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Resources for underage football training drills

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  • 09-02-2024 12:33pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 2,360 ✭✭✭


    Hi

    Anyone able to recommend some online resources for training drills (edit: "drills" might be the wrong word, "games" even would do) for U6-U8 football?

    Thanks



Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 6,476 ✭✭✭Tombo2001


    Hiya

    Drills is the right word though its become much maligned - kind of stigmatised a bit.

    Anyway - its a catch all for what the kids do when they are not playing a match.

    My experience having coached from under 8 is that there is a lot of content but (i) you have to go looking for it and (ii) a lot of it wont fit with what you are doing.

    E.g. a tackling drill for u15s is no good for you.

    More to the point maybe, a shooting drill where there are 6 kids in the video and they have 200 footballs is no good if you have 16 kids and 5 footballs.

    You have to find drills that (i) are easy to explain (to that end, you have to understand it fully yourself - to that end I find videos much better than text if I am trying to figure out whats happening in the drill) and (ii) fit with your group according to number of kids, equipment you have, amount of mentors you have, space that you have.

    Anyway- the starting point is your own club website - it may have a drop down.

    Or look at other clubs, I'd imagine the likes of Kilmacud or OLoughlin Gaels have good content on their website.

    After that its youtube.

    Personal opinion, but I never found the GAA itself to be much good for providing content - which is surprising as it doesnt seem to recognise that most 'mentors' are parent volunteers that dont have much experience of GAA and need guidance with this.

    Recognise that the first time you do a drill they may not get it - if you can get to the point where you have 6 or 7 set drills that they understand and arent bored with, then thats as good as it gets. And it makes it easier for you as you dont want to be scouring the web each week for new ideas.

    Finally - rule of thumb is that game based drills are better, however they do need to learn basic skills and it cant in the real world always be game based.

    Post edited by Tombo2001 on


  • Registered Users Posts: 729 ✭✭✭MattressRick


    Check out this Gaa activity planner. You can filter by age group, it explains each drill with photos and you can also find non ball related activities like jumping, balancing etc.

    https://learning.gaa.ie/planner



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,375 ✭✭✭celt262


    I'd second that you don't need any other resource once you use that.



  • Registered Users Posts: 729 ✭✭✭MattressRick


    It's good to have 1 or 2 go-to activities to use if it's just one of them days where it's very difficult to keep the kids attention.

    Could be when they meet up after school breaks for holidays and are giddy and not listening, or a day where there's a shortage of coaches and too many kids to manage.

    Any quick game of tag, flush the toilet, relays will get them all focused very quickly, and they'll be running around and happy.

    Don't stress about doing every drill you planned. Some days are just harder work than others so keep a few quick activities in the back pocket. Though the above activities are still good to do now and again as part of whatever training the kids are doing.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,462 ✭✭✭Uncle Pierre


    Big +1 for the content at https://learning.gaa.ie/planner, for hurling as well as football.

    Am guessing that the poster above who says the GAA aren't good at providing this sort of content might not have known about it! :)



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