U8/U9 - the 5 best
exercise for your
soccer training
Football training with an U8/U9 team is challenging. In this area,
you often have a wide range when it comes to the players' abilities.
Here are 5 free exercises that every U8/U9 coach should know.
We'll also show you how to coach in these exercises & game forms.
As always with our football exercises: The focus is on fun and dynamism!
5 exercises for dynamics, development,
and lots of fun in U8/U9 training!
What you should keep in mind during
U8/U9 training
Children in the U8/U9 age group are true Zen masters. They live in the here and now.
This means that U8/U9 training must be fun in the here and now!
There's no point in training with boring exercises because U8/U9 players might need the content in the future.
Your exercises have to be fun now! Then the players will learn faster. And they learn that football training is fun!
What is fun?
Games and competitions
Lots of ball action for every child
Scoring goals
Catching games
Varied forms of play
You can see which exercises are suitable for U8/U9 in the following videos.
Exercise 1: Warm-up in U8/U9
Players do not have to warm up and stretch in U8/U9! This is not necessary for injury prevention, is not fun and is simply a waste of training time.
That's why we start every U8/U9 training session with a mini-game. Like the “Zipper-Shooting” exercise. This way, training starts with something that every child in U8/U9 can enjoy: scoring goals in an exciting competition!
Exercise 2: Catch games in U8/U9
Every U8/U9 coach knows that coordination training is important. However, the coordination ladder or jumping
over cones are not the right exercises to train coordination.
Catching games are much better! Why?
It's fun!
The children have to recognize opponents' movements (just like in a game)
They have to constantly react and act anew (just like in a game)
They act at top speed due to opponent pressure
"Switching-Tag" is ideal for this! In the beginning, it will take some time for the kids to switch quickly. But once the exercise is up and running, it really gets going.
You can find more U8/U9 exercises on our training and learning platform
Ready-made training sessions for U8/U9 training, advanced training and much more will help you in your daily work as a U8/U9 coach!
Learn more!
Exercise 3: Better U8/U9 players through 1v1 exercises
Children in U8/U9 need to learn how to control the ball. The best way for children to do this is in 1v1 exercises. This means that every child has many ball actions, many dribbles, many finishes, and many ball receptions.
They have to constantly react to the opponent and dribble into open spaces. This works better when the opponents are on the move - as in this "First touch 1v1 | Opponent from the front" exercise.
Dynamic 1v1 forms of play are extremely important for the development of your U8/U9 players!
Coaching in U8/U9 training - Leading with questions
Coaching through questions also works in U8/U9. Watch the video to see how this works in the “First touch 1v1 | Opponent from the front” exercise in U8/U9 training.
Exercise 4: Game form for U8/U9 team
We want to train in U8/U9 in the same way as we play on the weekends: Many coaches get annoyed on weekends when their players switch off. But how often have they practiced 'fast transitions’ during the week?
With this form of play, we train numerous transition situations in small numbers. “Shooting to 1v1 to 2v1 | Transition” is an outstanding exercise for the U8/U9 with addictive potential!
A little tip: If possible, use a goal that is smaller. This way you avoid playing around and your players have to play and outplay their opponents.
Over 200 exercises for your U8/U9 training
On our video platform play.advance.football you will find numerous U8/U9 exercises, training videos and tips for your football training.
Watch now
Coaching for the exercise “Shooting to 1v1 to 2v1 | Transition”
We filmed this exercise with the U8/U9 team of VfR Mannheim. Here you can coach a variety of situations such as free-running behavior, 2v1 or transition play. Concentrate on one situation per exercise and work on this coaching point together with your U8/U9 players.
Spread the word! Share these exercises with your fellow U8/U9 coaches!
Help us reach even more coaches. For our vision that every child around the world can experience better and child-friendly football training. Share the page with your U8/U9 coaching group or send it to your youth leaders (Directors).
Together we’ll put children's football first!
Exercise 5: Close-Out Match for your U8/U9 training
A Close-Out Match is compulsory in EVERY U8/U9 training session.
What should you pay attention to in U8/U9?
Small numerical ratios for many actions per child
Let the children do it - no coaching
Motivating and keeping the intensity high is allowed
Varied games and situations
You can also play the same game form on central large goals! Then we recommend a shooting zone for U8/U9: Goals only count in the opponent's half!
Selected exercises and
training sessions for U8/U9
Our video platform offers content that has been specially created for U8/U9 training. FUNino game forms, catching games, numerous 1v1 exercises and much more. You can test the platform for one day free of charge!
Start your free trial
U8/U9 content on the platform for youth football coaches