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⚽ Soccer · ages 6–7 · U8

Soccer practice plan for 6 and 7 year olds (45 minutes)

Checked · v0.1.0

The whole practice: Warm-up 7 · three drills 24 · water 2 · game 8 · cool-down 4 minutes, for 10 players and 5 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 6–7 (U8) · 45 minutes · 10 players · 5 balls

  1. 0:007 min

    Warm-up Warm-up

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

  2. 0:078 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. 0:158 min

    Drill Knock down the cones

    Set up. Cones standing in a row in the middle; everyone with a ball behind a line of cones five steps away on either side. Gear: a ball each, a row of tall cones or empty bottles.

    1. Kick your ball along the ground at a cone and try to knock it over.
    2. Fetch your ball, dribble back to the line, and go again.
    3. The coach stands the cones up again; the team counts how many fell in a minute.

    Say: “Look at the cone” · “Inside of the foot” · “Fetch and go”

    Easier: Closer, and bigger targets such as a beach ball on a cone. Harder: Only the weaker foot, or from a step farther back.

  4. 0:232 min

    Water Water break

    Everybody drinks, in the shade if there is some.

  5. 0:258 min

    Drill Pass through the gate

    Set up. Partners five steps apart, with a cone gate two steps wide halfway between them. Gear: a ball a pair, two cones a pair. With your players that is 5 groups of about 2.

    1. Pass with the inside of your foot, through the gate to your partner.
    2. Your partner stops it, then passes back.
    3. Every pass through is a point for the pair; a step back after every ten.

    Say: “Inside of the foot” · “Plant foot points” · “Stop it first”

    Easier: Gate three steps wide and partners closer. Harder: One touch: pass straight back without stopping it.

  6. 0:338 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. With your players that is 2 groups of about 8.

    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. 0:414 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/6-7v0.1.0 · Checked 31 October 2026

Why this practice looks like this

U.S. Soccer's largest game at U7 and U8 is 4v4, so this practice builds to 4v4 with no goalkeepers. Before it, dribbling and the first passes with the inside of the foot, each pair with its own ball and its own gate, so nobody waits for a turn.

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 6–7

More practices

Soccer at other ages:

Ages 6–7 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.