U10 Curriculum
7v7 · 1-2-3-1 · 75-minute sessions · 10 weeks
U10 is the year the game gets bigger: your players get their first real goalkeepers, a bigger field, and 7v7 in a 1-2-3-1 shape. Your job stays simple — lots of touches, small games, and brave passing instead of big boots, from the very first Saturday. These ten weeks follow the same August-to-May arc our competitive teams train, one word per week: from BUILD — playing out from the back on day one — to LEAD, the festival that closes the season.
What this season builds toward
- Build with passes on the ground, not boots up the field
- A first touch that takes the ball toward space, not straight back to the defender
- Every player brave enough to try a 1v1 move — and patient enough to defend one
- Use the keeper and the build-out line to play out from the back every single time
- Rotate every player through every position each game — goalkeeper included
The season arc — August to May
Fall Break Oct 10–17 — no soccer
The ten weeks
Game day — 7v7 — the 1-2-3-1
Play a 1-2-3-1: one goalkeeper, two defenders, three midfielders, one forward. Manage the game simply — structure without overwhelm. Guide by asking questions instead of shouting instructions, coach movement off the ball, and encourage building out from the back with simple passes rather than kicking blind.
- Defenders move up to half field on transitions instead of standing deep.
- Midfielders spread wide and connect play, creating passing options.
- The single forward stays high but works hard to defend from the front.
- Build out from the back with simple passes — no purposeless booting.
- Goalkeeper
- Start the attack — throw or pass with purpose.
- Defenders
- Step up with the play; never camp on the back line.
- Midfielders
- Spread wide, connect the play, offer passing options.
- Forward
- Stay high, stretch the defense, press from the front.
A letter-size document — cover, all ten weeks with QR codes, game-day guide, and parent notes.