Introducing 5-year-olds to futsal for the first time is always a challenge, sometimes children may not like the sport in the beginning or they may totally love it.
It’s important for any 5 year old starting out in futsal or looking to build upon their existing skill set that they thoroughly enjoy what they are doing otherwise they may lose all interest.
We’ve put together a list of “drills” for 5-year-olds to help improve their futsal, now we use the term “drills” lightly as the aim at 5 years old is for the children to enjoy the sport, so we like to call them “games” more often.
We’ve picked our favorite games/drills to keep your 5-year-old involved and skill building, they are:
1.Piggy in the middle
2.Run and turn
3.Futsal bowling
4.Get the coach!
5.Musical Futsal Statues
6.The Gingerbread Man
7.Bin Bandits
8.Red, Blue, and Yellow
9.The Chickens have escaped
10.Aliens vs Monsters
11.Where’s My Dummy?
12.Find a way out
1.Piggy In The Middle
Set up: Have players split into teams of three, designate one player as a piggy and have the other two players set up either side. Players should be spaced about 5-7 meters apart with the designated “piggy in the middle”.
You may wish to use cones to mark the distances as a reference as young children can have a tendency to move around a lot
Objective: The player in the middle’s objective is to intercept the ball as the players on the outside is to pass to one another. If the player in the middle intercepts the ball then they swap with the player that last played the pass.
Variances: If the players are capable you may ask them to only play balls on the ground, or in the air only. Be careful though, don’t overwhelm players who are not ready for advances on games.
Young players, particularly 5-year-olds, are still developing a lot of mental processes so keeping drills simple and fun should always be the goal.
2. Run and Turn
Set up: Have players line up in three groups. Mark the starting point with a cone, 5 meters away place another cone. The second cone is where the player will turn.
Give every player a futsal ball, if you don’t have enough players for three groups then two will be fine and if you have a lot of players and you think that three groups aren’t enough feel free to make as many as you can manage.
Objective: Although basic the objective here is for the player to run in one direction, stop the ball with the sole of their feet and then turn around and run back to the starting point with the ball.
This is a good exercise to get young children use to turning directions and stopping the futsal ball.
Variances: You can add competition within the teams to introduce a competitive angle. Tell the players that the team who has all players go through the quickest will be the “winners”.
You may also wish to have players go around the cone with the ball instead of stopping and turning.
3.Futsal Bowling
Set up: Set up two ones. One cone will represent a starting point, the other will act as a target. In the spirit of our “games” theme refer to it as a “tenpin” as most children are familiar with tenpin bowling.
The “tenpin” should be set up 5-7 meters from the starting point.
Objective: The objective of the game is for players to hit the cone by kicking the ball and knocking it over. This will help players with aiming and hitting targets.
Not all of the players will be able to hit the “tenpin” and that’s fine, it’s about building those skills over time that will go onto to be the foundation of their passing.
Variances: You can add extra elements to this game by adding more cones and increasing or decreasing the distance of the “tenpin” from the starting point depending on skill sets.
Ensure the children understand it’s a game and that the tone is set from the start of the exercise.
4. Get The Coach!
Set up: Set up a box using cones. Have players break into four groups and line themselves up. Ensure each player has a futsal ball. The box should be 5-7 meters x 5-7 meters.
Now if you are the coach or just a parent who likes to help out it doesn’t matter much, throw yourself in the middle with a bib if available.
Objective: Brief the players and let them know that the goal is to hit you with the ball. Once they hit you with the ball kick it back to them so they can have another turn.
Do not try and run and hide, it’s the kids chance to dish out some payback for all the veggies you’ve been making them eat.
Variances: Consider making the box smaller, standing in different areas or walking/running around, initially though you should stand still and give the children an opportunity to target you.
5.Musical Futsal Statues
Set up: Set up a box with cones, 10 meters x 10 meters or bigger if you need to, according to the number of players present.
You’ll also need a boom box or radio for this one and some children friendly music. Provide each player with a ball and have them enter the box.
Objective: Let the players know that the objective here is to dribble the ball inside the box without running into any of their teammates.
When the music starts players should begin and when it stops they need to stop. The player that stops last is eliminated.
The process continues until such time that there is only one player left. This game is great for getting players use to dribbling with their head up as they will need to be aware of what’s around them to avoid being eliminated.
Variances: To increase difficulty you can make the box smaller as players are eliminated and stop the music a lot more frequently.
6. The Gingerbread Man
Set Up: Have players pair up, one with the ball one without. Players with the ball should stand 10 meters away from the player without the ball.
Objective: The objective in this game is for the player without the ball to touch the player with the ball. While the player with the ball will seek to stay away from the other player for as long as possible.
Once the player with the ball is touched then they swap with the chasing player. This is a great game for building young players sense of awareness when they have the ball and to get them used to running away from opponents.
