Organizing for 3Wee Soccer
Jonas T. Holdeman, Jr.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Three-a-side soccer offers a superb opportunity for the under-six age group. It can present organizational problems for organizers thinking along traditional team lines. This following summarizes some eleven years experience in AYSO with this format.
Introduction
The traditional team-oriented structure of youth soccer presents some difficult problems at the youngest ages. Fierce pride in, and loyalty to, their own children, results in extreme polarization of many parents and resulting antisocial behavior. This, combined with the entry of large numbers of new players and parents into AYSO, makes it very difficult for administrators to maintain sportsman-like attitudes and behavior among parents. A second problem is inexperience of newly-recruited parent-coaches in the sport, and in techniques for teaching younger children.
Simple observation of the results of three-a-side play demonstrates the undeniable benefits of this organization for five-year-olds. Yet there are problems with recruiting and training enough parent-coaches in advance of a new season. Further, it is much more difficult with small-sided teams to balance the need for large-enough teams to assure that there will be enough players in attendance to play games, with the need to have every player active and participating. The organizational system to be described does an excellent job of addressing these problems.
Administrative Organization
Players are assigned to groups of 22 to 28, each group organized by an experienced mentor coach. At a preseason meeting, the mentor coach recruits as many parent-coaches as is practical, though any parent is encouraged to help with coaching at any time. Volunteers for a telephone tree, and planning for drink schedule and post-season party are solicited. The organization of the program is explained and questions from the parents addressed, as the parents are often concerned about how their children will be treated. A well-organized meeting is important in forming proper parent attitudes for the season.
When a new topic is introduced in practice, the mentor coach explains what is to be accomplished, and demonstrates how this is to be achieved. He then teaches the skill to a few players in front of the group, demonstrating to the parent-coaches what they should do. The players are then divided into small groups, each with one or more parent-coaches. The mentor observes and corrects. The mentor demonstrates how to solve problems, breaking down complicated movements into simpler, more easily-accomplished tasks, if necessary, and building up to more complicated activities. Thus, each group session provides in-service training for the future coaches.
The training groups are not fixed, and are different each time. When games are played, players are selected at random for the teams. If there are one or two extra players, they are substituted frequently, maybe being moved from one game to another. If the teams in any game are unbalanced, players can be shifted around. Use of reversible jerseys or pull-overs is important. If there are a few extra players, they may play a game with, or against, one or more coaches, which offers special training opportunities. Practice days end with games, and game days begin with practice. Of course every player should have a soccer ball.
Fields
The optimal field size for five-year-olds playing 3 vs 3 seems to be about 50 feet wide and 150 feet long. If the field is much narrower, the ball goes out of play too often, and if shorter the notion of an attack is lost. If the field is wider, the tactics of corner kicks cannot be taught. If the field is much longer, the advantages of possession are lost. The goals are not more that two yards apart. There are plenty of goal-scoring opportunities, and the small size helps focus on the objective of the game: to score.
The region marks only the boundaries of the fields, but I add a few more marks with fluorescent red spray paint on the corners, and at the positions of the edges of the goals. Before the game starts, the players are given cones and they put them in place on the red marks, learning how fields are set up. As the season progresses, a mark is added at the center for kickoffs, and later marks about two yards in front of the goals for goal kicks.
The fields are marked out on a large field with paint of a different color from the large-field markings. The actual small-field dimensions may be adjusted somewhat so that they fit on the big field.
Philosophy
It is fortunate that we have adults willing to organize youth sports, and unfortunate that it is necessary to do so. One of my goals is to teach the children how to organize and play without adult supervision, so that they may be able to organize and play pick-up games on their own. To do this, they need to know how to organize teams, basic principles of the game, and all the restarts.
Starting Out
At the beginning of the season, I introduce activities which teach group organization. An example might be relay races. Each player is given a number, one or two, and asked to get into the group of ones or the group of twos. This concept is surprisingly difficult for many to learn.
They are taught the terminology of the game such as dribbling and shielding, names of the parts of the field, such as touchline, goal line, etc., parts of the body such as instep (not shoelaces), left hand, right hand, and eventually terms such as plant foot and kicking foot. Most important is that real soccer players don’t kick the ball with their toe.
Basic motor skills are exercised: hopping on either foot, running forward, backwards, and sideways, pulling the ball back and pushing it forward, somersaults, falling down and getting up.
Seasonal Game Development
The players are introduced to the game quickly and progressively. At first, the players are shown what scoring is and practice scoring in pairs of cones distributed around the practice area. Next goals are placed at either end of the field and they are taught that play must be confined to the area between the touchlines. They play 2v2, then 3v3. If the ball goes out, another ball is tossed quickly into play by a coach (no throw-ins yet). As skill in keeping the ball in play increases, throw-ins are introduced as a restart (no tactics). Then tactical kickoffs are taught without explaining the tactics (more about this later), but teaching awareness of which team kicks off. Finally, goalkicks and corner kicks are taught (the most difficult concept is what and who). Finally, they are taught to toss coins and choose sides. Since they have been taught how to set up a field, they should be able to play pick-up games.
