Hi,

I am a coach of an above average U9 boys team. We win & lose equal amounts of games in what would be Division 2 of our 6 division league. 

We are technically very competent as a team with good ball mastery skills, some very skilful players who are creative & exciting to watch (which we encourage) but physically we are still quite small. Football seems to have become a lot more physical in our matches this season & I am not sure our boys are ready for this. I understand this will balance itself out over the coming years as they develop but we do somewhat get “bullied’ against bigger, more physical teams. Again, we create a positive environment for the boys to learn from these moments but I would like us to start being more proactive in addressing these issues.

Some of our boys are now getting somewhat distracted by the players if they are bigger, and they either lose control of the ball or shy away from contact. I guess I know this is just natural as they build confidence, but is there anything else I can or should be doing? Are there any suitable exercises I can do to help?

Any similar issues being experienced by anyone else?