Week 5 · U4
Finding space
Objectives — what the players will do
- 1Dribble into empty grass where no one else is standing
- 2Spot a crowd and zoom somewhere new
- 3Spread out big instead of bunching around the ball
Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives
Open Grass Explorers
As kids arrive, everyone dribbles anywhere while you call adventures: "find some grass all to yourself!", "dribble somewhere NOBODY is!". Parents join in as friendly obstacles to steer around. Keep calling new empty corners to explore.
Practice — the one taught activity of the night
Treasure Hunt
Scatter cones (treasure) all over the field. Kids dribble their ball to a treasure, scoop it up, and carry the loot while dribbling to the next one. The trick you are secretly teaching: the best treasure is the one nobody else is near. Coaches keep sprinkling new treasure into the empty spaces.
Leave the ball behind for a round — run and grab treasure first, then add the ball back in.
A coach becomes a sleepy pirate guarding a few treasures — kids must find the unguarded ones in the empty grass.
Play 2 — always finish playing the real game
Butterfly Game
Play a real 4v4 game. When someone dribbles into open grass, shout "you found space!" like they found gold. If everyone bunches up, laugh, call "bees in a jar!", and watch them scatter like butterflies.
Key coaching points — in your own words
- ·Run to the empty grass!
- ·Too crowded? Zoom somewhere new!
- ·Spread out like butterflies, not bunched like bees!
- ·Treasure hunters look for the empty spot.
Shrink the field a little so they have to hunt harder for the empty spots.
Make the field bigger and add more treasure than kids, so open space is everywhere.
Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday
4v4 diamond, everyone attacks and defends — rotate everyone, and celebrate any child who spreads out instead of chasing the bunch.
Message to forward to your parents
Today was all about finding open space — dribbling to the empty grass instead of the crowd. On a walk this week, play "run to the empty spot!" and watch them hunt for it.
This week's two videos
Prep the night before; copy the activity on the field.
3 Technical Games for U6-U8: Grassroots Episode!!
Watch the night before to understand the idea
Three ready-made grassroots games with built-in competition and huge touch counts — exactly the Ignite energy your first Play phase needs. Watch before Week 1 and lift the scoring twists directly; add a 'first to react wins' cue to each game so REACT is baked in from the start. Nothing here needs a whiteboard — set up and play.
For U4: Drop the scoring twists; keep the chase energy and let everyone win something.
Watch on YouTubeSoccerCoachTV - Try this Fun Pre-Warm Up Game.
A drill you can copy on the field
A simple arrival game that gets kids moving and laughing the moment they step on the field. Steal it as your welcome-back activity in Weeks 1–2 — it solves the drifting-start problem every pre-season session has. Add a ball per player to turn it into bonus touches.
For U4: Run as the arrival game with parents joining; add a ball per child for bonus touches.
Watch on YouTube