Coaching 6, 7 and 8 Year Olds: Incorporating Micro Soccer

This manual is not about professional soccer. It is for the coaches of 6,7 and 8-year-olds - and the authors can speak with authority, from experience. The records of both Tony Waiters and Bobby Howe have considerable experience. Waiters is one of an elite group of International Coaches conducting the FIFA WORLD YOUTH FOOTBALL ACADEMY around the globe. The Academy looks at the different considerations for youth coaches at age levels from Under-6 through to Under-18. While employed by the English Football Association much of Waiters work was with youth coaches and teachers, during which time he coached a pilot group of 8-year-olds for a full year. Since his involvement in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Waiters has spent much of his coaching time with 6-year-olds and their coaches. His work in Micro Soccer has led to clinics for coaches and their young players on four continents. Howe's position as State Youth Coach for Washington means he's in daily contact with coaches of young soccer players in the Pacific Northwest. He has dedicated a significant portion of his efforts to the development of modified, or Mod-Soccer, in the United States. His responsibilities as a United States Soccer Federation Instructor include making recommendations for the content of the Federation's D, E and F licenses - with an emphasis on youth soccer.