seeking fun drills for 8-year-old girls who are not permitted to pass to each other (COVID)

[Anonymous]

I'm coaching an Arlington soccer team comprised of 8 and 9 year old girls.

Due to League restrictions, the girls are not allowed to pass to each other during practice, and we have no games.

The restrictions suck a lot of fun out of the practices, making it hard to keep some of the kids engaged for 45 minutes.

Some kids are able to focus on the dribbling drills that I am running, but others can focus for only 15 minutes before their attention begins to wane.

So I'm looking for some way to add some fun and zip to the practices.

Any ideas for drills/games that can be entertaining and keep young kids engaged? Keep in mind that passing isn't permitted.

[Anonymous]

Why is there no passiing a rule. This is idiotic. Somehow, some virus gets on a ball one girl kicks to another, and the virus magically moves from the ball to the receiving girl?

Talk to your folks about changing these ridiculous "rules."

See a recent NYT article about pandemic theater wrt overzealous sanitizing here, there, and everywhere.

[Anonymous]

No passing? Who came up with that inane rule. No one is catching covid from that

[Anonymous]

Which league is this? It does sound incredibly restrictive to not even be allowed to pass the ball. I guess you could try to teach them cool freestyle/juggling tricks. Google it for some ideas.

[Anonymous]

I mean not to pile on but WTF? What is the risk in passing? Teams need to collectively put a foot up Arlington's *ss. I mean even MoCo eventually allowed soccer.

[Anonymous]

I don't know where I learned this drill, but it works well for passing without a partner, teaching correct form, and how to weight a ball.

Landing a spaceship:
Setup a set of four cones in a square for each player. Have the player stand about 8 yards from the box of cones. Explain that the ball is a spaceship and the box is a moon/planet. Let them name the moon or planet; they like that. They have to launch the spaceship and land on the moon.

At this point, you can teach correct form for a push pass.
Making sure they open their shoulders, so they can open their hips.
Make sure they are not swinging, but pushing the ball forward with the instep.
The chest should be slightly over the ball.
The momentum comes from the hips.

If they hit the ball too hard or too soft, the spaceship is lost.
Try to make sure they can land at least 3 spaceships with each foot. You can add a dribbling skill on the way back once they get the ball, like sole roles, sole taps, or any other technical dribble.

I've used this a lot and over time it is surprising how fast they pick up how to properly weight a good push pass. Also, they really like the imagination aspect of naming a planet and crashing their ships.

Hope this helps

[Anonymous]

Have them pass to a cone. Then they can run and fetch it. Then passed back to the original cone. Repeat.

Or just do shooting drills

[Anonymous]

What a stupid rule. Switch to mclean rec you'll be fine

[Anonymous]

Have them hold hands, in a circle, move around in unison and sing ring around the rosy.

Seriously, have them do individual skill drills. Lots of them. They are all on YouTube. Cone drills, juggling, shooting on an empty net (which technically is not passing), etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know where I learned this drill, but it works well for passing without a partner, teaching correct form, and how to weight a ball.

Landing a spaceship:
Setup a set of four cones in a square for each player. Have the player stand about 8 yards from the box of cones. Explain that the ball is a spaceship and the box is a moon/planet. Let them name the moon or planet; they like that. They have to launch the spaceship and land on the moon.

At this point, you can teach correct form for a push pass.
Making sure they open their shoulders, so they can open their hips.
Make sure they are not swinging, but pushing the ball forward with the instep.
The chest should be slightly over the ball.
The momentum comes from the hips.

If they hit the ball too hard or too soft, the spaceship is lost.
Try to make sure they can land at least 3 spaceships with each foot. You can add a dribbling skill on the way back once they get the ball, like sole roles, sole taps, or any other technical dribble.

I've used this a lot and over time it is surprising how fast they pick up how to properly weight a good push pass. Also, they really like the imagination aspect of naming a planet and crashing their ships.

Hope this helps

This helps. Thanks.

I've had a number of conversations with the folks that run the Arlington Soccer Association, but to no avail. They seem to believe the virus can be transmitted from child "A" to soccer ball "A", from soccer ball "A" to soccer ball "B", and from soccer ball "B" to child "B". So frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know where I learned this drill, but it works well for passing without a partner, teaching correct form, and how to weight a ball.

Landing a spaceship:
Setup a set of four cones in a square for each player. Have the player stand about 8 yards from the box of cones. Explain that the ball is a spaceship and the box is a moon/planet. Let them name the moon or planet; they like that. They have to launch the spaceship and land on the moon.

At this point, you can teach correct form for a push pass.
Making sure they open their shoulders, so they can open their hips.
Make sure they are not swinging, but pushing the ball forward with the instep.
The chest should be slightly over the ball.
The momentum comes from the hips.

If they hit the ball too hard or too soft, the spaceship is lost.
Try to make sure they can land at least 3 spaceships with each foot. You can add a dribbling skill on the way back once they get the ball, like sole roles, sole taps, or any other technical dribble.

I've used this a lot and over time it is surprising how fast they pick up how to properly weight a good push pass. Also, they really like the imagination aspect of naming a planet and crashing their ships.

Hope this helps

This helps. Thanks.

I've had a number of conversations with the folks that run the Arlington Soccer Association, but to no avail. They seem to believe the virus can be transmitted from child "A" to soccer ball "A", from soccer ball "A" to soccer ball "B", and from soccer ball "B" to child "B". So frustrating.

These people do know that ball and cleat licking are fairly rare in these parts....?

[Anonymous]

That seems insane. We are playing contact games with one of Arlington's travel teams in early October.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That seems insane. We are playing contact games with one of Arlington's travel teams in early October.

Hmmm. Seems like a troll post. My DC plays for an Arlington travel team and they have been playing full contact games for weeks now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That seems insane. We are playing contact games with one of Arlington's travel teams in early October.

Hmmm. Seems like a troll post. My DC plays for an Arlington travel team and they have been playing full contact games for weeks now.

I assume this is rec.

[Anonymous]

We are in Moco, altho the games are in PG and practice is in Howard...But my 8yo can pass the ball with feet like normal but they are not allowed to pick it up with their hands.