U7 7v7 Guidelines

This piece was made in 2014 to help my 2007 boys.

       

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• When attacking there should always be at least one defender back on the halfway line.
• When defending, all players should come back to help the team, apart from the forward who will find in space in the middle third of the field.
• If our goalkeeper has the ball and is looking to pass, our players need to find a big space away from other players. The best places to find space are on the far left and the far right of the field.
• The goalkeeper should avoid passing the ball through the middle of the field, and should always look to give the ball to a teammate.
• At throw-ins/kick-ins, the taker should take no more than three seconds to pass the ball. His teammates should find a space with no other players in it, and not ask for the ball when standing behind a defender.
• The team should never shoot from kick off. (this was a real problem, often encouraged from the side)
• If you want the ball from a teammate, find a space where he can kick the ball to that is not near any other players, and call for the ball, asking him to pass to you.
• If a forward is running through to our goal, the goalkeeper should come out of the goal to meet him.
• When surrounded by opponents, the player with the ball should look for a pass. Never be scared to pass in a sideways or backwards direction.
• Do not stand still and talk to your friend. Always pay attention.
• If an opponent has run past you and is going to goal, do not run and chase him, but rather run past him to be between him and the goal, then make your approach to steal the ball.
• When the opposition has the ball, try to position yourself between the ball and the goal that you are defending, making it more difficult for them to pass forward or to shoot.
• After a shot, when both attacking and defending, run towards the goalkeeper in case the ball is dropped. Being first to the ball can help either score or prevent a goal.
• Try to make decisions quickly. Always have your next pass already decided in your head, well before you receive the ball.

 The reason why I made this, as you may think it's quite thorough for a U7 group, is that due to the language barrier, I really struggled to coach this group. One of the dads would sometimes help me translate the teamtalk and other instructions. The parents were always going to shout things from the side, and often it conflicted with what I was telling them to do. Mostly, it was unhelpful. At least with this, I was getting them to see what I was trying to achieve with the team, and that when they did shout things, at least it may be in line with what our aims are.

7v7 is too much for players that are trying to learn the game. That was the first season for many players. At that age, it's all about ball mastery. If you're one of fourteen players on the pitch, you will not get enough touches to be able to learn sufficiently. We made our own separate 5v5 tournament, which was sadly poorly attended. I hear back occasionally, and I think it may be starting to finally take off, which is great. Mexican youth leagues are obsessed with making money. The more players on the field, the better. Where most of the football intelligence suggests age minus two as a rule of thumb for players on a team, they try to go the opposite way over there. It only harms the players.

In my next piece, we look at what was expected as we transitioned into 9v9.