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SESSION STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
MoF Coaches In-Service on Session Planning and Delivery, May 2012
1. Key consideration: Age/stage of players
Traditionally, a session is structured with a technical warm-up, moving into a skill activity, then into a small-sided game. Coaches can follow this structure if they wish. Or coaches can decide to burn the text-books and mix things up. For example, why not start with a small-sided game as a warm-up? Feel free to experiment – as long as you learn from your experiments and get better at what you do.
2. Plan B
No matter how experienced we are as coaches, there will be times when we lose the attention of the group and it becomes obvious that a topic, activity or session is not working. If this happens – do two things: 1. Let the children play (that’s what they want!). Set up some small sided-games and let them play. 2. Evaluate afterwards whether you could have done anything differently to make the session go better.
Sometimes the opposite happens, and you decide to stay on an activity longer than you planned - because you see that the children are really getting a lot from what they’re doing. Or maybe you see an opportunity to progress an activity in a way that you hadn’t planned. In these situations, it’s fine to be creative and spontaneous.
3. Whole-Part-Whole
In the Whole-Part-Whole method of teaching the session starts with a game. The ability of the group can be assessed in relation to the learning outcomes of the session. Players who are struggling and those who are ahead can be identified. The session is then moved to an activity which directly relates to the learning outcome (eg 1v1 if the learning outcome is dribbling). The coach can then aim to improve each player's ability and confidence in the specific area they are focussed on. After this, the session moves back to a game - and the learning outcome that has been worked on can now be taught in a game-situation.
4. Odd numbers, using goalkeepers
When group sizes are of odd numbers, pair work and small-sided games can be tricky. Here are some solutions:
For pair work:
- Include an Assistant Coach if you have one
- Join in yourself
- Make a three if possible
For small-sided games:
- Have a smaller team of higher ability players. There’s nothing wrong with playing a 5v3 or 4v2 etc. It is realistic preparation for adult football where very often players are outnumbered in their area of the pitch.
- For small-sided games, have one player who plays for the team in possession (older age-groups only)
Using goalkeepers: No child should spend more than 5 mins of an hour’s session in goal. Share this duty around. Encourage goalkeepers to come out and play too – and for outfield players to use them to pass to.
For small-sided games with older age-groups, assign each team a captain and ask the captain to ensure that everyone gets a turn in goal. Then all you need do is stop the music, shout “New Goalkeeper!”
5. Drink breaks
Players will only need 2 or 3 drink breaks during an hour’s session. Keep them snappy, don’t waste 5 mins on a drink break, 30 seconds is more than enough. Remember to get a drink for yourself too, especially if you’re doing two or more sessions in a row.
When sending players for drink breaks, how can we ensure they spend minimum time away from learning? Give them something to practice when they have finished. Show them, demo, then send them for a drink – asking them to practice as soon as they’ve had a drink. This gives the keen players something to be doing rather than waiting for others to return. (e.g. ‘Who can do “throw-bounce-trap”? Get yourselves a drink, and then come back and show me!’)
6. Giving homework
We cannot develop creative, confident, skilful players in an hour a week. We need to extend the learning into the children’s own time by giving them homework.
Give and demo the homework in front of the parents. Make sure the parents can see and hear. In this way, parents can help us to ensure the children actually do the homework during the week.
Homework could be any technical ball-work. Make sure you leave time at the end of the session to demo the homework, and also ideally to give players a chance to practice the homework.
7. Weekly Topics
MoF does not provide coaches with a weekly topic. It is left up to coaches to decide if they want to use a topic, and if so which one. Traditional coaching practice is to have a set topic for a session, and to continue this theme for the entire session. Actually when working with young children, it may be just as valid to mix things up and do little bits of lots of things instead.
Coaches need to think about what they want players to learn during technical parts of the session, and what the key learning points are in skill activities and small-sided games. These need to be relevant to the age/stage (needs) of the children.
8. Skill development = Decision-making = Opposition
"In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team" - Jean Paul Satre
Skill acquisition needs children to be exposed to challenging situations, situations where success requires good decision-making. In order to make these challenges relevant to football, we need to include opposition.
However, very young or inexperienced children will be limited in what opposed situations they can be successful in. It may be that the main focus for these children will be to develop the ‘muscle memory’ of fundamental movements and ball techniques instead. Therefore, the exact mix of technical activities and skill activities will depend on the age/stage (needs) of the group:
Parent-Child class
- Major themes – ABC, Technical Development
- Minor themes – Understanding Directional Play
4&5 year olds
- Major themes – ABC, Technical Development
- Minor themes – Decision-making
6-8 year olds
- Major themes – ABC, Decision-making
- Minor themes - Technical
- At least half the session should contain game-related decision-making
9-11 year olds
- Major themes –Decision-making, small-sided games
- Minor themes – ABC, Technical
- At least three-quarters of the session should contain game-related decision-making.
Of course, technical work is essential at all ages/stages up to age 12, but we should encourage this development to be done outside of the sessions for homework instead.
9. Athletic development (ABCs)
Athletic development is essential if we are to create skilful, confident, creative footballers. Skill development relies on a body that is strong, agile, quick, well-balanced and well-co-ordinated. Children who are good athletes are generally more confident in sports, more able to experiment with new ideas and have wider football learning potential.
Coaches planning MoF sessions should include exercises and activities that help develop agility, balance and co-ordination (ABCs). Where possible these activities should be football-related. ABC activities should be fun! And they should be relevant to football. Some ideas for age-appropriate activities are given in the activities section of the Coaching Manual.
Agility – Changing direction quickly and economically under control
Balance – Correcting the position of body parts in order to stay in control of movement
Co-ordination – Control of different limbs during movement activities
10. Multi-Sport activities
Young children like variety, and learning acquired when practicing invasion games or co-ordination activities is easily transferable to football. For the Parent-Child group or the 4&5 year old class, coaches may include activities that are not football-specific – as long as the learning outcomes of the activity are transferable to football. For example, a 3 year-old child learning how to hit a moving balloon with their hand is learning hand-eye co-ordination, a 5-year old playing tennis is doing the same. These techniques are necessary in all sports and for athletic development in general.