Football: 5v5

Team keep getting thrashed every week - where to start? Having been the sole coach/manager of a little league team for the past two years, this year I lost all my senior players. I was therefore presented with 10 brand new lads, some of whom have never played competitive football. We are 8 games in and my lads are getting thrashed every week. The main problems are that they cannot get the ball out of their half, positions are usually a mess, finishing and chance creation are non-existent, and they don't apply any pressure or are unable to tackle. The main problems are keeping the ball as a team, getting it in the opponents half and staying there, and creating/finishing chances. I only have 1 and a half hours a week with them. I don't really know what to do, and I'm a little desperate. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks for literally anything.

Hello All,I will be coaching my daughter's U16 Div 2 team this year, I just wanted to ask fellow coaches and mangers what to expect. I'm not new to the game, in fact I currently play in the state league myself, but there is a difference between playing the game and actually managing the team. I guess my questions lie around team management techniques and what should I look out for or what should I be aware of? The season starts in a month and training commences next week, so what is the best way to get the kids in shape fast? Thank you.

I’m looking for good basic drills to use for U10’s to use, beginner level.Thanks in advance Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

what are some good fitness drills

how to make our weak foot strong and active in game. i can't make good moves in game like going in the box for cross over lapping and others i just wait in a fix place for ball

Team keep getting thrashed every week - where to start? Having been the sole coach/manager of a little league team for the past two years, this year I lost all my senior players. I was therefore presented with 10 brand new lads, some of whom have never played competitive football. We are 8 games in and my lads are getting thrashed every week. The main problems are that they cannot get the ball out of their half, positions are usually a mess, finishing and chance creation are non-existent, and they don't apply any pressure or are unable to tackle. The main problems are keeping the ball as a team, getting it in the opponents half and staying there, and creating/finishing chances. I only have 1 and a half hours a week with them. I don't really know what to do, and I'm a little desperate. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks for literally anything.

Hello all! My kids aged 9 and 7 are very slow when compared to their peers of the same age. They don't seem to fight for the ball and get and watch others play their game. They seem to lack the urgency (heart) needed for the game. (They LOVE football). How can make them move around and react faster. Any help you are able to provide is greatly appreciated. Thanks O

hi i coach a under 10's boys team.i am looking for help.unfortently we are not the best team around!all my player,s have not been playing long so we are a long way behind other teams we play i am trying to build conferdence on the ball at present they just wak it aways give up the balli am new to coaching and was wondering am i doing the right thing or should i be doing something else with them.

Hi I have quite a large squad (11) for my U9s team. Sometimes not all of them turn up but when they do managing the substitutions can be a nightmare. Have tried planning it out and making 3 subs on a rotation every 6 or 7 minutes. This works OK, just wondered how others do it? Thanks! Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

Hello, I am currently coaching an u9's boys team and a majority of them are well behaved and want to play football, but the odd 1or2 tend to mess around at training which distracts the others. I have sat them out in training and spoken to the parents but still this goes on. Do I decide to kick them out of the team altogether or does anyone know the miracle cure to stop this happening?

Hi all, I've just started coaching a soccer team of 4 and 5 year olds and would like to discuss with my fellow coaches any drills which you have found to be safe, fun and valuable to the younger age group. I have my level 1 course under my belt and have difficulty in applying what I've learnt to the small kids. They get bored very quickly and are only interested in playing a match at the end of the session. They have no interest in passing the ball or shooting at goal whilst doing drills. Running with the ball is no problem as they are keeping active and all have a ball at their feet. As soon as they line up or have to share a ball, there are problems. I have a variety of drills which I run through with them, traffic lights, robin hood, alamo, sharks and fishes to name a few with variations of each but I crave more as everywhere I search caters for U6 upwards. I coach an U8 side midweek and have no problem with these lads as they are that bit older and have a greater level of concentration. (not by much mind). So I'm asking for advice from anyone who has coached 4 and 5 YOs and would like to know what has worked for you. PM replies welcome.  Marc

I took over a under 8s team 2 years ago unfortunately soccer is not my game and I did as there was no other option other than to fold. Im a good coach in terms of developing a good team (discipline, teamwork , sportsmanship fun etc) but I think my lack of knowledge about the game is holding the team back . I have a 12 players who are about to move up to the under 10s level , they skill level ranges from timid to very skilled, I try to give each player equal time and the lower skilled players are improving (just not at the same pace as the opposition). Unfortunately the opposition we face seem to be light years ahead in terms of playing a scheme and we are often found out during games (i have used a basic zone defense to try and stop the team becoming ball magnets). I think its a mixture of me insisting all players get equal playing time and the fact I dont know enough about the game to be able to coach an effective scheme and to react to opposition schemes. They are good kids and I want to give them a taste of success (you can only say it was bad luck so many times) but cant seem to get our club to take it to the next level. The drills on sportsplan are helpful but a lot of drills are too complicated for the kids age or can simply go wrong very quickly in reality. We dont get thrashed in games but we cant seem to eke out a draws or wins (I know its not all about winning but try explaining that to the kids when they lose on a regular basis)Any suggestions

I have a player who can throw the ball in to near post or center of the net on most fields. We have some of our better guys in the air push up and crash on these plays, but I don't feel that we are taking full advantage of this weapon, in terms of converting these opportunities into goals. Does anyone have any suggestions in terms of where to target throwing the ball or where to position people that has resulted in a high level of success with a long throw-in player on their team?

Hi, My team plays in a mini soccer league which is 7v7. Whats the best formation to play in the environment. We have played 2-3-1 all season but i was looking at 3-1-2 this season using the left and right backs as wingers aswell. Any one got any thoughts? Cheers

iam coaching under 16s boys soccer and we keep losing our shape paticulary in mid field and this is where i want to control the game from but there always seem to be no one marking up when there is a quick change of possion

Heya guys, I am a new coach, for my local town, we are a new side, in a really tough league, the other managers of the teams, think it is silly, we have made a team for that league, I was told on a match day, that we would not even win one game, or even get a point all year, because the teams are so strong, we have 4 points on the boared at the mo, and are slowly getting there, I was Just wondering, how to bring players out of there shell, and try to increase goal percent -). Josh

I have a player who i would describe as being "Alpha male" he is very disruptive at training and constantly having niggles with other players and challenging for the us the coaches.We have tonight stopped them having game time at end of training due to their behavior as a team and also reinforced the "Respect" values and that if they are not well behaved in training and preparation on match day they will not make the starting line up and in extreme cases will be asked to miss games.I have tried yellow/red card system and sending to side lines for a few minutes.Should we start to reward good behavior with some kind of sticker/merit and league table and prize for first one to reach target ?It has all come to a head at training tonight and looking for any ideas or if anyone has had or got similar situation.

I manage and coach two current u8 boys teams, which as you can imagine is time consuming and often stressful. I can often feel under pressure particularly being a female and getting dads interfering. Time wise I have to train them together but I really need some news ideas to engage them and stop the messing about. I have 16 of them and we are going to u9 in the new season. Any help would really be appreciated.

Hello,I regularly play a team that has a speed forward with a good shot. I wanted to get some opinions from anyone who has had success limiting these types of players. He is probably a step or 2 faster than my normal defenders. Regularly racks up goals by being one of the fastest players in the league.In the past we have tried a 4-4-1 with a man mark. Sticking a speed guy on him the full game. It has slowed him down but also limited us on offense. We lost each game by a goal.I was also thinking about using a 5-4-1 formation with more defenders to cut down on thru ball lanes for him.Any other thoughts?ThanksChad

I have 3 players at under 14 level, that seem to think running with the ball and not passing is the best way forward, could anybody suggest how I might get round this.