nhs youth soccer curriculum and development (2)

Basic stage and age U-9 to U-12Drills to include: Technical- passing and receiving, shooting and running with the ball, turning, dribbling, 1v1 attacking, receiving to turn, shooting,

Norwell Youth Soccer Curriculum

On behalf of Norwell Soccer it has been my privilege in creating this comprehensive Curriculum plan for our youth soccer teams The Curriculum includes age appropriate expectations, developmental goals, and season plans The Curriculum is an important part of the success of our youth and the growth of soccer in the United States To specify, this is a combination of my soccer background along with the blueprint based off United States Youth Soccer Curriculum

On April 21st, 2011 at Nike International Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon; U.S Soccer + SPARQ Player Development revealed there Coaching Curriculum for all ages of development in youth soccer Throughout their presentation U.S Soccer's technical staff discusses the unveiling of the new coaching Curriculum and why it’s as important to us at Norwell and around the country The Curriculum is

designed to improve player development with a focus on creating more organized age-appropriate training sessions, and developing coaching practices in an environment that is fun for the players “We have created this curriculum to serve as a blueprint for the thousands of coaches across the country working with these young players at such an important time in their development,” said U.S Soccer Youth

Technical Director Claudio Reyna Please visit

www.ussoccer.com/Coaches/Coaching-Education/Coaching-Home.aspx to watch the presentation for yourself and/or read several user friendly documents

U.S Soccer’s Curriculum is currently in-line with our high school team The principles we teach are similar to the guidelines set by U.S Soccer The transition we need to make is in our youth teams It’s our job as coaches to find the best method of instruction and get that information to our kids as effectively and efficiently as possible My goal isn’t to re-write soccer, it’s to expose our coaches to what’s already out there As coaches our number one concern besides fun is player development and growth

"Development over winning." Claudio Reyna, U.S Soccer Technical Director

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*U.S Soccer categorized development, expectations, and growth, into 4 major areas: tactical, technical, physical, and psychosocial Technical and Psychosocial are the 2 major categories we need to focus on

throughout our time with our youth players.

Tactical- includes specific strategies of attacking, defending, and etc This may be as simple as

introducing “spacing” to 5-8 years olds More advanced groups-keeping possession of the ball, transition from offense-defense and vice-versa.

Technical- proper technique and the “how to” of the following: shooting, passing, receiving, dribbling,

ball control, turning, and etc

Physical- dynamic motor movements of a player including: speed, agility, and endurance.

Psychosocial- positive characteristics of being apart of a team including: respect, cooperation, positive

*Principles of Age Development-based on age and development level.

Initial stage and age U-5 to U-8

1 Very young players from 5 to 8 years of age love to play

2 Therefore, all practices should be based on fun games

3 Players must spend the maximum time possible in contact with the ball and experiment by themselves

4 Don’t always instruct your players, allow them the chance to teach you something they’ve learned

5 Guide players in building relationships with other players

6 Give different responsibilities to the players in order to develop a sense of team

7 Basic motor skills like walking, running or jumping have to be combined with ball handling and ball control

Basic stage and age U-9 to U-12

1 At this stage there is a strong ability to drastically learn.

2 Therefore, this is the right age to work on specific soccer techniques and skills

3 Developing good technique is essential at this age

4 1v1 and 2v1 attacking and defending situations are important to develop individual

skills as well as the passing techniques to develop the necessary team game

5 Use small-sided games to develop basic attacking and defensive principles

6 Other important aspects of tactical training are possession, combination play,

transition and finishing in the final third, as well as zonal defending Players will

rotate in two or three different positions to ensure overall understanding of the game

7 Speed, coordination, balance and agility are the main physical aspects to improve

at this stage

Intermediate and age U13 to U14

1.At this stage, training sessions are orientated more toward tactics and the player

will practice in bigger spaces

2 Players must practice all different types of techniques at this stage, creativity is huge.

3 Strength and endurance should be part of the fitness training

4 Warm-ups and cool downs are essential

5 Players must develop discipline at this stage by following the instructions of the coach

both during and outside training sessions

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*Season Plan-begin with the end in mind.

