ASA Coaches’ Reference Guide to Small-Sided Soccer

The Arlington Soccer Association has provided an opportunity for players in the U6 through U12 age groups to participate in a small-sided game format.

The advantages of this format can benefit both the players and the coaches.

This guide is intended to give coaches and parents a brief introduction to the ways small-sided soccer can have a positive effect on their players’ and children’s experience of the game.

Goals of the Small-Sided Soccer Format

· Provide an enriching and developmentally appropriate environment for kids to learn and enjoy playing soccer

· Provide a playing format that simplifies the game, creating a developmentally appropriate environment for the player to develop his/her decision making and problem solving abilities

· Emphasize development over winning

· Promote the development of the ‘complete’ player, balancing physical skills with decision making, and attacking play with transitional and defensive play

Advantages of Small-Sided Soccer

· More opportunities for touches on the ball

· Better environment for developing essential soccer skills

· Less complex game situations foster greater confidence, creativity and decision making

· Opportunity to learn basic tactics and refine tactical skill through progressively more complex game situations

· Quicker, more fluid game puts greater emphasis on total player development and active transition from offense to defense

· Fewer players on the field means each player can contribute more completely

· Fewer players on the field provides a coach with better opportunities to assess strengths and weaknesses of players

· The small-sided game provides more opportunities for players to learn individual and small-group positioning relative to the ball, e.g., offensive and defensive support and movement without the ball

Getting the Most out of Small-Sided Soccer

The goals and advantages of the small-sided format can be reinforced each week at practice when coaches:

· Ensure all kids are active with a ball, either offensively or defensively, all of the time

· Foster an atmosphere of creativity by encouraging kids to experiment and allowing them to make mistakes

· Limit their focus to a few basic themes or age-appropriate skills during the course of a season

· Use games that allow the players to discover and explore the skills you want them to learn rather than relying on lectures, repetitive drills or demonstrations.

On game-day, with fewer kids on any one field, small-sided soccer gives coaches greater opportunity to:

· Let the kids play, suppressing the urge to yell instructions throughout the game

· Observe and evaluate each player to identify their strengths and to guide their development

· Encourage kids to play in multiple positions during the course of each game and each season

· Create balanced teams, in the simultaneous-game format, that allow each player an opportunity for achievement in a fair and competitive contest.

With the support of ASA Coaches, small-sided soccer can strengthen kids' natural love of the game and encourage them to play on their own or in small groups outside of practice. Any time you have a player with a soccer ball, you have soccer.

Additional Resources

There is a wealth of useful information available for recreational soccer coaches of all age groups and levels of experience. Please see the companion ASA Coaches’ Resource for Small-Sided Soccer for a few good places to start.

Note: This guide was prepared by the members of the Arlington Soccer Association Small-Sided Soccer Coaching Guidelines Committee: Monte F. Bourjaily, IV (Chair) (Coach, Potomac Kiwanis); Lisa Turcios (Manager, Hurts Hammers); Greg Denkler (Manager, Arlington Aces); Mary Schade (Coach, Potomac Kiwanis); Peter Leibold (Coach, Falls Church); Brian Donnelly (Coach, Potomac Kiwanis); Whang Phang (ASA Referee & Coach, Arlington Optimists); and Janet Joy (Coach, Lightning).

Revised:  04/28/2008