Week 5 · U10
Support & getting open
Objectives — what the players will do
- 1Move away from a defender, then check back to receive
- 2Give the passer a clear angle instead of hiding behind a defender
- 3Keep moving after the ball leaves — the play is never over
Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives
Numbers Keep-Away (5v3)
One big grid as players arrive: five attackers keep the ball from three defenders. Attackers win a point for five passes in a row. Swap defenders often. Quietly watch who moves to help the ball and who stands still. About 10-15 minutes.
Practice — the one taught activity of the night
Lose Your Shadow
Pairs plus a passer: the attacker has a defender (their shadow) marking them. To receive, the attacker moves AWAY a few steps, then checks back sharply to meet the pass — arriving as the ball arrives. Receive through a cone gate to score a point, then return the ball and go again. Defender starts passive, then goes live. Rotate all three roles. Roughly 25-30 minutes.
No defender — just practice the move-away-then-come-back pattern with a slow pass.
Live defender, and the attacker must receive facing forward, or add a second attacker making the opposite run.
Play 2 — always finish playing the real game
4v4 End Zone
Score by receiving a pass inside the other team's end zone — no shooting, no dribbling in. The only way to score is for someone OFF the ball to get open in the zone. Last 20-25 minutes.
Key coaching points — in your own words
- ·Your teammate has the ball — where can you go to help them right now?
- ·Can you move away first, then come back to the ball?
- ·The ball moved — did you move?
- ·Is someone always wide and someone always ahead of the ball?
Add defenders or shrink the field so getting open takes sharper, better-timed runs.
Go to 4v2 or widen the space so there is always an easy option to find.
Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday
Watch the three midfielders: are they spread WIDE, or bunched around the ball? One coaching sentence all game: "Can you find a space where nobody is standing?" Keep rotating positions.
Message to forward to your parents
This week was movement off the ball — the hardest thing to teach in soccer. Ask your child after Saturday: "Where did you move when your teammate had the ball?"
This week's two videos
Prep the night before; copy the activity on the field.
SoccerCoachTV - Creating Space
Watch the night before to understand the idea
Real up-close coaching of players learning to create space — listen to how the coach frames getting open in kid-friendly language. Use his cueing style in your Weeks 1–2 sessions. Notice he coaches the player off the ball, not the one on it — do the same.
Watch on YouTubeSoccer Drill: Creating Space (U10)
A drill you can copy on the field
A U10-specific creating-space practice that is the month's core picture: move away to come back, and arrive as the ball arrives. Watch before Week 1 and lift it straight into your Practice phase. Coach the timing cue — See it, Solve it, Show it — not just the run.
Watch on YouTube