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Coaching guide · Ages 4–5

A first Pre-K soccer
practice that works

Four-year-olds do not need drills, lines or laps. They need a ball each, a story, and a coach who plays along. This is Week 1 of the Full Season Intramural Curriculum for Pre-K, minute by minute, with a video of every activity. Forty-five minutes, six to ten players, one ball each.

Today’s two coaching points: head up, keep the ball close. That is all you coach today. Your job is to play along, be silly, and use every kid’s name.

Bring

One ball per player, 20 cones, four cone goals, pinnies in two colors. Mark a 25 by 30 yard grid: that is the island.

Arrival · 6 minutes

Free play on the island. Every player gets a ball the moment they arrive and explores inside the cones however they like. Meet each child, learn names, and start telling the shark story so the first game begins itself. No lines, no laps, no lecture.

Three games, seven minutes each

1 · Soccer Island

Every week · 7 minutes · the ritual the whole season is built on

How it works

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, adding one new skill each time.

Say this“Stay on the island! Keep your ball close so the sharks can’t get it!”

If it’s chaos

Balls flying out? Shrink the island; walk only.

Easier / harder

Easier: carry the ball in your hands first. · Harder: coach becomes a shark on the island.

2 · Space Man

Practice · 7 minutes · the first idea of space

How it works

Players dribble anywhere in the grid. When you yell FREEZE, everyone stops with a foot on the ball. Whoever is in the most space wins 100 points.

Say this“Astronauts, find your own space! Eyes up so you can see where nobody is.”

If it’s chaos

All in one clump? Freeze more often and point to the open space.

Easier / harder

Easier: no ball. Run, freeze, find space. · Harder: bonus points for first foot on the ball.

Water break · 3 minutes. Then the last game.

3 · 3 Speeds

Practice · 7 minutes · the first Soccer Island skill

How it works

Teach three speeds: Turtle (slow), Dog (medium), Cheetah (fast). Players dribble around while you call out speeds. Switch often and keep them guessing.

Say this“Turtle speed… dog speed… CHEETAH! Can your ball keep up with you?”

If it’s chaos

Cheetah turning into kickball? New rule: keep the ball close enough to pet.

Easier / harder

Easier: just turtle and cheetah. · Harder: add STATUE, stop the ball with your sole.

The game · 15 minutes

2v2 or 3v3 on two small fields with cone goals. No goalkeepers. Walk each team to the goal they score in before you start. Expect a swarm around the ball; that is normal. Coach only today’s two points, then send them home with one question.

Why it works

• Ritual beats novelty. Young players relax when they know what comes next. The session never changes shape, so their attention goes to the ball.
• Story first, soccer underneath. Sharks, monsters and pirates carry the youngest players. The story fades as their understanding of the game takes over.
• Say less. Two coaching points per session, never more. We coach what to do with the ball; defending is learned by playing.
• One new skill a week. Soccer Island carries the technical program, from 3 Speeds in week 2 to the Scissor in week 8, and the same list returns every year.