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Free practice plan · Ages 6–7 · 1st gradeA U7 dribbling practice plan:
Find the Open Space
Sixty minutes for a U7 team with one job: find the open space. Eight to twelve players, one ball each, and the only opponents are the coach and the sharks, so it suits a first-season team. Every activity here is free on this site, with its own page and an animated video.
- Keep the ball close.
- Dribble into open space.
Bring: 1 ball per player, 20 cones, 4 cone goals, pinnies in 2 colors.
Your job: Play along. You are the coach they dribble at and the first shark, so be silly and use every kid’s name.
The session, minute by minute
Small-sided games
ArrivalAs players arrive, send them straight into 2v2 or 3v3 on two small fields with cone goals. No lines, no laps, no lecture. Ball goes out? Roll a new one in and keep it moving. Brand-new group? Swap this for free play on the island, every player with a ball.
Soccer Island: Body Brakes
Every weekEveryone dribbles inside the island while sharks wait in the water outside the cones to steal any ball that floats away. New today: Everyone dribbles. Call a speed, then a body part: foot, knee, elbow, head. Players stop the ball with it. Call HANDS and they shout back, “No hands in soccer!”
EasierFoot brakes only; just turtle and cheetah.
HarderCall two body parts in a row.
If it stallsBalls rolling away on the stop? Back to turtle speed and foot brakes only.
See Ya Later, Coach!
PracticePlayers dribble at you. Just before they reach you they drag the ball back with the sole, shout “See ya later, Coach!” and speed away into space. Points for every good one.
EasierStop the ball with your sole, turn, go.
HarderCoach pokes a foot out to steal the ball.
If it stallsCrashing into you? Add a parent as a second coach; demo it in slow motion.
Water break
WaterFour minutes.
Sharks & Minnows
PracticeThe coach is the shark and starts in the middle. Minnows line up on one end line, each with a ball. On GO they dribble to the other end line while the shark tries to knock balls out of the grid. Lose your ball and you become a shark too. Safe minnows wait for the next round, then swim back. The last minnow standing wins.
EasierMinnows who lose their ball fetch it and keep swimming.
HarderStart the round with a player as the shark.
If it stallsMinnows booting the ball across and chasing it? Rule: the ball stays close enough to pet.
3v3 on two small fields
The game3v3 on two small fields with cone goals (4v4 if numbers need it). Coach only today's two points and celebrate them loudly.
The coach tip
During Sharks and Minnows, remind them of their island tricks to escape a shark: drag back, cuts, step over, scissor. Next time, the U7 1v1 plan brings in a real defender.
Questions coaches ask
Is this plan for a first-season U7 team?
Yes. The only opponents are the coach and the sharks, so nobody loses the ball to a real tackle yet. Once the group is ready, the U7 1v1 plan adds a defender.
What if my players kick the ball and chase it?
Use the rule from Sharks and Minnows: the ball stays close enough to pet. If balls are still flying, go back to turtle speed for a minute.
Can a parent with no experience run this?
Yes, that is who the page is written for. Every activity has the setup, a line to say out loud, an easier and a harder version where it has one, and the fix for chaos.
More free practice plans
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.