, etc.).

• Focus on one major topic per practice.

• Take regular water breaks as needed.

• Use down-time between more physical activities to explain the Laws of the Game (soccer rules).

• All players should be given opportunities to experience all positions on the field.

• Practice playing with a goalkeeper (n/a for PreK divisions).

• All players on recreational teams should have a chance to play goalie sometime.

• No player should play as goalie for an entire match unless that is the player’s exclusive preference, with their parent’s knowledge. Such players should also be encouraged to develop other skills & teammates given opportunities as goalie as well.

• In situations where no player is interested in playing as goalie, remind the players that each team must have a goalie at all times & suggest a rotating schedule so that each player serves in the position for a fair number of times during the season.

• Feel free to end practices with an informal scrimmage game for about 10-15 minutes.

SAY Soccer is FYSA's parent organization for recreational programs. On their website there are some great resources such as video drills, printable drills, even an entire seasons worth of practice plans that you can choose from.

SAY Soccer Coaching Resources: https://www.saysoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=778367

SAY Soccer Video Drills: https://www.saysoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=778397

SAY Soccer Printable Drills: https://www.saysoccer.org/Default.aspx?tabid=778396

US Youth Soccer is another great resource. The USYSA Coaching Education Department recently published some excellent 'Assistant Coach Series' publications. These practice activities are great resources.

US Youth Soccer Coaching Resources: https://www.usyouthsoccer.org/coaching-resources/ 

SoccerXpert has over 160 quality and easy-to-follow drills for beginner to advanced skill and age levels. These are “organized and focused” practices, targeting specific topics one at a time with fun and effectiveness as the driving force to motivate mentees.

The site also comes with a new app that will help coaches become better at their teaching craft. It has built-in features that allow coaches to take inspiration from the resources provided, build their own curriculum, and plan out their team practices.

Find the link here: https://www.soccerxpert.com  

Find drills, games, training, etc. by age division here:

I Can Play Soccer 2-Toddlers:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzQGa3uWzpWkdUQ2dnZja0xJaTlNMktLeHJkRXJqaUFYb1RV/view?usp=sharing

PreK:

http://files.leagueathletics.com/Images/Club/1429/Rnunes_-_Pre_K[1].pdf

http://www.freeyouthsoccerdrills.com/coaching-youth-soccer.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kieBeh9FoKs&spfreload=10

Kindergarten:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzQGa3uWzpWkZTBlTnc3QVJPbFU/view?usp=sha

https://www.footy4kids.co.uk/soccer-drills/coaching-games-young-players/

3rd-4th grade:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzQGa3uWzpWkbmM4YV91Y3Nxb2c/view?usp=sharing

5th-6th grade:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzQGa3uWzpWkYmYxWjRFSE9Dd1k/view?usp=sharing

Middle School:
https://www.soccerdrive.com/practice/1/21021

https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/tag/u14/

High School:

https://www.soccerxpert.com/drills/u17-99-soccer-drills

http://www.soccer-coaches.com/category/soccerdrills/u17-u19-soccer-drills/

Feel free to coordinate your efforts with parents. Plan activities that are simple and don't be afraid of repetition. In fact, having several 'go to' drills that are worked on each week is actually a great learning method for young players. Whatever you decide to do as their coach, we're grateful for your time and are happy to help with your efforts!