Variances: You can have multiple players chase one player, just be sure to give the player with the ball an even bigger head start to ensure they have a fair opportunity. You can also play the game within a box to increase difficulty.
7. Bin Bandits
Set Up: For this exercise see if you can get your hand on 4 bins, if not you’ll need 16 cones. Set up the cones in four corners, like a box.
You can use half a futsal court if you’d like as it’s pretty easy and gives the players plenty of space. Divide the team up into four teams and ensure each team has an equal number of balls.
Objective: Have the four teams each line up at a bin, their aim is to dribble from their starter bin to the opposite bin and get as many balls in the bin as possible before the time is up or there are no more balls to be placed in the bin. You can set your own time limit on the exercise.
This is a build upon from other games as players will need to watch out for other players and also pass the ball into a confined space.
Variances: You can increase the number of balls, make the field bigger and reduce time frames to increase the difficulty of this game.
8.Red, Blue, and Yellow
Set Up: Divide your team up into three groups, name them as follows:
- Red
- Blue
- Yellow
If you have red and blue bibs great, if not players will need to try and remember their allocations. Have reds stand on the left side of the field and blues on the right. Have yellows stand in the middle.
Objective: During this game, the coach or training supervisor will yell out a color, and the yellows need to pass the balls to the respective color player whom then returns the ball to the yellow player.
This game is great for getting players used to responding to verbal commands that could come from their coach on the sideline or even a teammate.
Variances: If players are adapting well to this drill then you may wish to add more “colors”.This will increase the difficulty and assist players to develop decision-making skills on the court, be careful to not overwhelm players though.
I wouldn’t recommend adding any more than one additional color to the game.
9. The Chickens Have Escaped!
Set up: In this exercise have all of the players line up on the goal line. Kick balls in and around the futsal court. Stand in the goals. Ensure you have at least one ball per player, two is even better.
Objective: The objective in this game is to have the players run from the goal line and retrieve the balls. Once the players have retrieved the balls then they should dribble back towards the goal.
Whoever is standing in the goal should not move, the players aim is to dribble the ball into the net and go back to collecting any other balls.
This is a fun exercise for the children that gets them familiar with putting the futsal ball in the back of the net.
Variances: You may wish to add a “fox” to the game, the fox’s goal isn’t to catch anyone but to simply run close to players to put them under a tiny bit of pressure.
10. Aliens vs Monsters
Set Up: This is a small sided game, it’s best to use half of the futsal court for this one. Set up two small goals with other if you don’t have a futsal goal you can move around or bring in the goal from the other side.
P.s it doesn’t have to be called “Aliens vs Monsters” it can be whatever you think will get the best response and engagement from the children.
Objective: As this is a small sided game the players should be encouraged to score goals and work as a team.
Use the opportunity in the game to stop players and explain things to them or ask them if they could have made better decision making skills etc when there are turnovers.
This is also a great opportunity to start talking to players about the rules of futsal etc and the importance of teamwork.
Variances: Don’t be afraid to add extra challenges like try and score a goal without letting the other team touch the ball etc.
If one team is far superior to the other then consider handicaps and swapping players around in order to get an even balance.
11. Where’s My Dummy?
Set Up: Set up a row of cones in a straight line 8-10 should suffice. Have players line up in a straight line. If you have enough players then split them up into multiple groups so long as you have the cones and balls to accommodate them.
Objective: The objective here is to get players to dribble between the cones and return to their starting point. There should not be a focus on speed at this stage but an emphasis on technique.
Ensure you introduce players to using all aspects of their feet from the inside to the sole particularly as they will need them all with futsal. Ensure you give players a demonstration and clearly explain what you would like them to do in this drill.
Variances: Have players complete the drill with only the inside of their feet, only the outside and so on. The more variances you add, so long as they are capable, the better they will perform and be able to build upon and master other skills in more advanced training sessions.
12. Find A Way Out
Set Up: Use cones to set up a 10-meter x 10-meter box. Ensure the colors of the cones on the perimeter are not going to be the same as the ones in the middle of the box.
Within the middle of the box set up a maze using cones, ensure the cones have two sets to create ”tunnels” for the players to dribble through.
Objective: Players need to dribble through the maze and make their way out to the other end. This is great for getting players used to dribbling the ball in tight spaces and building situational awareness.
Variances: You can add color codes and only allow certain players to use certain paths etc, this increases difficulty and makes players think a little more while dribbling.
Once again, the focus of this drill should not be on speed but on technique and accuracy and following instructions
It’s Always About Fun
Well, that’s our list of top 12 futsal drills for 5-year-olds.It’s always important that no matter how bad any parent wants their child to be the next superstar that the wellbeing of the child isn’t overlooked.
These drills/games should allow your child and others to have fun while getting familiar with futsal from an early age. Always reinforce positivity and ensure that safety and wellbeing are put above all else.
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