Teaching Kickoffs
Due to the small field, ball possession is more valuable than field position. At restart, teammates are taught to stand on either side of the kicker, about three or four yards away (the kicker is responsible for seeing that his teammates are properly positioned). The kick is taken by playing the ball diagonally for a teammate to run on to. There is no center circle, but opponents must stand back several yards.
Teaching Goal Kicks
First the players are coached to kick the ball hard with the instep by running onto it. Then the players are taught to place the ball on the painted spot about two yards in front of the goal. Teammates are placed ten to twelve yards away, ahead and near the touchline to receive the kicked ball. Without explaining it, this teaches the use of width in starting the attack.
Teaching Corner Kicks
First the players are taught to pivot and shoot. Initially the ball is stationary, about two yards in front of the goal. The players move to the ball from the side, pivot, turning the plant foot to point to the goal, and shoot. Later they kick a ball moving toward them, across the goal. Finally, the ball is served from the corner, and then with kicks from the corner by a teammate. Later there may be contests with one defender in goal and two or three attackers.
Dribbling to Beat a Defender
This is an example of bringing a skill down to the level of 5-year-olds by proper organization. A player stands facing goal with a ball at his feet, about 10 yards out, with a coach as a defender near the goal. The defender runs at the attacker. The attacker is coached to hold the ball until the opponent is five or six feet away, then play the ball diagonally past the oncoming defender, recover the ball and score. Later a player replaces the oncoming coach. Eventually, more advanced players may do this with a moving ball.
Teaching Wall Passes
Wall passes? Well I am trying to teach them all about the game! The activity starts as in dribbling above, except that there is a coach (the wall) square to the player about three yards away. The player holds the ball until the defender is about five feet away, then passes to the wall and runs past the defender to receive the return ball and score in the goal. Timing the pass is the important thing here. Later, a player may become the advancing defender. Players can be used for the wall if a coach is the attacker, delivering an accurate initial pass.
Saving Goals
By the second practice, the players are taught to play a stationary ball backwards with the heel. For them, this is the quickest way to reverse the direction of the ball. Later, four balls are placed on the goal line between the cones, and another cone about four yards in front of the goal. From this cone, the player runs to the goal and back heels one ball out of the goal (saving a goal), then runs back to the starting cone. This is repeated until all of the balls are cleared.
Next the players are taught to pull a ball back with the sole of the foot, turn and play the ball away with the opposite foot. Then balls are placed on the goal line as above, and the player “saves” the goals by pulling the ball back, turning and kicking the ball away. When this is successful, a coach is placed about four yards away, and the player is required to turn and pass the ball to the coach. Finally, the exercise is repeated with the coach moving position as the player moves to the ball. The player must turn with the ball, look up and find the coach, and pass to him.
Back to Goal
Players practice back heeling the ball into the goal to score. Next, four balls are lined up about two yards in front of the goal, with a cone about a yard behind the goal. The player runs from the cone to a ball, back heels to score, turns and runs to the cone, and repeats for the other balls.
Next, a player stands about two yards in front of the goal and a ball is served to him. The player stops the ball, then back heels the ball into the goal. As a variation, the player stands about three yards in front of the goal. The ball is served to him, the player stops the ball, pulls it back, turns and shoots with the opposite foot.
Heading
The players learn to head the ball, eyes open, mouth closed, striking the ball on the hairline. Accurate service by the coach is very important as reflexes are slow at this age. They learn to head the ball back to the coach, and away at an angle. They score goals by heading the ball between the cones.
There is some controversy about safety in teaching heading to such young players. My answer is that it is safer to teach players correct and safe techniques rather than them attempting to learn this on their own. They develop pride in having done what they see older players doing. Balls are served from no more that four feet, and this training activity is limited to only one or two sessions in a season.
Goalkeeping
We do not use goalkeepers in the 3Wee program! Players are discouraged from standing in front of the goal as a defense, and rather are encouraged to go out after the ball. In fact, goalkeepers are not allowed in under-8s. Nevertheless, goalkeeping is part of the game to which the players hopefully aspire, and they should understand what it is about.
Players are taught to scoop the ball up into a safety grip, to volley (punt) the ball, to bowl the ball away, the baseball throw, and the beginning buildup for diving for the ball.
Officials
No officials are used in 3Wee games, of course. There are no fouls and no free kicks. If a throw-in or other restart is bad, it is taken over again. One game day toward the end of the spring season I will bring several sets of linesman’s flags to the field. I point out the linesmen in the game on the adjacent field and give everyone a chance to signal for throw-ins with a flag.
Dribbling and Shielding
The players, each with a ball, dribble around in a circle marked by cones. On signal, they try to kick each other’s ball out, while shielding their own. When their ball is kicked out, they must leave the circle. The last player remaining “wins.” Have a coach dribbling with the players. When “truce” is called, all players leave their ball and all try to kick the coach’s ball out. When they succeed, they go back to dribbling their own balls.
Conclusion
Coaching 3Wees can be a lot of fun for adults as well as the children. Remember to give them lots of hugs and “high fives.” The 3Wee program should also work well for beginning six-year-olds.