Alan, this is definitely a time when you try to understand the world of the 6 year old child rather than look for a football answer. Try to imagine what is going on in the mind, the decisions and the body of these young children. They are in a competitive environment with adults shouting on advice and encouragement, they are trying to control the ball and move with it (not many will have the kind of control and mastery over the ball that will allow their head to come up) they will be aware that players of the other team are scattered around the pitch, they are trying to see what their next action or decision might be and they will have an overriding desire to dribble forward because the goal of their opponent is in that general direction. If you take this into account we might come to the conclusion that there is a hell of a lot going on for the child and this may result in them dribbling towards an opponent rather than into the space that we as adults, standing on the sideline, under no pressure, with years of experience can see that they should. This may sound critical but its not designed to be. Decisions are informed by the information that can be taken in from the environment around you. Children of 6 are not completely in control of the ball so a lot of their thought processes will be focussed on this. This leaves less cognitive space or energy to look up, process the mass of information that is available to them so that they can make the "right" decision. If you also add in that children of this age are not great at deciphering what bits of information from all that is coming in via their senses is the most important I think we might decide that all the players need is lots of relevant practice over a long period of time, patience, care and lots of understanding and encouragement. I hope this helps. Pete

Alan, this is definitely a time when you try to understand the world of the 6 year old child rather than look for a football answer. Try to imagine what is going on in the mind, the decisions and the body of these young children. They are in a competitive environment with adults shouting on advice and encouragement, they are trying to control the ball and move with it (not many will have the kind of control and mastery over the ball that will allow their head to come up) they will be aware that players of the other team are scattered around the pitch, they are trying to see what their next action or decision might be and they will have an overriding desire to dribble forward because the goal of their opponent is in that general direction. If you take this into account we might come to the conclusion that there is a hell of a lot going on for the child and this may result in them dribbling towards an opponent rather than into the space that we as adults, standing on the sideline, under no pressure, with years of experience can see that they should. This may sound critical but its not designed to be. Decisions are informed by the information that can be taken in from the environment around you. Children of 6 are not completely in control of the ball so a lot of their thought processes will be focussed on this. This leaves less cognitive space or energy to look up, process the mass of information that is available to them so that they can make the "right" decision. If you also add in that children of this age are not great at deciphering what bits of information from all that is coming in via their senses is the most important I think we might decide that all the players need is lots of relevant practice over a long period of time, patience, care and lots of understanding and encouragement. I hope this helps. Pete

Thanks for your thoughts, I did ask for simple training ideas which other people have very kindly provided, one of which we used this week and worked brilliantly. I would suggest reading some of the above responses rather than under estimating the mind and ability of a 6 year old.

Hi Alan. 

I am glad that you had some success with the ideas suggested. It is always worth having a go at different things to develop as a coach and to see how children respond. 

If I may add to that. Please take the time to look at the many webinars, podcasts or practical sessions that Pete delivers. Lots of which can be found on the England Learning site. I don't think he was suggesting that young players lack ability. As a world renowned expert in this/his field, he is rather saying the opposite. Children have an innate ability to problem solve. We just need to create a playful environment where they feel safe to try things out, and the right age appropriate challenge is part of that.

Six year olds are full of curiosity, energy and potential. As an Early Years teacher I am reminded of that daily. But just as we learn to crawl, walk, talk, read, write etc in our own time, as footballers, players heads will come up as their technical skills develop. As a teacher I  cannot force this to happen. Generally it will happen during the later stages of the foundation phase. So around 9-11 years old. Football is incredibly complex but it is underpinned by an individuals holistic connection with the ball.

Try giving your young players  lots of opportunities to dribble 1v1 or in other small formats like 2v1, 2v2. Whatever the practice ask yourself, does it look like the game? And at this age, this  is rather like a playground at school! Try to make your practices directional like the game? Does it have live opposition like the game? Play around with different shaped pitches, multiple goals, end zones etc. Give them problems to solve and let the game be the teacher. 

Good luck! Feel free to ask more and  be as open minded and inquisitive as the players you care about.