Youth Soccer Drills is your indispensable tool for coaching beginning to intermediate soccer players ages 5 to 12. Rely on 100 drills and games to make practices more fun and productive. Through these practice activities, even novice coaches will soon have young players mastering the essentials of spacing, dribbling, passing, shooting, and heading.
Use the comprehensive drill finder to quickly find the perfect drill by skills you want to develop. Sample practice plans for 5- to 6-year-olds, 7- to 8-year-olds, 9- to 10-year-olds, and 11- to 12-year-olds are ready to take straight to the soccer field. Progressions of 4v4, 5v5, 8v8, and 11v11 help young players execute skills and tactics at the appropriate stage.
Youth Soccer Drillswill make practice more productive and put the fun back into fundamentals.
Chapter 1: Spatial Concepts and Movement Drills
Chapter 2: Dribbling Drills
Chapter 3: Passing and Collecting Drills
Chapter 4: Heading Drills
Chapter 5: Shooting Drills
Chapter 6: Game Progressions
Chapter 7: Using Drills in Practice
For 37 years Jim Garland worked with children ages 5 to 11 as an elementary physical education teacher. For more than 20 years he coordinated summer soccer camps and clinics for Motion Concepts Summer Camps, where he coached teams from beginning to high school levels.
As an undergraduate at Towson University in Maryland, Garland earned Most Valuable Player and All Conference Awards for two consecutive years. In 1970 he was selected as Senior Athlete of the Year. He was inducted into the Towson University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985.
Garland earned his master’s degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore in 1978. He earned a National Soccer Coaches license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 1998 and a doctorate in youth and child studies from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1999.
Garland has been an Olympic Development Soccer Program assessor for the state of Maryland and a featured clinician at the local, state, and national levels. He has been a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America; Maryland Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation; American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation; United States Physical Education Association; and Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
"I highly recommend Jim Garland's collection of activities to any coach working with U5 to U12.
Jim offers excellent technical training ideas and expands into game progressions as well as ideas on space and movement. The 100 activities will challenge coaches and players alike and provide for lots of fun too."
Ian Barker-- Director of Coaching Education NSCAA
“Youth Soccer Drills provides coaches with a good resource of small-sided games and activities to develop soccer savvy players. The emphasis on spatial awareness, decision making and skillful play is exactly the pathway for the young player. Coach Garland turns that pathway into a highway.”
Sam Snow-- Coaching Director US Youth Soccer
“Jim Garland has written an excellent book that will assist any youth coach in their practice sessions. A must for any coach just getting started!”
Pete Caringi-- Men’s head soccer coach, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Director of the All-Maryland soccer camps since 1982
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