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Hi, I'm a 16 year old hoping to get into coaching in the future, I currently coach an u8s grassroots team, I'd like to know how I could stop all of them running after the ball and teach them to stay in their positions, while also passing the ball across and making more room and options. Am I asking too much from 8 year olds?
Hi Gwion,
Great to hear you're getting into coaching, I hope it's going well for you so far!
Personally, I believe it's vital to lay down the technical foundations for players at this age and is a key part of their development going forward. This should involve simply developing key skills and techniques: passing variations, shooting, control, dribbling, turning etc.
Make sure your players are getting as much time on the ball as possible, try to prevent drills or games where players may go without the ball for periods of time.
Hope this helps and good luck with your coaching journey going forwards.
Archie
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