Example practice plan, first 4 week practice structure, and game ideas

General Practice Structure (Every Week)
• Welcome & Warm-Up (5 min): Circle up, greet kids, fun movement game (tag, running, hopping).
• Skill Introduction (10 min): Simple ball touches, dribbling, stopping.
• Fun Games with the Ball (15–20 min): Themed games that sneak in skill building.
• Small-Sided Game (15 min): 3v3 or 4v4 scrimmage, no goalkeepers.
• Cool Down & High-Fives (5 min): Circle up, stretch arms/legs, cheer as a team.

Week 1 – Getting Comfortable with the Ball (Theme: Explorers)
Warm-Up: Red Light / Green Light – Run, then dribble. Stop on 'Red Light.'
Drill: Roll the Ball – Use bottom of foot to roll ball forward/back/sideways.
Game: Sharks and Minnows – Dribble across field, avoid coach-sharks.
Scrimmage: 3v3 with small goals, no goalkeepers.
Week 2 – Dribbling with Control (Theme: Zoo Animals)
Warm-Up: Animal Races – Move like animals, then dribble like them.
Drill: Follow the Leader – Copy coach’s dribbling moves.
Game: Hungry Hippos – Dribble balls back to team’s 'nest.'
Scrimmage: 3v3 or 4v4 with goals.
Week 3 – Kicking & Shooting (Theme: Superheroes)
Warm-Up: Superhero Run – Run with flying arms, stomping feet, etc.
Drill: Shooting Stars – Dribble and shoot into large goal.
Game: Monster Attack – Knock down cones (monsters) with shots.
Scrimmage: 3v3 small-sided play.
Week 4 – Putting It All Together (Theme: Adventure Quest)
Warm-Up: Treasure Hunt – Dribble balls (treasures) into team’s castle.
Drill: Obstacle Course – Dribble through cones, then shoot.
Game: Pirate Ships – Dribble into other team’s half to steal treasure.
Scrimmage: 3v3 or 4v4 final play, end with high-five tunnel.

Coaching Tips for 4–5 Year Olds
• Keep groups small – run 2 activities in parallel with 2 coaches.
• Use simple words & fun themes (animals, superheroes, pirates).
• Constant praise – 'Great stop!' 'Nice dribble!'
• Focus on fun, movement, and smiles over rules

PRACTICE GAME/DRILL IDEAS

Sharks and Minnows! 
Use 1/2 of a game field or set up cones to make a box. All players (minnows) start on one side with a ball and must dribble to the other side without having their ball stolen. Coach (shark) starts in the middle and tries to steal players balls as they cross. Shark says GO! and minnows dribble across.
Basic - If a player loses their ball, they can perform a special activity to get their ball back from the shark to continue to the other side such as 10 toe taps on top of the ball, 5 jumping jacks, ect. 
Advanced - If a player loses their ball by having it kicked outside of the box, they can be out or become seaweed where they stay in that spot but can help the shark by kicking away balls that come to close until all players are out.
As they advance, we usually have the last 1 or 2 players (winners of the round) become the shark for the next round or rotate through players. If you have a really good player as a shark, limit it to 1 or pair them with a weaker player for 2. Do not have your 2 best players be the shark together.  
*Fun idea - change the name of the animals to something silly and have them make animal sounds. Use this as a coach and play something silly like elephants and chickens. Have them run/dribble like chickens while you make elephant sounds. 


Musical Soccer Balls!
Line kids up around the center circle or create a circle out of cones. Place balls in the center of the circle and either have 1 ball per player or total # of players minus 1 (6 players, 5 balls). Players start on the outside of the circle and job around the circle. When coach blows the whistle, players run inside to get a ball and dribble it back outside of the circle. You can do this over an over where everyone gets a ball, one player does not get a ball then you reset, or you remove a player that doesn't get a ball and remove a ball for the next round until you get down to a remaining champion. 


