Football Drills for 8 to 10 Year Olds: 10 Drills With the Ball

What 8 to 10 year olds need from training

Children of 8 to 10 are in a good window for learning ball skills. Their coordination is improving quickly, they enjoy competing and they can follow simple rules. They still lose focus after long explanations, so keep instructions under 30 seconds and show rather than tell.

• One ball per child in the first part of the session wherever possible.
• Lots of 1v1 and 2v2: it is where dribbling, defending and decision-making grow.
• Every activity has a score or a challenge.
• Finish with a game of 4v4 to 7v7, the part children remember.

Football drills for 8 to 10 year olds: ball mastery and dribbling

1. Gate dribble (10 minutes)

Area 25 x 25 metres with 10–12 cone gates, each 1.5 metres wide. Every player has a ball and dribbles through as many gates as possible in 60 seconds. Rounds: right foot only, left foot only, outside of the foot, turn after each gate. Coaching points: small touches, head up between gates, change direction sharply.

2. Crossing the river (10 minutes)

Area 30 x 20 metres. All players with a ball start on one end line; two defenders without a ball stand in the middle. Attackers try to dribble to the other end line. A player who loses the ball becomes a defender. Play until two or three players are left. Coaching points: speed when there is space, close control near a defender, fakes and changes of direction.

3. Copy the coach (5–8 minutes)

Players dribble freely in a 20 x 20 metre area. The coach shows a move (sole roll, step-over, drag-back, inside-outside) and players copy it on the next cone. Add a challenge: three different moves in 20 seconds.

Passing and receiving drills

4. Passing through gates in pairs (10 minutes)

Area 25 x 25 metres with 8 gates. Pairs share a ball and score a point each time they pass through a gate to each other. They cannot use the same gate twice in a row. Coaching points: pass with the inside of the foot, receive with the foot furthest from the passer, move to a new gate after each pass.

5. Rondo 4v1 (10 minutes)

Square 10 x 10 metres for 8 year olds, 12 x 12 metres for 10 year olds. Four players on the sides, one defender inside. The outside players keep the ball; the defender swaps with the player who loses it. Count passes aloud. Coaching points: open the body to see both sides, move along your side to make a passing angle.

6. Receive and turn (10 minutes)

Groups of three in a line, 10 metres apart, the middle player with his back to one of the others. The end player passes to the middle player, who checks his shoulder, turns and passes to the far player. Swap the middle player every minute. Add a passive defender behind the middle player for 10 year olds.

1v1, 2v1 and shooting drills

7. 1v1 to the end line (10 minutes)

Channels 15 x 10 metres. The defender passes to the attacker and closes down. The attacker scores by stopping the ball on the end line. Rotate after every go. Coaching points for the attacker: run at the defender, change speed; for the defender: approach quickly, then slow down and stay on the feet.

8. 2v1 to goal (12 minutes)

Area 25 x 20 metres in front of a goal with a goalkeeper. Two attackers start 25 metres out; one defender starts near the goal and comes out to meet them. The attackers must score within 10 seconds. Coaching points: the ball carrier runs at the defender to draw him, then passes; the partner stays wide and level, not ahead.

9. Wave shooting (10 minutes)

Two lines 20 metres from goal. A player from each line dribbles towards a cone, takes one touch to set the ball and shoots. The goalkeeper gets 4–5 seconds between shots. Count goals per line. Coaching points: look at the goal before shooting, aim low and away from the goalkeeper, follow in for rebounds.

10. 3v3 to four goals (15 minutes)

Pitch 25 x 20 metres with two small goals at each end. Each team attacks two goals. Rounds of four minutes, then rotate teams. This brings together everything from the session: dribbling, passing, 1v1s and seeing the free goal.

A 60-minute session and how to adapt it for 6 to 12 year olds

For 6 and 7 year olds: smaller areas (15 x 15 metres), shorter rounds of 30–45 seconds, stories and themes ("pirates guarding treasure"), and drills 1, 2 and 10 more often than passing drills. Use 2v2 and 3v3 for the final game.

For 11 and 12 year olds: larger areas, add a time or touch limit, defenders who try fully in the rondo and receive-and-turn drills, and finish with a bigger game. Add decision rules, for example in the 2v1 the defender can choose to start from different positions.

Frequently asked questions