Coaching tools › Activities › U6
Free activities · Ages 4–6U6 soccer drills and games
Ages 4 to 6, 4v4
Pre-K and Kindergarten sessions are stories with a ball in them: sharks, astronauts, cheetahs and cone monsters. Every game here is seven or eight minutes long, has an easier and a harder version, and a line to say out loud. Two coaching points a day: head up, keep the ball close.
The game at U6
There is no keeper, no offside and no heading. Leagues can vary, and some use 5v5 at the youngest ages.
Field sizes and rules by age ›What age group is my child in? ›
U6 practice plans
Three full sessions, sixty minutes each, with a ball for every player. Start with Soccer Island, and save the 1v1 plan for a group that has played before.
Practice plan · 60 minSoccer island (U6)A free 60-minute U6 soccer practice plan, minute by minute.
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Practice plan · 60 minCones and monsters (U6)Story games with a ball each: colors, sharks and the Cone Monster.
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Practice plan · 60 minBeat the shark (U6)Sharks, minnows and a first 1v1, for a group ready for more.
Open the plan ›U6 dribbling and 1v1 games
Everyone, ball each · 7 minSoccer IslandEveryone dribbles inside the island while the sharks wait in the water outside the cones to steal any ball that floats away.
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Everyone, ball each · 7 minSpace ManPlayers dribble anywhere in the grid and freeze with a foot on the ball when you shout.
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Everyone, ball each · 7 min3 SpeedsTurtle, dog, cheetah. Players dribble around while you call out speeds, switching often.
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Everyone, ball each · 7 minBody BrakesEveryone dribbles. Call a speed, then a body part, and players stop the ball with it: foot, knee, elbow, head.
Open the activity ›Everyone, ball each · 7 minCone ColorsCones in two colors scattered around the grid.
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Everyone v the monster · 7 minCone MonsterThe coach is the Cone Monster and carries a cone.
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1v1 · 7 min1v1 FieldsTwo small 1v1 fields side by side with pug or cone goals, one line attacking and one defending on each, with the coach standing between them.
Open the activity ›Minnows v sharks · 11 minSharks & MinnowsThe coach starts as the shark in the middle.
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Everyone v the coach · 8 minSee Ya Later, Coach!Players dribble at you, drag the ball back with the sole just before they reach you, shout “See ya later, Coach!” and speed away into space.
Open the activity ›Questions coaches ask about U6
What format do U6 players play?
U6 players play 4v4 on a field 25 to 35 yards long and 15 to 25 yards wide, with 4 ft by 6 ft goals and a size 3 ball. There is no keeper, no offside and no heading. Leagues can vary, and some use 5v5 at the youngest ages.
How long should practice be for a U6 team?
45 to 60 minutes with a ball each. The free U6 plans run sixty.
Do U6 teams use a goalkeeper?
No. At 4v4 there is no keeper, so every player stays a few yards from the ball. That is the point: the format is built for touches, 1v1 moments and finding space. Two or three small fields side by side beat one bigger one every time.
Thirty-six sessions like this one, Pre-K to 2nd grade
The Full Season Intramural Curriculum is one page per session for four grades, eight weeks each, with an easier and a harder version of every activity, a fix for when it turns to chaos, and an animated video of all 112 activities. Built so a professional trainer and a parent who volunteered last week run the same session.