U5U6 Recreational League Play

1

• U5/U6 Recreational League Play
• Master of the Ball
• Methodology
• Supporting Material

2
Master of the Ball reworked club description

• 5 balls are required for this method.
• The two coaches assign themselves each to half of
  the field and carry at least 2 balls in their
  arms.
• Whenever a ball goes OUT OF PLAY the appropriate
  coach immediately rolls another ball into play
  (no bumper ball - our previous method of keeping
  the game going. NO KICK OFFS after a Goal!)
• If the ball goes slightly out of play but the
  player dribbles the ball back in thats ok - let
  them play on!
• The new ball should be rolled to neutral space
• DO NOT bounce the new ball as it is difficult
  for these players to judge a bouncing ball at
  this age
• Favor the team on the wrong end of a one sided
  game
• Favor individual players who are not becoming
  involved in the game
• Have parents retrieve lost balls and return them
  to the coach who just rolled the new ball in so
  he/she now has 2 balls once more!
• Celebrate ALL PLAYERS successes on either team!

3
Indiana Youth Soccer - survey

• Indiana Youth Soccer surveyed the impact in the
  change.
• Without Master of the Ball rule in 7 minute
  quarter the ball was in play for 4 minutes
• With Master of the Ball rule in effect the ball
  was in play for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.
• This means more touches and more soccer for the
  little players!
• In addition if you have a weaker player or
  players on the field who are getting minimal to
  no touches the re-entry of the ball can go
  straight to them so they get more touches and
  become more familiar with the ball coming towards
  them.
• Feel free to have parents and spectators
  retrieving balls to the Coach as the game is in
  play so the supply of balls is constant.
• Feel free to switch roles of the coaches for each
  quarter or at half time.
• Substitute tired players on the fly they recover
  fast at this age and will be back in the game in
  no time. If you have to play 3v2 for a few
  seconds to do this THAT IS OK!

4
Virginia Youth Soccer Association - VYSA

• Bob Maynes, Director of Coaching for McLean Youth
  Soccer kindly passed on their methods for U6 - U8
  structured league play. Below is his introduction
  to their methods
• McLean Youth Soccer(MYS) has been using these
  methods for 10 years - all the way through U8.
• Support from Virginia Youth Soccer Association
  (VYSA) Technical Director, Gordon Miller, it
  subsequently has become a VYSA standard, spread
  to many Virginia clubs, been picked up in Georgia
  by about 20 clubs (where it is now part of their
  KINS program), been adopted in a least one club
  in Massachusetts and spread in any number of
  other places.

5
VYSA - CHARACTERISTICS AT U6So what are some of
those characteristics that we have taken into
account when structuring the game for U6
children

• Body segments grow at different rates with
  progress on motor development beginning with the
  head and moving towards the feet and from the
  center of the body outward.  Balance and agility
  are immature.
• Process small bits of information at a time (long
  instructions are not understood) with limited or
  no ability to attend to more than one task at a
  time.  Controlling the ball demands most or all
  of the attention, thereby leaving little or no
  capacity for making tactical decisions.
• Simple rules are necessary.
• Immature understanding of time and space
  relationships limits ability to understand even
  simple tactical ideas.
• Effort is generally considered to equal
  performance.  "If I tried hard then I did well."
• Need generous praise and playing without
  pressure.  "Did you have fun?" is the right
  question and "Did you win?" is the wrong
  question.
• Desire to be accepted and liked by everyone. 
  Easily bruised by both peers and adults negative
  comments carry great weight.  Wrong means bad.
  Tone is very important.  Show correct way once
  and accept result whether correct or not.  Be
  patient and catch them doing it right and praise
  them.
• Like to play soccer because it is "fun". The
  occupation of young children is learning not
  winning. Need to feel successful. Children are
  most interested in their own achievements even
  though adults can focus children on the score.
• May talk about team but tend to play in
  isolation.  They tend to play 1v7 instead of
  4v4.  ("What do you mean, pass the ball?  It took
  me 5 minutes to get it.")
• Have two speeds--on and off.  Generally they
  cannot pace themselves. They tire easily and
  recover quickly.  Players will simply stop to
  recharge their batteries.  That's OK.  After a
  pause they tear off again in search of the ball.

