Week 1 · U4
Dribbling out of our zone
Objectives — what the players will do
- 1Dribble the ball out of a marked zone under control
- 2Find an empty doorway instead of kicking the ball away blind
- 3Keep the ball with little touches while escaping
Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives
Cone Flippers
Scatter cones everywhere, half flipped upside down. Kids dribble around flipping cones one way while coaches flip them back, howling in protest. Pure chaos, hundreds of touches, no winner needed — end it when the giggling peaks.
Practice — the one taught activity of the night
Escape the Dragon’s Cave
Mark a big coned cave with every child inside, a ball each. A coach is the sleepy dragon lumbering around the cave. On "ESCAPE!", everyone dribbles out over any line to freedom, then sneaks back in to escape again. The dragon huffs and puffs and never quite catches anyone. If the dragon touches a ball, the child keeps it and escapes anyway — the cave never keeps anybody.
The dragon stays asleep and the cave gets bigger — every escape is easy and loud.
Two dragons, or escapes only count through little cone doorways — find the door with nobody in it.
Play 2 — always finish playing the real game
Great Escape Game
Play a real 4v4 game. When a child dribbles the ball out from near their own goal instead of just booting it, cheer it like a goal: "WHAT an escape!" Brave dribbling out of trouble is tonight’s star move.
Key coaching points — in your own words
- ·Dribble out — don’t just kick it into the dark!
- ·Find a door with nobody in it!
- ·Little touches, brave feet!
- ·You escaped the dragon — amazing!
Wake the dragon slightly and shrink the doorways so escapes need a look before the dash.
No dragon at all — just dribble in and out of the cave to build the habit.
Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday
4v4 diamond — everyone attacks and defends, rotate everyone, and praise any brave dribble out of our own end; fun over results, always.
Message to forward to your parents
We escaped a dragon’s cave today by dribbling the ball out instead of kicking it away. Make a cushion cave at home and let your dragon-you almost catch them every time.
This week's two videos
Every session is Play-Practice-Play: kids play from the moment they arrive, you teach ONE thing in the middle, then they play again. Watch the prep video the night before — the activity video is that middle PRACTICE part.
U6 Soccer Practice Session | Fun Soccer Drills by MOJO
Watch the night before to understand the idea
A full MOJO practice showing how short, snappy fun activities chain together for the youngest players — easily scaled up to U7–U8. Watch in Week 2 when you are building your own session rhythm. Note how quickly activities change; that pace is the standard for this age's engagement.
For U4: Copy the fast activity changes but halve each block to 3–4 minutes for U4 attention spans.
Watch on YouTubeThe BEST Dribbling Drills for Young Soccer Players & Beginners
Your PRACTICE part — the one thing you teach mid-session
Beginner-friendly dribbling patterns you can run with big groups and one ball each — maximum touches, which is the 4v4 promise. Use it in Weeks 1–2 and add the OBSERVE cue: every three touches, eyes up to find the coach's hand signal. Keep the tone playful; this band learns through games, not corrections.
For U4: One ball each, giant spaces, coach calls silly targets to dribble toward.
Watch on YouTube