Coaching tools › Activities › Dribbling and 1v1
Free activity · Intramural curriculum, ages 4–8Soccer Island
Everyone dribbles inside the island while the sharks wait in the water outside the cones to steal any ball that floats away. The weekly ritual that opens every Pre-K and Kindergarten session, with one new skill added each week.
Setup
Everyone dribbles inside the island. Sharks wait in the water outside the cones to steal any ball that floats away. Get in there and play along. You will open with this game every week.
- Head up.
- Keep the ball close.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Carry the ball in your hands first.
- Harder: Coach becomes a shark on the island.
Coach’s notes
- If It's Chaos: Balls flying out? Shrink the island; walk only.
Why it works
Four-year-olds relax when they know what comes next, and Soccer Island never changes. Same cones, same sharks, same story, and because the shape is familiar their attention goes to the ball instead of to the coach.
The island carries the whole technical program for ages 4 to 8. One new skill a week, from three speeds to the shoulder dip, taught on the island and then used against the sharks.
Where it sits
This activity is from Pre-K · Week 1 · Soccer Island in the Full Season Intramural Curriculum for Pre-K to 2nd grade. Every session in the book has the same shape: arrival play, Soccer Island, two or three activities and the game, with two coaching points a day, an easier and a harder version of everything, and a fix for when it turns to chaos.
Run it inside the free U6 practice plan ›
More like this
Ages 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Space ManPlayers dribble anywhere in the grid and freeze with a foot on the ball when you shout.
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Ages 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v13 SpeedsTurtle, dog, cheetah. Players dribble around while you call out speeds, switching often.
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Ages 4–6 · Dribbling and 1v1Body BrakesEveryone dribbles. Call a speed, then a body part, and players stop the ball with it: foot, knee, elbow, head.
Open the activity ›Four grades, eight weeks each, every activity on video
The Full Season Intramural Curriculum covers Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade: one page per session, nothing to memorize, built so a professional trainer and a parent who volunteered last week run the same quality session. 112 animated videos included.