6
VYSA - BASIC RULES AT U6

• We play two simultaneous 3v3 games (U6) or 4v4
  games (U7-8) with no keepers on adjacent fields
  between two teams with rosters of 9 (U6) or 10
  (U7-8).  Touches, activity and learning are
  greatly increased.  (Why give one toy to 22
  first-graders.)
• A coach from one team and an assistant coach from
  the other team run one mini-game and the other
  coach and assistant coach run the second game. 
  The coach and assistant coach are on the field
  but stay out of the way.  Coaching is minimal to
  non-existent.
• There are no referees.
• Scores are not kept.  Parents and coaches do not
  keep scores, not even verbally, during the game. 
  Competitive?  Yes!  Game result oriented?  NO! 
  Object is fun and individual developmentnot
  winning.
• Substitutions are made at any time on the fly. 
  When a player comes out of one game he/she goes
  back into the other game.  This constantly
  changes the complexion of the teams and further
  reduces the focus on the score.
• Teams are switched and mixed every quarter if
  there are no subs so players play against a
  different group.  This increases variety and
  decreases focus on keeping score.
• We have continuous play since we eliminate corner
  kicks as meaningless, goal kicks as a
  disadvantage to the kicking team and throw-ins as
  time wasters.  Quick transition is learned but
  never need be taught.
• A coach or assistant coach who is running the
  mini-game quickly (within a few seconds) rolls in
  the ball.  This format increases playing time and
  touches on the ball by 70 to 90 percent.  You
  need at least 4 balls per field but 5 is better.
  Since games are competitive but not results
  oriented coaches can assist in this by rolling in
  the balls to the advantage of a team that is
  being dominated.  In fact, you can roll it all
  the way down in front of the goal.  A team that
  is being dominated may not score but they will
  enjoy getting the ball to the other end.

7
VYSA - BASIC RULES AT U6 - continued

• Possibly most important we eliminate kick-offs
  after goals. 
• A coach or assistant coach gives a compliment
  after the goal and immediately restarts by
  rolling in a ball.  If done quickly this
  substantially reduces the focus on the score. 
  (Except the scorer may talk about it for a
  week.)  Parents of the scoring team have less
  time to convince their children that the goal was
  incredibly important and parents of the team
  scored against have less time to convince their
  children that the goal was a disaster. (Granted,
  parents actually tell kids that it was OK to be
  scored against but these kids are no dummies.  If
  parents are trying so hard to convince them it
  was no big deal, then it is big deal.)
• Parents help by fetching balls as they go out and
  provide a constant supply to the coach and
  assistant coach who are running the mini-game.
• Free kicks are all indirect but you almost never
  have any.
• No penalty kicks and no off-sides.
• The semi-circle goal area is 4 yards
  across--radius 2 yards.  No standing in arc. It
  is unfair to the player and it reduces scoring
  too much.  (It is already a small goal.) That
  means the players cannot go in the semi-circle
  before the ball and therefore you cannot park a
  kid in front of the goal (and thereby prevent him
  from playing).  This is virtually never called. 
  It simply gives us a way to tell kids (and
  coaches and parents) that you do not park a kid
  in goal.
• The goals are about 4 feet high and 6 feet wide.
• The U6 fields should be about 25x30 yards
  (minimum 15x20 yards).

8
KINS PROGRAM OBJECTIVEimplemented byGeorgia
Youth Soccer Association

• KINS stands for Kicking Is Not Soccer.
• Program for players U-5 through U-8.
• The Recreational Program is essentially the
  players first experience with the game of soccer.
  It is this experience that can either hook the
  players for life, or turn them away. Players
  will continue playing soccer if they are having
  fun and are experiencing personal success.
  Hence, the Recreational Programs main philosophy
  is to create a fun filled, active environment, in
  which the players can improve and succeed.
• The KINS Programs main objective is to promote
  and emphasize the skill of dribbling at the U5
  through U8 age groups and discourage the aimless
  booting of the ball that is all too prevalent at
  these young ages.
• When young players are conditioned to just kick
  the ball forward as far as possible, their skill
  development is stunted, making it harder for them
  to reach their true potential. Dribbling is the
  foundation and preparation for all the other
  fundamental skills of soccer, such as
  controlling, passing, and shooting. Laying the
  proper dribbling foundation at the youngest years
  will enhance the players ability to improve all
  the soccer skills. No matter what level the
  players will end up playing, recreational or
  select, they will derive increased pleasure from
  the game if they can control the ball better and
  become more adept at manipulating it. The
  spectators will also enjoy the game more if they
  can watch players who exhibit skill and
  creativity.
• The programs second objective is to promote
  decision making by the players on the field and
  reduce their dependence on the adults for problem
  solving.

9
PILOT PROGRAM RESULTS

• During the 2001/2002 fall and spring seasons, a
  KINS Pilot Program was conducted at four clubs
  (West Gwinnett U-7, Peachtree City U-7,
  Snellville PR U-8, and Richmond Hill U-6/U-8).
• The purpose of the pilot program was to test the
  concept and gather information for this manual.
• The results clearly demonstrated that the KINS
  Program is a developmentally appropriate approach
  for U-5 through U-8 players.
• The level of play and comfort with the ball has
  improved noticeably and the frequency of aimless
  kicking became quite negligible.
• The coaches and parents were quick to embrace the
  program and the end-of-season feedback from the
  parents was extremely positive.

