childrens football teams

[Stat Brother]

You'd be surprised...nothing quite beats the heart-sinking moment when you hear some deluded father screaming "shape" at a bunch of five year olds.

Not a word I use often but:-

I hate football dads.


I have to stand as far from them as physically possible because they wind me up, so much.
Luckily jnr's a goalie so I can legitimately stand a distance behind the goal.

A bunch of contradicting deluded kill-joys.
Come the revolution I'd demand silence from the touchline, only allowing clapping.

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lense]

I think being part of any kind of club/team/group is great for kids, and in principle, I think any age is fine to start and football can be the focus of the group in the same way other sports can be. That said, I do differentiate between a group that is run by properly trained staff, to that run by volunteers and therefore, rather arbitrarily, pre-school should be the former, whilst 5+ can be the latter. I am also an enthusiastic volunteer that helps run sessions for 5-7 years olds. I have an FA level 1 qualification that really means I have some ideas on how to run a few game-based sessions. At the age of 5, most kids have started school have some experience of being part of a group with a person in authority running it, which means the experience of attending a local volunteer run football club should be somewhat familiar.. Below that age, most kids probably don't have the experience, and I certainly don't have the expertise, skills to run effective sessions.
Parents need to be clear on what they are signing up for as well, and as ChaileyJem has pointed out, getting the kids to enjoy attending is really the key objective. Anything else is a bonus. People moving their kids around clubs at such a young age has always seemed bizarre, as has the idea that 5 years olds need "match experience". No they don't. They need to enjoy the sessions they attend, and that will provide a great environment for them to thrive with their friends in lots of different ways - regardless of whether they win the next 5-a-side tournament.

 

[LeicesterGull]

I think being part of any kind of club/team/group is great for kids, and in principle, I think any age is fine to start and football can be the focus of the group in the same way other sports can be. That said, I do differentiate between a group that is run by properly trained staff, to that run by volunteers and therefore, rather arbitrarily, pre-school should be the former, whilst 5+ can be the latter. I am also an enthusiastic volunteer that helps run sessions for 5-7 years olds. I have an FA level 1 qualification that really means I have some ideas on how to run a few game-based sessions. At the age of 5, most kids have started school have some experience of being part of a group with a person in authority running it, which means the experience of attending a local volunteer run football club should be somewhat familiar.. Below that age, most kids probably don't have the experience, and I certainly don't have the expertise, skills to run effective sessions.
Parents need to be clear on what they are signing up for as well, and as ChaileyJem has pointed out, getting the kids to enjoy attending is really the key objective. Anything else is a bonus. People moving their kids around clubs at such a young age has always seemed bizarre, as has the idea that 5 years olds need "match experience". No they don't. They need to enjoy the sessions they attend, and that will provide a great environment for them to thrive with their friends in lots of different ways - regardless of whether they win the next 5-a-side tournament.

Absolutely agree 100% with this and reflects the experience of taking my 5 year-old. I do see a very different skill level even at his age, usually associated with whether any of the boys have an older brother! The main thing for me is that he wants to go and loves it. Some clearly don't.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I think being part of any kind of club/team/group is great for kids, and in principle, I think any age is fine to start and football can be the focus of the group in the same way other sports can be. That said, I do differentiate between a group that is run by properly trained staff, to that run by volunteers and therefore, rather arbitrarily, pre-school should be the former, whilst 5+ can be the latter. I am also an enthusiastic volunteer that helps run sessions for 5-7 years olds. I have an FA level 1 qualification that really means I have some ideas on how to run a few game-based sessions. At the age of 5, most kids have started school have some experience of being part of a group with a person in authority running it, which means the experience of attending a local volunteer run football club should be somewhat familiar.. Below that age, most kids probably don't have the experience, and I certainly don't have the expertise, skills to run effective sessions.
Parents need to be clear on what they are signing up for as well, and as ChaileyJem has pointed out, getting the kids to enjoy attending is really the key objective. Anything else is a bonus. People moving their kids around clubs at such a young age has always seemed bizarre, as has the idea that 5 years olds need "match experience". No they don't. They need to enjoy the sessions they attend, and that will provide a great environment for them to thrive with their friends in lots of different ways - regardless of whether they win the next 5-a-side tournament.

I used to love running mini-soccer sessions when I helped coach with AITC and then with a local club. No team, no matches (apart from a short fun match at the end of the session), just a bunch of kids having fun and learning a few skills while they go along. For me, the old Level 1 was a good basis but I was lucky to have two very good coaches working who showed me it was not just a matter of following the sessions laid out by the FA but putting your own spin on them to make them a bit more fun and suitable for the little ones.

There is an old favourite called 'Stuck in the Mud' which, because the films were just out then, I changed to Shrek and encouraged kids to do comedy Scottish accents as part of the game. All very silly but they loved it and they were learning football skills at the same time.