Tonight's Announcements
Welcome to Night One of Soccer Nights 2015! I hope you are excited. Please read the following information carefully so you are prepped and ready to go when you arrive at the field!
Tonight's Schedule
5:30 –6:00 Check in, directed to teams
6:15 –6:25 Large group welcome, intro theme & skill of the night 6:25 –6:40 Warm ups in division, skill demonstration 6:45 –7:00 Team time #1: team name, learn names, set goal for the night 7:00 –7:25 Team Drill work 3 7:25 –7:30 Team time #2: debrief drill work, check in on team goal 7:35 –8:05 Scrimmages 8:05 –8:10 Team time #3: check in, debrief scrimmage and team goal 8:10 –8:20 Large group closing 8:20 –8:30 Snack in teams, check out Tonight's Skill: Passing
See also pages 5-9 of Soccer Curriculum Packet.
*********NOTE TO COACHES: Feel free to modify this and/or do something totally different- as long as the kids learn how to pass the ball correctly and are having a good time, that is what we care about.********* Coaching Skills to Focus on: 1) Form: a) Head down and eyes on the ball b) Place non-kicking foot approx. 6 inches to the side of the ball and 3 inches behind the ball, toe pointed in the direction of the pass. c) Pass with the “instep” of the kicking-foot, toe up, ankle locked d) Follow through, so your teammate can see the bottom of your kicking shoe. 2) Accuracy 3) Pace of pass 4) Timing Exercise/Drill: 1) PASSING THROUGH CONES- set up: multiple sets of 2 cones arranged 1 yd apart for each pair of players to pass the ball through. -Players stand 5 yards away from the cones, and pass through the cones to their partner. Partner stops the ball, then passes the ball through the cones back to the original player. Progressions a) back up further, b) use non-dominant foot, c) one touch (pass slowly), d) Shuttles: pass and follow, run to end of the line (need to have 3+ kids) Games: 1) KIDS VS CONES VS COACHES set up: cones lined up randomly in a line - Players stand in two lines (shoulder to shoulder) with 5-10 cones spread out in between them. Players pass to each other trying to knock over all the cones. Coaches frantically pick up the cones after they get knocked over, trying to keep all the cones upright. “Scoring:” The kids win when all of the cones are knocked over at one time. Keep track of time, and see if kids can improve their time each round. Progressions: Play vs one coach, then the other coach. See which coach takes longer to ‘beat’ the kids 2) MULTI-GOAL SOCCER set up: cones set up in pairs 1 yd apart to make mini goals. Make the goals spread out and oriented in different directions - Players pair up and each pair gets a ball. Players run around the designated area, and get a point for every time they pass the ball through the cones to their partner. Players have to pass the ball every 3rd touch, even if its not through a goal (this prevents them from dribbling up to the goal and knocking it through, then dribbling away to another goal. This is a PASSING drill) “Scoring:” See how many goals teams can score in 1 minute. Progressions: 2 minutes. See if they can improve each round. See how long it takes for a team to score 10 goals 3) PASSING LADDER set up: give each kid a number (1-_?_ ) that they must remember. -Players have to jog around in a designated area (size determined by size of team) and they can ONLY pass to the number ABOVE them. Players must keep moving around, and must only pass to the number above them. “Scoring:" See how long it takes to get the ball back to the first player. See if you can improve the team time each round. Add a 2nd ball, and see if the team can keep both balls passing. When the ball gets back to the first player, they continue to pass. See if you can add a 3rd ball. ***MAKE UP YOUR OWN SCORING FOR ANY GAME! And HAVE FUN WITH IT***
Each night during team time, your team should set a goal pertaining to the theme and/or skill of the night. Below you will find suggested goals each evening, but please feel free to have your team come up with an original goal each night - the suggestions are there to help if you have trouble.
Suggestions for setting team goals: Try to set a goal that includes both the soccer skill and value of the night. E.g. Tuesday’s skill/theme combo is dribbling/perspective. A good goal might be “Tonight we are to work hard to keep our heads up while we dribble so we can see the field and look for open passes.” This goal encompasses both dribbling and perspective. Feel to add bonus goals throughout the night to challenge your team. Monday: Teamwork & Passing Team Time #1 (before drill work)
possible goals:
■ How can our team show TEAMWORK? Team Time #2 (before scrimmage
■ what could we do to improve? ■ if we’ve already reached it, what could we add to challenge ourselves? ■ Who has shown the value of TEAMWORK like KAITI AND BRIAN? when? Team Time: #3 (after scrimmage)
- What could we do to improve as a team for tomorrow?