10
BENEFITS OF THE KINS PROGRAM

• 1. Improves the skill and enjoyment of the
  players, regardless of ability level.
• 2. Provides a built-in, on-going coaching
  assistance program.
• 3. Easier to enlist parents to volunteer as
  coaches.
• 4. Develops a club identity and club loyalty.
• 5. Raises the skill level at the Recreational
  Program.
• 6. Raises the level of the select program.

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Designing the Programs Playing Format

• Georgia Youth Soccer Association has established
  the playing rules for small-sided soccer and they
  are highly recommended for the KINS Program.
• The GYSA mandated playing numbers of 3v3 for
  U-5/U-6 and 4v4 for U-7/U-8, and no keepers, are
  ideally suited to the KINS Program since the main
  focus is dribbling. However, there are a number
  of variables that should be considered for
  inclusion into the game format to enhance the
  effectiveness of the program.
• For example, observations of games reveal that,
  when the coaches/referees enforce strictly the
  normal rules for out-of-bounds, throw-ins and
  goal kicks, the imposed stoppages are so
  excessive that the actual playing time amounts to
  no more than half the available game time. This
  reduces significantly the number of contacts with
  the ball in each game.
• There are ways to increase the actual playing
  time.
• The recommended method of running a game is the
  New Ball Method. The next best method is the
  Loose Boundaries Method. These methods are
  explained below.

12
KINS - New Ball Method

• The idea behind the new ball method is to keep
  the flow of the game constant and increase the
  number of ball touches by all the players.
• The new ball method eliminates restarts such as
  throw-ins and corner kicks and keeps the ball in
  play continuously.
• Restarts might be important to the game results
  at the highest level of play, but they have no
  relevance or developmental benefits at the U-6 or
  U-8 level. Since the objective of the KINS
  Program is to teach players to dribble, every
  aspect of the traditional game that reduces the
  opportunity to dribble is removed.
• The basic principle of this method is that, when
  a ball goes out of bounds, the coach throws a new
  ball into play.

13
KINS New Ball MethodSupporting Evidence

• Experiments with this method, conducted at
  Richmond Hill SA in 2001/02, found that the
  players caught on to the method very quickly and
  loved it.
• The parents and coaches at Richmond Hill embraced
  the concept as soon as they witnessed it first
  hand.
• The experiments also proved that, on average,
  players ball touches increased two and threefold.
  This was determined by counting the number of
  touches per player under the traditional rules
  and comparing to the number of touches under the
  new ball method.
• Tracking the amount of actual playing time
  revealed that the ball was in play for only 45
  of the time under the traditional rules, and
  almost 100 of the time under the new ball
  method.
• 100 versus 45 - makes sense doesnt it?

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KINS - New Ball Method cont.

• To implement the new ball method, use either one
  coach, or two coaches, to throw the balls. If
  using two coaches, each coach should be in charge
  of half a field. The coach(s) should hold a
  number of balls, ready to be thrown, one at a
  time.
• When a ball goes out of bounds, the coach yells
  new ball! and throws a new one in. The players
  will learn quickly to react to the new ball.
• Always throw the ball into the unoccupied space.
  Players will learn to move towards the ball. Do
  not throw the ball too high in the air since the
  players are not yet skilled enough to control a
  bouncing ball.
• Coaches can also use this method to get the
  non-assertive players involved, by throwing the
  ball towards them. This will help bring them out
  of their shell. If the players are really shy,
  simply place the ball at their feet.
• If one team is dominating the game, the advantage
  can be shifted to the other team by throwing the
  ball accordingly.
• This method can also be used to break up a
  beehive. If all the players are bunched up
  around the ball, shout new ball and throw one
  into the open space.
• Remember to always praise the players for every
  attempt. Keep them excited and motivated.
• This method will speed up the game, will produce
  more goals and more excitement.

15
Loose Boundaries Method

• In this format, the field boundaries are not
  adhered to very strictly and the ball is still in
  play even if it goes outside the sidelines and
  end lines. Only when the ball is kicked far away
  from the field that play is stopped to retrieve
  it. This method produces almost non-stop action
  with actual playing time close to 100 of game
  time.
• There is absolutely no need to teach 5-7
  year-olds how to take a throw-in. It is not a
  soccer specific skill but a hands-to-body
  coordination maneuver that all kids will
  eventually master on their own, as they grow
  older and learn to control their bodies.
• Once kids move into the U-10 program, strict
  adherence to boundaries and throw-ins can then be
  introduced.