Week 5 · U12
Support & getting open
Objectives — what the players will do
- 1Move to a spot where the passer can actually reach you — off the defender's line
- 2Use a double movement (check away, then show) to lose a marker
- 3Give the team width and depth — spread wide and stretch long instead of crowding the ball
Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives
Free Play — Helper Watch
Straight into small-sided games. Your only job: watch what happens when a player is under pressure. Does anyone MOVE to help, or do teammates stand and watch? Collect two examples to replay in the practice.
Practice — the one taught activity of the night
Diamond Passing + Lose Your Marker
Stage 1: four players in a diamond, pass and follow, then pass and replace — movement after every pass becomes automatic. Stage 2: add a defender in the middle. Now the receiver must lose them with a double movement: check AWAY two hard steps, then explode back to show for the ball. Passes only count if the receiver got open first. Show early, show big — make your body angle say where you want the ball.
Walk the diamond pattern with no defender until the movement is smooth.
Two live defenders, and add the third-man idea: pass, then the player who did NOT pass or receive makes the next run.
Play 2 — always finish playing the real game
Support Zone Game
Normal game with two wide channels marked as support zones. A team earns a bonus point for completing a pass into a support zone before scoring — the goal is to make using width feel like winning.
Key coaching points — in your own words
- ·Can the passer SEE you right now? If not — where do you need to be?
- ·When do you start your run: when the passer looks up, or after they kick it?
- ·Your teammate is crowded — does coming closer help, or does moving AWAY open the field?
- ·What happens to the defense when we spread as wide as the field allows?
Live defenders everywhere and a touch limit — support must arrive on time or the ball dies.
Passive defenders, no touch limit, bigger zones.
Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday
Spacing IS the 1-2-3-1: the three midfielders spread wide across the field, the striker stretches long, and the two defenders step up to midfield when we have the ball so nobody is stranded. If two teammates are in the same space, one of them is wrong — ask, do not yell.
Message to forward to your parents
Off-ball movement is the focus this week — the invisible skill that makes great teams. Ask your child after Saturday: what did you do to help when you did NOT have the ball?
This week's two videos
Prep the night before; copy the activity on the field.
How to Coach Movement off the Ball in Soccer I Full Session
Watch the night before to understand the idea
A full movement-off-the-ball session that maps cleanly onto the Training Session Model your older 9v9 groups are transitioning toward. Watch before Week 1 and lift the session skeleton for the first two weeks. Coach angles and distances first — speed of movement comes after accuracy of movement.
Watch on YouTubeCreating Space Soccer Drill (11-12) ⚽️
A drill you can copy on the field
An 11–12s creating-space practice pitched exactly at this band — your Week 1 Introduce activity. Lift it as your arrival activity or first practice block. Name the two support jobs early: make a lane for the ball, or make space for a teammate.
Watch on YouTube