Initial stage and age U-5 to U-8

Drills to include:

Technical- dribbling, shooting, running with the ball, ball control-trapping, turning with the

ball/without, passing and receiving, 1v1 attacking, 2v1 attacking

U-5-6

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Handling the ball with at least one foot and working on the other

2 Occupying the original position during the game once an action is finished (spacing concept comes into play here)

3 Running, jumping and stopping with and without the ball

Best Practice: Individual games are essential for the player at this age to

experiment with the ball 3v3 or 4v4 games Fun, fun, fun, and more fun

Scrimmage: Take up good positions during the game, very little tactical training at this stage

Spacing is the best goal to shoot for

Technical: Improve basic individual technique

Physical: Develop coordination and basic motor skills with and without the ball

Psychosocial: Feel comfortable and confident with the ball

U-7-8

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Handling the ball with both feet

2 Occupying the original position during the game once an action is finished

3 Basic Individual and collective games are essential for the player at this age to experiment with the ball

4 Stopping and running with the ball at speed

5 Moving forward when attacking and retreating when defending

6 Basic quick movements with and without the ball

Best Practice: Recommend 4v4 games, 7v7 games Coordinated movements with and without

the ball Collective games are essential for the player to start interacting with teammates

Scrimmage: Balance in relation to the ball and teammates during the game (Spacing

continued…)

Technical: Individual and collective basic soccer techniques

Physical: Develop speed, coordination and basic motor skills with and without the ball

Basic stage and age U-9 to U-12

Drills to include:

Technical- passing and receiving, shooting and running with the ball, turning, dribbling, 1v1

attacking, receiving to turn, shooting, ball control, turning, 1v1 defending, running with the ball, shielding the ball, shooting

Tactical- possession, playing the ball from defensive end, transition- offense to defense, finishing

in the final third, defending principles

U-9

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Basic skills in 1v1 situations

2 Balance in relation to the ball (forward, backwards and side to side)

3 Basic coordinated movements with and without the ball

Best Practice: The player will keep maximum contact with the ball in individual practices and

less touches in collective practices.8v8 and 9v9 games

⋅Formations: 3-2-3 in 9-a-side

Scrimmage: Efficiently occupy the spaces on the field.

Tactical: Creating space to receive the ball and keep possession.

Technical: Improve individual and collective basic soccer techniques

Physical: Develop speed, coordination and balance with and without the ball

Psychosocial: Positive interaction with teammates during the game

U-10

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Being efficient in 1v1 situations

2 Application of basic attacking principles

3 Coordinated movements at speed

Best Practice: The player will keep maximum contact with the ball in individual practices and

less touches in collective practices.8v8 and 9v9 games

⋅Formations: 3-2-3 in 9-a-side

Scrimmage: Efficiently occupy space in relation to the ball and to teammates

Tactical: Creating space and applying basic principles

Technical: Accuracy in individual soccer techniques

Physical: Develop speed, agility, coordination and balance

Psychosocial: Interact positively and feel confident within the group

U-11

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Application of technique in game situations

2 Application of attacking and defending principles in slightly opposed collective practices

3 Agility and speed movements with and without the ball

Best Practice: Prepare collective practices with the ball to develop

the technical and tactical intelligence of the player 9v9 games

Formations: 3-2-3 in 9-a-side and 4-3-3 in 11-a-side

Scrimmage: Match focus is on possession and transition.

Tactical: Improve attacking principles and basic defending

Technical: Accuracy and speed in individual and collective techniques

Physical: Improve speed, agility, coordination and balance

Psychosocial: Cooperate with teammates in collective tasks

U-12

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Application of technique at speed in game situations

2 Application of attacking and defending principles in games

3 Agility, coordination and speed movements in simple practices

Best Practice: Prepare collective practices with the ball to develop

the technical and tactical intelligence of the player 9v9 games

Formations: 3-2-3 in 9-a-side and 4-3-3 in 11-a-side

Scrimmage: Improve possession and transition as well as collective defending during the match Tactical: Develop attacking/defending principles and combination play

