Practice Guidelines
I. Player Attendance
II. What to Bring
III. Practice Overview
IV. Practice Frequency
V. Additional Coaching Info
Recreational Soccer Program
High School Soccer Program
GUIDELINES ON RECREATIONAL TEAM PRACTICE SESSIONS
The following has been put together to assist ASA Club Managers, Team Coaches, Players and Parents with issues
surrounding team practices. Understanding that each team or player situation may be unique, cases requiring special
consideration should be discussed with the appropriate person.
I. Player Attendance
As a part of the team, players are expected to attend
practice. Of course, things will happen where a player
will have to occasionally miss a practice session. Parents
or players are asked to inform the team coach if the
player will not be attending a practice.
Helpful Information #1 – Prior to each season, the Arlington
Soccer Association receives its allocation of fields from the
Arlington County Department of Parks & Recreation. From
that point, the fields are divided amongst all the ASA Programs.
Each neighborhood club receives an allocation of fields, based
on geography and the number of teams anticipated. The Club
Manager, working with the club’s coaches, then develops the
practice schedule for that club’s teams.
 Playing Time in Games – the ASA policy states:
“all field players will play a roughly equal amount as all other field players in every scheduled game. Any
disciplinary issues, for which a coach may wish to restrict playing time below what would be considered equal
playing time, must be discussed and approved in advance with the ASA Recreational Soccer Director.”
Helpful Information #2
Soccer Ball Sizes
Size 3 – smallest. Used by the
Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grade
Age Groups.
Size 4 – used by the 3rd, 4th, 5th
and 6th Grade Age Groups.
Size 5 – adult regulation size.
Used by 7th Grade and older Age
Groups.
II.
What to Bring to Practice
While each team coach may require additional items and/or have special
instructions, the basic items each player should have at all practices include:
An appropriately sized (see box), properly inflated, soccer ball.
Shinguards (best when worn under long soccer socks).
Water or something to drink during breaks.
Proper shoes. Soccer ‘cleats’ or tennis shoes.
Clothing that is appropriate for activity. Jeans, tight fitting or bulky clothing is
not recommended.
III. The Practice Session
Each coach will have his/her own personality and methods – that’s a good thing. The ASA does expect all team
coaches to conduct team practices with the following in mind:
 These are kids and this is recreational soccer – not the Pro’s!
 Players are there to have fun, spend time with friends and improve their skills & understanding of the game.
 All players should be equally involved in all practices.
 Practices should be very active & very game-like; not a lot of standing around or listening to the coach talk.
 Errors are forgiven and players should feel comfortable to try new skills. That’s part of learning!
While we all hope the team coach will conduct a well-planned, fun-filled, skill-building practice that all the players
will love - - the players are also expected to follow some common-sense, respectful behaviors:
 When the coach is talking, players are expected to listen. Ideally, this will be for a brief time.
 Unsafe, aggressive or bullying/teasing behavior is not acceptable at soccer practice.
 Players are asked to try their best – that’s all.
ASA Practice Guidelines (cont.)
IV. Practice Frequency
The following policies govern practice field assignments
and scheduling for ASA recreational teams:
Helpful Information #3
What to work on in practice?
Coaches should watch the weekend game
carefully to determine what the players need
to improve. Each game should let the coach
know what to do in the next practice(s).
GAME
PLAN
PRACTICE
 Teams in the Kindergarten Age Group
Kindergarten teams should practice once a week for 45 minutes.
The practices may be assigned in one hour blocks. Teams should receive a practice space equal to half of their regular game
field size. This space will most likely not have goals in place.
 Teams in the 1st Grade Age Group
First grade teams should practice once a week for between 45 minutes – 1 hour.
Teams should receive a practice space equal to half of their regular game field size. The practice area may or may not have
goals in place.
 Teams in the 2nd Grade Age Group
Second grade teams should practice once a week for 1 hour.
Teams should receive a practice space equal to half of their regular game field size. The practice area may or may not have
goals in place.
 Teams in the 3rd and 4th Grade Age Group
Third and fourth grade teams should practice once or twice a week for 1 hour per practice.
Teams should receive a practice space equal to half of their regular game field size. If practicing twice a week, the space for
one practice may be a quarter of their regular game field size. The practice area may or may not have goals in place.
 Teams in the 5th and 6th Grade Age Group
Fifth and sixth grade teams should practice once or twice a week for 1 hour per practice.
Teams should receive a practice space equal to a third of their regular game field size. The practice area may or may not
have goals in place.
