Week 9 · U4
Scoring goals
Objectives — what the players will do
- 1Dribble to the goal and kick the ball in with a big kick
- 2Invent and perform their own goal celebration
- 3Grab the ball and try again straight away after a miss
Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives
Goal Party
Two big goals, every child a ball. As they arrive, they dribble and score at either goal, over and over, each goal followed by their own invented celebration. Coaches copy every celebration badly and ask for lessons.
Practice — the one taught activity of the night
Monster in the Goal
A coach is the monster in a big goal. Kids dribble from a treasure pile of balls and shoot past the monster, who flails, dives the wrong way, and always JUST misses. Every save (rare and accidental) is followed by the ball being rolled straight back for another go. Two monster goals running at once means nobody ever waits.
Empty goal, shorter dribble, bigger target — score first, add the monster back later.
The monster walks slowly toward them, or the challenge becomes: can you score with your OTHER foot?
Play 2 — always finish playing the real game
Celebration Game
Play a real 4v4 game with goals flying in at both ends. Every scorer performs their celebration and the whole field copies it. Count goals for both teams out loud — with equal joy.
Key coaching points — in your own words
- ·Big kick! Stomp it like a dinosaur!
- ·Score, then do your celebration dance!
- ·Missed? Strikers never stop — grab it and go again!
- ·What a GOAL! Show me that celebration!
Start the dribble further from the goal, or wake the monster up a little.
Move the treasure pile closer and make the goal enormous — every kick scores.
Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday
4v4 diamond, no keepers — everyone attacks and defends, rotate everyone, and celebrate both teams’ goals; the score is confetti, not the point.
Message to forward to your parents
We scored about a hundred goals on a very clumsy monster today. Set up a little goal at home, be the monster who always just misses, and ask to see the celebration dance!
This week's two videos
Prep the night before; copy the activity on the field.
Fun Finishing | Shooting And Finishing Coaching Session | England Football Learning
Watch the night before to understand the idea
The FA's Joe Hopewell runs a full fun-first finishing session — a masterclass in how a grassroots finishing practice should look and sound. Watch how he frames challenges instead of drills; that is our Play-Practice-Play voice. Steal his session shape for your Week 4 Apply night.
For U4: Coach-prep: steal the challenge language (‘can you…?’) — it is exactly how U4s learn.
Watch on YouTubeSoccerCoachTV - FUN 2 Goal Shooting Game.
A drill you can copy on the field
A two-goal shooting game that keeps a whole U8 group striking with zero standing in line. Watch before Week 1 and lift it straight into your first Play phase — every child shoots within seconds of arriving. Coach one cue only: laces through the middle of the ball.
For U4: Shrink the space, use two giant goals, and let every child score every round.
Watch on YouTube