Mark lots of positives in your reflection , I hope you and your players enjoyed their new experience regarding match days @u7s , 

encourage and support being confident on the ball 1v1  , travelling ,protecting the ball ,most of all make it fun and create relationships with ball and player 

time is the key ,so my advice is to create skilful players 

Hi Mark

you could try an achievment board for them in each game.

ie how many passes can you make in the game, ask parents to tick each time their son/daughter make a pass.(including the goalkeeper)

you can do this each week with different tasks, and  maybe a leader board with each player moving up the board with their progression.

They can even choose their own tasks.

where concentration is an issue, if you have plenty of players keep rotating when certain players minds start to wander, they can always go back on.

all the best 

lee

Hi Mark,

I'm coaching a team that joins the under 7's league in September. A couple of months ago we put them in their first match against another team and most of the work from training went right out the window. They chatted with school friends on the opposing team, literally watched the ball roll past their feet into the goal and more. A few of the oldest kids put in more but it was a first experience, which for most was a bit overwhelming. This is really just down to the pace of a real match vs practice sessions. 

What i would say is that 2 months on, they've played 4 more matches and improved every time because it's becoming "normal". When we are in training we've really gone back to focusing on close control, head up and looking to run into space. We're now starting to shift to positioning, tackling and passing. There are plenty of resources in the boot room that have helped us make the sessions fun whilst still challenging them to progress. 

Hi Mark 

it can be difficult to translate from training sessions into games, it is so important that the players enjoy both the training sessions and games and linking these can at times become difficult.

In training sessions try to replicate game situations try 1v1, 2v2 or even 3v2 this will allow realistic situations and also encourage creativity and positive play, try to also include some ‘ball mastery’ in your session to encourage confidence this could start basic and develop into practice that is quite challenging, have a look into some of the Coerver coaching which focuses on this for players of all ages and abilities.

I hope this is helpful

Hi i believe rotation definately helps to keep the concentration going. Trying players out in different possisions and also giving them simple instructions and extra encouragement and motivation.