3rd/4th Grade Coaching Advice
Ok, so I'm in need of some advice. I'm coaching my son's 3rd/4th grade very very very rec team in the US. This team has some kids who know soccer, some who have played but haven't been coached on skills, and at least one who has never played before. I'm torn on the best approach to make it fun and have them learn some skills.
This is the first age group of this league where players should try to stay in position and we play a goalie and 8 on the field, for background info.
First I'm looking for some general advice, what formation do you think makes the most sense for this age group (we played a 323 in our first game)? What skills should be the main focus for the season? Any other helpful tips.
A specific question:
In our first game, it felt like the ball would fall into the no-man's-land in front of our defenders but they didn't have the confidence/awareness to come up and kick the ball back out wide to a teammate/open area of the field. Is this a teachable skill? Does anyone know a good drill to work on strong kicks from the defense?