How to Coach U7 & U8 Football: A Beginner's Guide

You've volunteered to coach the youngest age group — and now you're wondering where on earth to start. Good news: coaching five- to eight-year-olds is less about football knowledge and more about keeping it simple, fun and moving. Here's how.

Focus on one thing: touches on the ball

At U7 and U8, the single most valuable thing you can give a child is time with the ball at their feet. Forget positions, tactics and formations — those come years later. A good session is one where every child touches the ball hundreds of times.

That means one ball each wherever possible. Avoid drills where children queue and wait for a turn; a bored six-year-old in a line is a child who'll wander off to pick daisies. Keep everyone active, everyone with a ball.

Keep sessions short and fast-moving

Young children have short attention spans. A 45–60 minute session is plenty, broken into small chunks:

• Arrival game (5–10 min): a ball each, free dribbling, simple tag games. Get them smiling before you've even started.
• Main activity (15–20 min): one simple skill — dribbling, running with the ball, a first touch. Show it once, then let them do it.
• Small games (15–20 min): 2v2 or 3v3. Small numbers means more touches, more goals, more fun.
• Finish on a high: always end with a game and plenty of praise.

Use games, not drills

The word "drill" makes children think of standing still and being told what to do. Instead, dress everything up as a game. "Dribble through the gates before the coach catches you" beats "practise your dribbling" every time. Same skill, ten times the engagement.

What to say (and what not to)

Keep instructions to a few words. "Small touches!" "Head up!" "Good — again!" Long explanations lose them instantly. And praise effort, not just goals — the child who tries a skill and loses the ball deserves as much encouragement as the one who scores.

Let them make mistakes

Mistakes are how children learn. Don't stop the game every ten seconds to correct someone. Let them play, let them try things, let them fail and figure it out. Your job is to set up fun activities and encourage — not to control every moment.

Coaching the youngest age group is genuinely one of the most rewarding jobs in the game. Keep it simple, keep it fun, give them the ball — and you'll do brilliantly. For done-for-you sessions with every drill mapped out, take a look at the DRILLPITCH manual shop.