Week 5 · U8
Support & getting open
Objectives — what the players will do
- 1Move to a spot where the ball can actually reach you
- 2Spread out wide and deep instead of crowding the ball
- 3Show and call for the ball when a teammate needs help
Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives
4v4 Free Play — Who Moves to Help?
Straight into the game as players arrive. Watch one thing only: when a teammate has the ball under pressure, does anyone MOVE to help them? Save what you see for the practice.
Practice — the one taught activity of the night
Rescue Passes (3v1)
A 12x12 grid, three attackers versus one defender. Four passes in a row = 1 point. Rotate the defender every minute. The magic is in the movement: when the ball moves, the two players without it slide sideways to open new passing lanes. Keep asking the players off the ball: "Can the ball reach you right now? If not, move until it can."
The defender walks (or just holds a bib up), and the grid gets bigger.
Make it 3v2, or raise the score from four passes in a row to six.
Play 2 — always finish playing the real game
4v4 — Helper Goals
Goals that come after a completed pass count double — and you shout out the HELPER, the player who got open to make the pass possible, not just the scorer.
Key coaching points — in your own words
- ·Can your friend with the ball see you? If not, where should you move?
- ·Where is the empty space right now?
- ·What happens when everyone chases the ball to the same spot?
- ·See it, solve it, show it — can you spot the problem and move to fix it?
Shrink play2's field so getting open takes sharper, quicker movement.
Add a neutral "helper" player to the game who always joins the team with the ball.
Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday
Spacing is the whole game this week: diamond shape, wide players hugging the sides, one behind, one in front. When they bunch up, ask "where is the empty space?" instead of shouting positions.
Message to forward to your parents
This week we are teaching your child to SUPPORT teammates by finding space. At home, play catch — and move to a new spot after every throw. That is the whole lesson.
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.
Teaching KIDS what to SAY on the pitch
Watch the night before to understand the idea
The month's foundation for U9–U10: exactly which words to teach — "man on," "turn," "time," names — and how to build them into practice. Watch before Week 1 and pick three calls as your team vocabulary. Revisit in Week 2 to add information the receiver can actually act on.
Watch on YouTubeCoaching Soccer ~ How to do a Wall Pass + Online Soccer Academy
Your PRACTICE part — the one thing you teach mid-session
A player-facing technique breakdown of the wall pass — weight of pass, angle of run, one-touch return. Watch before Week 1 to sharpen your demonstration language, and steal the coaching points word-for-word for your Introduce session. Also worth sharing with parents who ask what a 1-2 is.
Watch on YouTube