Tonight's Value: Team Work (Instructions for Team Time)
Point System Reminder
Throughout the week, division leaders will keep track of points awarded to the teams in their divisions. Divisions will compete against each other for the most points at the end of the week, and the participants in the winning division will receive a small prize.
Ways to earn points Team Time: Explained later, during team time teams will set a nightly goal. Coaches may award points for teams meeting their goal. ○ Completely met = 10 points ○ Majority of team met goal = 8 points ○ Partially met = 5 points Awarding to individuals: coaches or division leaders may award points to individual participants for anything they see fit, including but not limited to the following: ○ embodying RRT (respect your coach, respect your teammates, try your hardest) ○ exceptional commitment to either theme or skill of the night ○ specific challenges during the night (e.g. making a drill harder or challenging a particular kid during the scrimmage to meet a specific goal for X amount of points) Large Group Competitions: ○ Each night there will be competitions between divisions during opening large group (outlined later). Winning division will be allotted 10 points for the night. Regulating Points In past years we have had all divisions “compete” when in actuality they were all working together to reach a corporate goal. Thus, when different divisions had different economies for awarding points, it didn’t really matter. THis year as teams are actually competing, we’d like to strive for more consistency. I’ve suggested point values for some things (like nightly team goals and large group competitions), but additional points can be at the discretion of coaches and division leaders. While obviously each division will vary (especially at sites where some divisions have more teams than others), divisions should aim for somewhere in the 30-60 realm for points per night. 
7 Comments
Katie Buell
6/24/2013 02:31:58 pm
Today, I had the opportunity to talk to some of the parents of Soccer Nights children. So many parents were brimming with appreciation for the program. They loved how organized and thoughtful the nights went, and most of the kids were coming back year after year.
Cara
6/25/2013 03:18:41 am
My kids' dreams in the Red Division were *awesome*. They included:
Nia
6/25/2013 06:06:39 am
This week I'll be playing with the 3-5 year olds to connect with them and their parents and to keep them engaged and off the soccer field. Towards the end of the night, I was playing catch with an older boy. As some really threatening storm clouds rolled in, I realized that all of the excitement of the day had left me quite drained. Then, all of a sudden I heard children yelling in unison. I looked to my right and saw a few 3 three year olds sitting in the grass facing the scary clouds and screaming something at the top of their lungs. I asked one of them what they were doing. She jumped up and emphatically explained that they were yelling at the clouds so they would go away. She then kneeled back down to face the clouds and continued screaming with the others. I was energized by their hilarious logic and enthusiasm. Then I thought, this will be a great week!
Erik
7/22/2013 08:39:57 am
SO STOKED FOR DAY ONE!!! :)!
Sarah P
7/25/2013 05:23:42 am
Each session makes me realize how awesome the RED DIVISION is and how they really love Soccer Nights. The dream bubbles were just a great way to see what the kids want to have in life. FUN, FRIENDS and FAMILY, During the curriculum time, the kids were asked to create a dream for their lives. Many wanted a new puppy, to be a teacher, policeman, rainbows, have an ice cream party but, my favorite was more SOCCER NIGHTS. I had to second that motion with the excitement of being back for session 2.
Steph
6/23/2014 05:15:26 am
Woo hoo! So excited for day 1!
Sarah P.
6/23/2015 04:10:44 am
The first night of Soccer Nights North Cambridge was AWESOME!!!! Each year I volunteer, I come to love more the North Cambridge community and all of the amazing folks that help make this amazing program happen. The excitement of the kids was contagious and continued throughout the evening. The soccer skill of the night was teamwork and leadership development skill was teamwork. From learning each other’s names to creating a team name, the kids worked together. The cheered each one on and continue to exemplify each skill of the night. From passing to each other and reminding everyone to say please and thank you at water breaks, the kids internalized the skills. The encouragement, excitement and spirit of team excellence was alive tonight. Leave a Reply. |
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