Technical: Focus on quality of passing and receiving technique as well as ball control in game

situations

Physical: Compete to increase speed, agility, coordination and balance in competitive games Psychosocial: Increase collective self-confidence

Intermediate and age U13 to U14

Drills to include:

Tactical- possession, attacking principles, playing out from the back, transition, combination

play, finishing in the final third, defending as a team, zonal defending

Technical-passing, receiving, shooting, shooting, running with the ball, ball control, turning 1v1

defending , aerial control, heading, receiving to turn and shoot

U-13

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Passing the ball at speed in reduced spaces

2 Combination play and communication with teammates

3 Combine endurance and speed during game

Best Practice: Use the contrast of small spaces for possession practices

and bigger spaces for transition practices 11v11 games

Scrimmage: Coordinate possession, transition and finishing

Tactical: Improve attacking coordinated movements and zonal defending

Technical: Focus on quality of passing and receiving technique and ball control in small spaces Physical: Basic development of speed, endurance and strength

Psychosocial: Commitment to the team and focus in training

U-14

By the end of the season the player must be capable of:

1 Playing short and long accurate passes in collective practices

2 Combination play and communication with teammates

3 Combine endurance and speed during the game

Best Practice: Use the contrast of small spaces for possession practices and

bigger spaces for transition practices 11v11 games

Formations: 4-3-3

Scrimmage: Coordinate playing out from the back, possession, transition, combination play and finishing during the game

Tactical: Application of attaching principles to create combination play

Technical: Focus on quality of passing and receiving technique, ball control and finishing in

small and big spaces

Physical: General development of endurance, speed and strength

Psychosocial: Competition in individual and team situations

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*Practice Session Structure- possible formats to laying-out a practice session.

Initial stage and age U-5 to U-8

Warm-up (10 to 15 min) Ball familiarity practices to develop basic skills

Physical (15 min) Exercises oriented mainly to develop speed, agility and basic motor skills

(with or without a ball)

Technical simple (10 to 15 min) Unopposed practices based on simplicity of the movements,

repetition and high-tempo

Technical complex (10 to 15 min) Unopposed or basic opposed practices with a small tactical

component based on perception and/or decision-making

Scrimmage (20-25 min) Simple small-sided games to develop the team concept

Basic U-9 to U-12

Warm-up (10 min) Fun & dynamic games, passing & possession practices, stretching &

dynamic movement

Physical (15 min) Exercises based on agility, speed, coordination & balance (with a ball)

Technical (20 min) Unopposed practices to develop quality and opposed practices to develop competitiveness Opposed practices are more realistic and force players to make decisions as they would in the game

Tactical (15 min) Practice games based on basic understanding of the game (attacking

principles), possession, combination play, playing out from the back & finishing

Scrimmage (25 min) Games based on position specific, quick movement of the ball and

distribution of space

Intermediate and age U13 to U14

Warm-up (10 min) Passing, possession & transition practices, stretching & dynamic movement Technical (20 min) Unopposed practices to develop speed of play and opposed practices to develop competitiveness Opposed practices are more realistic and game oriented Unopposed practices must have time restriction

Physical (15 min) Exercises based on agility, various types of speed (reaction, acceleration & acyclic speed), aerobic capacity & explosive strength (with a ball)

Tactical (20 min) Use the contrast of small spaces to develop speed of play and big spaces to develop the understanding of how to work in units

Scrimmage (25 min) Free game based on speed of play, movement off the ball & quick

defensive-offensive transition

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It’s our jobs as coaches to maximize every minute we have with our players Be sure to use the resources you have been given and the blueprint that has been laid out for you to develop your youth team to the best of your ability Soccer is a fun game that needs to be enjoyed to the max

by all the players, coaches, and supporters

I would like to support you and your team in any way possible I’m willing to volunteer my time, my team, and my knowledge to you and your team Feel free to invite me to your practice

or invite yourself to attend our high school practices to see a glimpse of what the U.S./Norwell Curriculum looks like in a higher age group

Please feel free to contact me through e-mail, text message, or phone call with any questions you may have If you need any specific drills, practice ideas, or if you would like me to run a practice for you, please let me know

Thanks,

Coach Jeff Smith

(260) 241-2376