|
Smidgets
Thank you for taking the time to volunteer, and help coach your child’s soccer team. The club really appreciates your time. Smidgets is a fun, success based program. Here are some tips for all coaches:
The phone call: This refers to the phone call each coach will make to their players as soon as the coach is instructed to contact their team. A coach may get a preliminary roster, but should not contact their team until instructed to do so. Last minute changes are inevitable, so we want to make sure everyone is placed correctly before the notification process begins. This is after the Pre-season coaches meeting.
The call itself is very important- it sets the stage for the season. You should introduce yourself, welcome the family to your team, and let them know the team name if you have one already, times, and fields, rain out policy, expected equipment, and that you will see them on Sunday, September 10. Please repeat your name a few times…..each year the first week is more chaotic then needed, partly because coaches do not communicate clear enough information. It is suggested that you ask for an e-mail address for each player, so you can send a reminder about future activities.
The Typical Sunday:
You will meet your team at the designated field. All the United Quest Park Smidgets play on Field 8-12, which are behind the blue club house, in-between Noonday Park and United Quest Park. Metro North Park Smidgets play on field #6, which is behind that club house. At the start of the session your clinic leader will call you in and demonstrate your activities for the day. Basically, they are almost all one to ball activities, with helpers, so you will have to recruit your parents to get up out of their chairs. Most of the activities are listed below; we add two or three new ones each week while reviewing the old ones. Feel free to jump ahead.
After the demonstration, you and your team return to your space and go through the activities shown. We don’t mind you making some up, BUT NO LINE DRILLS. By 25 minutes into the session, you should stop for water and get your team set up for the game. At the 30 minute mark all games should begin. Make sure that anyone sitting in a char is on the end line on the outside of the fields. At United Quest Park, we play 2 games sideways, on existing u8 fields, with the goals pulled in from the sidelines 3-5 yards. At Metro North Park, each team has their own letter designated space. When the games start, we surround the playing area and kick or throw the ball back into the field. There are no goal kicks, throw-ins, or corners, and maybe one or two kickoffs tops. We do not keep score.
Success Based Programs:
Each team has its own ups and down, but if the coach is upbeat and happy to be at games, then the season will be a success no matter what. We call our Micro Mites and Smidgets “success based programs”, which means that all of our players will experience success- that’s our goal. This may mean a coach setting up a new, shy, inexperience player with an easy shot on goal, even a player on the opposing team. This builds their confidence and reinforces a desire to compete. All Smidgets should score at least one goal each Sunday.
Practice Activities:
|
Skill Activities
|
|
|
Fetch
|
throw ball, player chases it down and dribbles it back
|
|
|
|
|
Fetch and score
|
throw ball, player chases it down and dribbles it back, scores by kicking it between parents legs
|
|
|
|
|
Follow the leader
|
player dribbles ball, following their parent
|
|
|
|
|
Tickle Monster
|
player dribbles ball, parent chases them…if they get caught, they get tickled
|
|
|
|
|
Walk the dog
|
player dribbles ball in grid, 1st gear, 2nd gear, 3rd gear
|
|
|
|
|
Red light, green light
|
player dribbles ball in grid, red light makes them stop ball with sole of foot
|
|
|
|
|
Dog catcher
|
player dribbles ball in grid, one dogcatcher tries to get their ball…
|
|
|
if a player loses their ball they become the dog catcher
|
|
|
|
|
Body stop
|
player dribbles ball in grid, stops it with whatever part of their body coach calls out
|
|
|
|
|
Hospital tag
|
player dribbles ball in grid, trying to tag each other…if you get tagged you must hold the
|
|
|
body part that got tagged…3rd tag means a trip to the doctor for extra training
|
|
|
|
|
Ouch
|
player dribbles ball in grid, trying to hit the coach with their ball…when the coach gets hit they yell "ouch!"
|
|
|
|
|
Edge of the world
|
player dribbles ball in grid, stops it at the edge, brings it back into the middle
|
|
|
|
|
There and back
|
player races other players in a there and back race featuring dribbling
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Agility activities
|
|
|
One foot balance
|
stationary
|
|
|
|
|
One foot hop
|
|
|
|
|
|
Throw and catch
|
|
|
|
|
|
Throw and catch one handed
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hop over ball
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mirrorrs
|
try and mirror their parents movements
|
|
|
|
|
Tag
|
With and without a ball. Have tagged dribble while they try and get people.
|
|
