Age

• Age 3 - I have only seen YMCA's offer short sessions for 3yr olds. It is a good way to start them, but don't expect a 3yr old to be able to dribble or shoot the ball, this is merely a tool to get them associated with team play and some skills. Do not judge their soccer future on this. If they don't like it, reassure them it will be different and sign them up again for better experience.
• Age 4-5 (Candy division) - Now is the age they can start playing soccer. I highly suggest training camps done by professionals or someone who knows how to train over just signing up for team play, b/c at this age they need to learn skills and forget about the winning part. Some of the time some coaches either are too technical for trying to teach this age, are too tied up in the winning aspect, or just aren't cut out for coaching. Now it is true that they learn the most by playing the game but at this age the more skills they learn now in practice/training will help them later to play the game.
  • Another thing to look for at this age if signing up for game play is what they call "small-sided games". If you know soccer, a higher level play is 11v11(11 people on the field per team), which this doesn't work for kids b/c the field is smaller and they group around the ball too much. Some organizations play candy divisions as 6v6, 4v4, or 3v3, in which this is designed for kids to get more touches on the ball. In Monroe we play 6v6, in which some kids dont really get a chance to touch the ball b/c of alot of issues(we have been talking going to 3v3). 3v3 seems to be a very good teacher of the game and ball control. I have experimented in practice with this and it works great. I know Miamisburg, Mason, and Middletown play 3v3.
• Age 6-10 - I have seen alot of kids miss the candy division (4-5) and start at passer (6-7), they are in no means behind the curve, in fact somtimes they turn out a better player. They are better players b/c they haven't formed any bad habits from previous years. They are new to the game and pay attention and try harder in most cases. This in no means should deter you from signing them up.
• Age 10up - They are really gonna have to work hard on their own ball control skills to get up to playing level. At this age coaches are working on "team" play, so individual skills should already be built.

Indoor vs Outdoor:

• Now some people say that indoor(with walls) is the same "game" as outdoor. There is alot of different talk about it not being the same. In basics it is the same, but indoor forces the game to a quicker pace. It makes them move and make decisions quicker, and there is another player on the field(the wall). So this is where the ball skills really pickup. Some indoor facilities offer without walls such as Wall2Wall in Mason in which it is just like outdoor but on turf (providing faster ball movement). Use indoor play as a skill building.

Fun or Competitive

• Do I want it to be strictly fun, fun with competitiveness, or competitve? Recreational or Select? Most of the time you start them at recreational. If they like the game and are playing little above their peers and are getting a little frustrated with some of the team not pulling their weight...then maybe it's time to look at playing select. Or the politically correct term these days "premiere". Now I am not stating that "select" programs are not fun, they do have fun, but they are definitely more competitive...but sometimes the coaches in SAY are too competitive. Personally I think competitive at anything below age 10 is too much for them to handle.

My suggestion

• Try a training camp with some 3v3 play, that way they can learn the basics of ball control
• Then sign up for a SAY program
• Then if things go well and they like it...keep going...you might have a Mia Hamm on your hands.
• Make sure they are having fun. If they are missing the fun part, then yank them.

What size ball to use

• Candy and Passer (age 4-7) - size 3
• Wings and Strikers (age 8-11) - size 4
• Kickers up (age 12up) - size 5

FAQs