U8 Curriculum
4v4 diamond (no goalkeepers) · 75-minute sessions · 10 weeks
U8 is where small-group soccer really begins. Your players are ready for a little more structure — dribbling with control, passing on purpose, and playing together in the 4v4 diamond. Every session is the same simple shape: start playing the moment kids arrive, teach ONE thing in the middle, and finish with the real game.
What this season builds toward
- Dribble with control and be brave enough to try a move against a defender
- Pass on purpose to a teammate and cushion the ball with a soft first touch
- Learn simple diamond spacing — one behind, two wide, one in front — and rotate through every spot
- Control it, pass it, or dribble it — never just boot the ball away
- Leave every session smiling and asking to come back
Fall 2026
Fall Break Oct 10–17 — no soccer (between Weeks 6 and 7)
Spring 2027 (provisional)
* provisional — dates not yet confirmed
Game day — 4v4 — the 1-2-1 diamond
Play a 1-2-1 diamond: one defender, two wide players, one forward. Managing the game simply is your most important job — set kids up to succeed with structure, not volume. Guide by asking questions instead of shouting instructions, coach the players OFF the ball, and never ask anyone to boot the ball away with no purpose: we want control, passing, dribbling and movement.
- No goalkeepers — every player attacks and defends together.
- Get wide when attacking to create space; no one "stands back."
- Rotate players frequently so every child learns every position.
- Focus on spacing and fun, not results.
- Defender
- Stay connected and help behind the play.
- Wide players
- Stretch the field; look to pass and dribble forward.
- Forward
- Be ready to receive and finish — and help defend too.
A letter-size document — cover, all ten weeks with QR codes, game-day guide, and parent notes.