Empty The Bucket/Fill The Bucket!
Players are divided up into 2 teams of 3 with Team 1 vs Team 2. For each team, set 2 cones on both sides with 6 soccer balls in the middle (see diagram). 
Player 1 and 3 are on one side while player 2 is on the other.  When coach blows whistle, P1 sprints to middle, takes a soccer ball and dribbles it to P2 side. Once they cross the line, they tag P2 and P2 sprints to center and takes a ball. P2 dribbles their ball to P3 side. Once they cross line and tag P3, P3 sprints to center and takes a ball. They dribble to P1. Continue until all balls are cleared. Reverse the drill and have players dribble with a soccer ball to the center, drop off ball, then sprint to other side to Fill the Bucket.


1,2,3 Dribble!
Four cones are set up in a line in the center to create three gates. Two groups of players dribble their ball around their half of the field, waiting for the Coach to blow the whistle. On the first whistle, they dribble thru the first gate to the other side. Once on the other side, they resume dribbling. On the the second whistle, they go thru the second gate, and on the third whistle, the third gate. Emphasis is one dribbling with the head up to avoid other players.

Team Tag!
Set up a box with cones or use a portion of the field. Divide kids into 2 teams. One team each player will have a soccer ball while the other team will not. When coach says go, the players with the ball will dribble and try to kick it to hit a player on the other team without a ball (below the knees). If they hit someone, their team gets a point. If they miss, they chase their ball and try to get someone else. Players without the ball try to avoid being hit with the ball.
Play for 1 minute. After a minute, switch roles and play again. If players are struggling to hit players with their ball, make grid a bit smaller. 


Freeze Tag!
Set up a box with cones. Each player has a ball inside of the grid. A coach is it and tries to tag the players while they dribble around inside of the box. If a player gets tagged, they have to do a special activity such as 10 toe taps on top of the ball, 5 jumping jacks, ect. Once they have completed the activity, they can start playing again. If a player dribbles their ball out of bounds, they have to perform the special activity as if they got tagged. 
Play for 30,45 or 60 seconds then start a new round (give the kids a few seconds of rest and regroup them). Change special activity each round or as players get better. Encourage players to take little touches when the tagger is close (so they can change direction quicker), and bigger touches to get away from the tagger. Compliment players that are using their peripheral vision to dribble.

Simon Says / I Can Do This, Can You?!
Start with no one having a ball and joining coach in the middle of your grid. Tell the players: “I can do this! Can you?” and touch your nose. All players will touch their nose. “Good, good! Now I can do this, can you?” Hop on one foot and give the players time to copy. Praise the ones who are trying.
Keep progressing to different movements, getting more complicated each time. Some examples are: Summersault, ribbit while jumping like a frog, walk like a bear etc.
Add a ball. After 7-8 different movements without a ball, each player gets a ball and comes back. Play the same game, but movements now involve the ball. Examples are: alternate feet while touching ball with bottom of feet, pass ball between feet, kick ball using top of foot, throw ball in air and catch it etc.

HURRICANE / SAILING THE SEAS!
Make a box with cones or use 1/2 of a game field. Coach stands outside of the box. Players are in the box and each one has a ball. Players start "sailing their ships around the ocean" (dribbling their soccer ball around the box) based on the weather (coaches commands). High winds - dribble fast, No Wind - dribble slow, Hurricane - kids form a line and dribble together in a circle, Rogue Wave - kids dribble backwards. Each round add a new direction, combine movements, or make up your own. Game starts when coach says “Ahoy mates, set sail!”

RAINBOW!
Use your colored cones to make a box with red, blue, green, and yellow so you can have a blue side, a red side, a green side, and a yellow side. Players can do the drill without a ball to work on speed or can dribble a soccer ball. Kids line up together on one line (Blue). Coach calls out a color (Red!) and players must sprint/dribble to that side. Players line up and coach calls a new color (Yellow!) Include additional colors such as purple for players to stop their ball or black for players stop their ball and drop on their bellies or do toe taps in place. Make up a story to tell the kids using colors and they need to move whenever a color is said. - Timmy loved to go to the park. It had was his favorite place to be because it has lots of GREEN grass. He also loves to look up at the BLUE sky. The playground has a big YELLOW slide he goes down and a RED swing.