The Discovery Phase, or ‘Grass roots football, is for players up to 8 years of age.
The primary objective of this group, is to make football fun, so that kids can ‘Discover’ the game, at their own pace.
As a coach in this age group, your session should be broken into 3 parts.
These are the ‘beginning’, the ‘middle’ and the ‘end’
Keeping your session moving, is key for children learning and for your own reward of delivering a a fun hour of football.
So, starting with a session plan, you can find one here:
http://www.ffacoachingresource.com.au/session-templates/discovery-phase-session-template/
Then, what do you fill your session with?
Plan your sessions in advance
Arrive early and set up the area
Give clear, short instructions
Demonstrate quickly and efficiently
Keep the session flowing
Vary the activities but keep it simple
Be enthusiastic and give lots of praise
Encourage after mistakes
Be patient
Have fun (both the kids and you!)
Keep everyone active, avoid having kids standing around
What does this mean for training sessions with children this age?
Look here for examples of what your ‘Discovery’ Session can look like:
http://www.ffacoachingresource.com.au/the-building-blocks/the-discovery-phase/
There are also the following e-books that you can look at with great ideas to keep kids learning football, while having fun doing it