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⚽ Soccer · ages 4–5 · U6

Soccer practice plan for 4 and 5 year olds (30 minutes)

Checked · v0.1.0

The whole practice: Warm-up 5 · three drills 14 · water 2 · game 6 · cool-down 3 minutes, for 8 players and 4 balls. Every player is moving in every block, the game comes last, and nobody is ever out.

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This practice

⚽ Soccer · ages 4–5 (U6) · 30 minutes · 8 players · 4 balls

  1. 0:005 min

    Warm-up Warm-up

    Jog on the spot, Arm circles, Skipping. About a minute each, easy first, then a little bigger.

  2. 0:055 min

    Drill Dribble through the gates

    X playerO partner or defender— run- - pass∿ dribble

    Set up. Pairs of cones scattered round the space, each pair a gate two steps wide. Gear: a ball each, cones in pairs.

    1. On go, dribble through as many gates as you can in one minute.
    2. Never the same gate twice in a row.
    3. Count your gates out loud, rest, and try to beat your own number.

    Say: “Little touches” · “Eyes up” · “Find a free gate”

    Easier: Walk with the ball; gates three steps wide. Harder: Through each gate with your weaker foot, or turn and go back through it.

  3. 0:105 min

    Drill Toe taps and sole rolls

    Set up. Everyone with a ball in a space of their own. Gear: a ball each. With your players that is 8 groups of about 1.

    1. Tap the top of the ball with one foot, then the other, like a little drum: twenty taps.
    2. Roll the ball sideways under your sole, then back the other way.
    3. Pull it back with your sole and push it forward with your laces.

    Say: “On your toes” · “Light touches” · “Look up”

    Easier: Hold a partner's shoulder or a wall while you tap. Harder: Taps while turning a full circle round the ball.

  4. 0:152 min

    Water Water break

    Everybody drinks, in the shade if there is some.

  5. 0:174 min

    Drill Stoplight dribble

    Set up. Everyone dribbling inside a box of cones, the coach at the side. Gear: a ball each.

    1. Green: dribble anywhere in the box.
    2. Yellow: slow, little touches.
    3. Red: stop the ball with the sole of your foot and freeze.
    4. Nobody is out. A mix-up just means switch to the right color.

    Say: “Small touches” · “Sole on red” · “Find space”

    Easier: Walk; red means sit on your ball. Harder: Purple: turn and dribble the other way. Blue: weaker foot only.

  6. 0:216 min

    Game Small-sided game

    Set up. Games of 3v3 or 4v4 on a small field with cone goals and no goalkeepers. With more players, run two games side by side. Gear: a ball and two cone goals a game, pinnies.

    1. Kick off from the middle; a goal is a ball through the cones along the ground.
    2. Out of bounds: the other team kicks it back in.
    3. Every three minutes, swap the teams round so everyone plays everyone.
    4. The score stays on the coach's paper, if it is kept at all.

    Say: “Spread out” · “Look up” · “Win it back together”

    Easier: Bigger goals, and two balls in play at once so everyone touches one. Harder: A goal only counts after three passes.

  7. 0:273 min

    Cool-down Cool-down

    Reach for your toes, Butterfly. About a minute each, easy first, then a little bigger.

Every plan here has a water break, two in practices over an hour (our rule). On hot days the CDC says to drink more water than usual without waiting to be thirsty, to start slowly and build up, and to practice when it is cooler. cdc.gov: Heat and Athletes. Head knocks and concussion: read CDC HEADS UP, the CDC's page for coaches and parents. cdc.gov/heads-up

peabody.kids/sports/plan/soccer/4-5v0.1.0 · Checked 31 October 2026

Why this practice looks like this

U6 soccer is a ball each and a lot of laughing. Nobody passes yet, and that is fine: this plan is dribbling games where every child touches the ball hundreds of times, then a small game of 3v3 with cone goals and no goalkeepers, so nobody stands in a goal waiting.

The drills are Peabody's own, in plain words, each with a drawing, three short things to say, and an easier and a harder way so one plan fits the whole team. The warm-up and the cool-down come from the Gym, where every move has picture steps a child can follow.

What the guidelines say at 4–5

  • U.S. Soccer's formats say smaller games can be played at every age; for the youngest, these plans play 3v3 or 4v4 with no goalkeepers. Source: U.S. Soccer: Game formats.

More practices

Soccer at other ages:

Ages 4–5 in other sports:

Game day: make an equal-play-time lineup, or a bracket for the end-of-season tournament. All the tools are on the coaches' page.