Now being further down the process at 9v9 I think it should be a different set up. I believe everyone should play two years of 3v3 starting at the same age (under 7’s) with mini goals. No goalkeepers. This helps players work on their first touch. Create triangles etc. plus get a lot more touches. you can run two games of 3v3 side by side and mix it up in different ways. Then move on to 5v5, 7v7 etc but essentially everything is two years later. But you’ve given your players the opportunity to really work on the essentials at an early age. 

Now being further down the process at 9v9 I think it should be a different set up. I believe everyone should play two years of 3v3 starting at the same age (under 7’s) with mini goals. No goalkeepers. This helps players work on their first touch. Create triangles etc. plus get a lot more touches. you can run two games of 3v3 side by side and mix it up in different ways. Then move on to 5v5, 7v7 etc but essentially everything is two years later. But you’ve given your players the opportunity to really work on the essentials at an early age. 

Yes I agree with that. But 2 years at 9v9 I thought was not enough before going 11v11 when I did my first time round.