Rec Registration Spring 2023

Soccer Mini-Games

Freeze Tag

Teaching Concepts:

  • Learning Objectives
    • Protecting the ball under pressure.
    • Changing direction.
    • Beating the defender. Don’t be afraid to take on a challenger one on one. 
    • Keeping your head up to find the opening and move through open space. 
  • Technical Skills that can be practiced through this exercise 
    • Inside inside sole role
    • Cutting
    • Shielding


Setup:

  • Use a coned-off space that is size of a small-sided game or smaller. 
  • Everyone has a soccer ball. They must keep the ball within their “force field” (ie, small touches to maintain control or keeping the ball within their arm span). 
  • Start the coach as the challenger / defender. Later, you can try to use 1 or more players as challengers. 


Playing the game:

  • All the players try to stay away from the challenger. If the challenger touches your ball at all, then you have to stop the ball and keep your foot on top of the ball. You’re frozen until you’re unfrozen. 
  • If you’re frozen, your teammates can unfreeze you by passing their ball between your legs. 
  • If you go out of bounds, you come back in and freeze inbounds. 
 
Advanced variations: 
 
  • Designate a second challenger as “the ninja”. Maybe, give them a pinnie to distinguish them. The only thing that the ninja can do is poke out the ball that frozen players are trying to protect. The frozen player has to work on pivoting and shielding the ball so it doesn’t get kicked out. If it gets poked out, then they are out and become another challenger who freezes players. The game continues until the last man is standing.
  • If you take the ball through the endline, you’re safe. You can require that the team gets everyone across the endline as a teamwork activity, so if some players get tagged, they have to “save” the player by unfreezing them. The challenger can’t stay near frozen players; they have to go freeze new players. 

Sharks and Minnows

Teaching Concepts:

  • Ball control – Running with the ball
  • Protecting the ball under pressure. Change direction. Beat the defender. 
  • Keeping your head up to find the opening and move through open space. Don’t be afraid to take on a challenger one on one. 


Setup:

  • Use a coned-off space that is size of a small-sided game. 
  • Everyone has a soccer ball. 
  • Start the coach as the shark. Later, you can try to use 1 or more players as sharks. 


Playing the game:

  • All the players who are minnows start on the endline. Their goal is to get to the other endline with their ball while staying inbounds. 
  • If the shark pokes away your ball, you become a shark and try to turn other minnows into sharks. 
  • Once all the minnows are across the endline, the new sharks stay on the field, and the minnows have to try to “swim” across the field again. The last minnow standing wins. 
 

Pirate Cove or Island Hop

Everyone starts in an island.  1 or 2 Pirates in the middle.  When I call go, you jump from island to island. If a pirate gets your ball, you become a pirate.  Last player standing wins. Explain: Take chances, keep your head up to see where the pirates are, and find the opening. 

Teaching Concepts:

  • Learning Objectives
    • Protecting the ball under pressure.
    • Try to beat defender. Changing direction.
    • Take chances. Don’t be afraid to take on a challenger one on one. 
    • Keeping your head up to find the opening and move through open space. 
  • Technical Skills that can be practiced through this exercise
    • Inside inside sole role
    • Cutting
    • Shielding


Setup:

  • Use a coned-off space that is size of a small-sided game. 
  • Put cones in a circle or triangle sprinkled throughout the game space.  These are the islands or pirate coves, depending on whichever name you like. 
  • Everyone has a soccer ball and starts on an island.


Playing the game:

  • Everyone starts in an island.  1 or 2 Pirates in the middle.  When I call go, you jump from island to island. If a pirate gets your ball, you become a pirate.  Last player standing wins. 

 

Keep Away / Basic Rondo

Setup:

  • Make 2 teams. They don’t have to be exactly 4 players, but they should be about even.
  • You can choose to put the teams inside of designated spaces, or you can let them roam. 
 
Playing the game:
 
  • When the ball comes into play, the challenger tries to take the ball.
  • The 3 players are making quick passes and counting their passes out loud.
  • If the challenger gets the ball, the challenger dribbles out with the ball.   The 3 players try to collapse down (“wolf pack”) onto the ball to win it back, simulating quick transitions.
  • If the challenger gets the ball out, then it’s 5 points for the other team. The team with the most passes wins the round.
  • After each round, rotate the players. The challengers come from the other team. 


Advanced variations: 

  • Each team is playing outside of the goal area, preferably near half-way to build-out line area. After a designated number of passes are completed, the team that reaches the designated number of passes first has a scoring opportunity and can enter the goal area. The other team becomes the defenders. Simulates quick transitions. 

Other Mini-Games

10 Games for Younger Players

Red light, green light: If you call green light, the players dribble with big touches. When you call yellow light, they go to small touches. When you call red light, they stop the ball. 

Simon says: Simon says, “dribble the ball with the inside of your foot only”, “roll the ball with the sole of your foot”, I didn’t say Simon says! This mini-game isn’t very game like, but it may be a fun variation for the practice portion of play-practice-play when you’re learning ball control techniques.

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