 Teams in the 7th and 8th Grade Age Group
Seventh and eighth grade teams should practice once or twice a week for 1 hour per practice.
Teams should receive a practice space equal to a quarter of their regular game field size. The practice area may or may not
have goals in place. 7th & 8th grade teams with expected low practice attendance are encouraged to pair up with another
team for practices.
 Teams in the High School Age Group
High School teams should practice once or twice a week for 1 hour per practice.
Teams should receive a practice space equal to a quarter of their regular game field size. The practice area may or may not
have goals in place. It is recommended that HS teams pair up for a practice assignment.
Additional Practice Opportunities:
Occasionally, a Club may allocate all of its practice fields and have spaces left over. If so, the club is directed to make those
fields available to other clubs. If the fields are not re-assigned, the club may use them; however these fields may not be
used for a team to regularly practice three times a week. Scrimmages, multi-team events, pick-up games, rotating practices
and other uses are allowed on these extra spaces. These events must be shown on the club’s overall practice schedule.
ASA Practice Guidelines (cont.)
V.
Additional Information on Practice Sessions
Some helpful information for coaches and parents.
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Here’s a quick checklist that coaches can use when planning or reviewing a practice:
Are all the players involved? (No lines, laps or lectures!)
Are the activities organized? (A little planning helps move from one activity to the next.)
Are the spaces used appropriate? (Hint – bigger for more success; smaller for more challenge.)
Are there implications for the game? (How does the activity help them in the game?)
Are the players allowed to make decisions? (The coach should let the players think & try things.)
Do the activities move from simple to complex? (A progression. The practice builds to the scrimmage.)
A Sample Practice Session Outline
Positive Soccer Coaching: Five Dumb Things Coaches Do
From an article found on the Positive Coaching Alliance website Here are five dumb things coaches do:
1. Argue With Referees
Arguing with referees is really pointless; and can be harmful. A
ref is not likely to change their call. They don't want to stop the
game to talk to a coach. And some of our ‘future-good’
referees will simply quit.
2. Yell at Players During Games
Let the players play the game and react to what's happening –
not wait to hear directions from the coach. We want players
who can think for themselves. Coaches and parents need to
let them.
3. Use Running as a Punishment
Soccer is a game of running. Players should embrace running,
like they do with shooting and dribbling. Using running as a
punishment just makes it something players hate to do.
4. Trying to Win at All Costs
Winning at all costs is a big mistake. Positive soccer coaches
need to develop all of their players. Sacrificing everything for
the sake of winning is wrong in youth soccer.
5. Taking it Too Seriously
Soccer coaches must remember that this is youth soccer. It's a
game played by kids. So coaches need to remember to keep
things fun. Otherwise, players will hate the game and leave it
forever.
JUDGING A “GOOD COACH” A “good coach” is:
Someone who goes to work early, misses meals, gives away weekends, and plays
havoc with family schedules so he or she can help out a group of youngsters.
Someone who stays a half hour or more after practice to make sure that every one
of the players has a safe ride home.
Someone who makes sure that everyone gets to play.
Someone who can help a child learn to take mistakes in stride.
Someone a youngster will remember long after the last game has ended and the
season is over.
THANKS COACH – for all you do!
Name:
Date:
Session Topic:
ORGANIZATION
WARM UP
ACTIVITY
Get ‘em
moving
Put in the
X’s and O’s
here.
A quick sketch of
the activity
 Keep the points
consistent throughout
one practice
ACTIVITY #1
Give each
activity a name
ACTIVITY #2
X.
O
4 vs 4
keep away
X O
X O
O
X
ACTIVITY #3
X1 X2 X3 X4
Line Soccer
O4 O3 O2 O1
THE GAME
4 goal game
KEY COACHING POINTS
 Bullet Points are fine
 Major points to keep
in mind throughout
the practice
X
O
X.
O
X
O
X
 Don’t try to fix
everything in one
practice.
 Quick, 10-20 second
comments; then play
 Call out 2 numbers –
“#2 & #4!” = 2v2 game
 Outside players stay
involved
 Go to 3v3 or 4v4
 Always try to finish
with some type of a
scrimmage game
O
10 Ways to Drive A Child Away from Youth Sports
1. Embarrass them.
2. Push too hard.
3. Try to clone yourself.
4. Hover.
5. Eat, breathe and drink the sport.
6. Drill into the child that sports should not be fun.
7. Choose the child’s dreams.
8. Harp on mistakes.
9. Concentrate on stats.
10. Coach too much during the game.