Choosing a Practice Location

Teams are formed by location/school. The recommendation is to find a location that is somewhat close to the team as we serve such a large area. If you choose a park that has baseball, in the Spring you will need to be aware and respectful of those practices. 
 
  • Local Parks
  • Churches (you will need to ask permission)
If you choose to practice at George Park/Ranger, the areas in blue are restricted for use.

 

Setting Up Practices

Assistant Coaches

If you have an assistant coach - contact them to figure out what day(s) and time(s) and location work best for both of you. You can also reach out to your parents and coordinate as a team on days/times if you wish.

How often should I have practices?

Our recommendations are below:

  • U5-U6: 1 day a week 45-60min (diRECt should be your primary practice if feasible)
  • U7-U8: 2 days a week 45-60min (diRECt should be one of these practices)
  • U10-U18: 2 days a week  60-90 min

These are recommendations and you can feel free to meet the needs of your team. Please keep in mind the age of your players and their attention spans. 

What do I need?

This is a general list of things that are good to have for practicing, the only thing you really need though would be cones:

  • Cones of varying sizes/shapes/colors 
  • Pop-up goals (if you aren't sure you'll be coaching more than 1 season the investment in goals is a bit much and cones work just as well for goals)
  • Pinnies - a lot of time you can get a way with the shirts kids are wearing based on color
  • Extra soccer balls (sometimes someone will forget a ball)
  • Small ball pump
  • First aid kit

There will be coaching kits available with some of this equipment. Information regarding obtaining one of those will come out closer to the season.

What should we work on?

Each practice should have a development goal (defense, offense, kick-ins), and the activities/games should support that goal. There are a ton of age specific games and activities that you can find online if you type your age group and soccer drills into your favorite search engine.

 

U5-U8 coaches:

U10+:

If you need any additional support, please reach out to us and we'll get you assistance!