U9 EMSA West Coach Info

U9 COMMUNITY SPRING SOCCER PROGRAM

A U9 match consists of:

• 7 vs. 7 player structure (6 players plus keeper)
• 20 minutes Skills & Drills
• 2 x 20-minute halves (40-minute game)
• Field dimensions:
  • 120 ft x 180 ft (City fields may vary in size)
  • 6 × 16 feet nets (goal sizes may vary at City of Edmonton Fields)
• 2 corner flags
• Center referees

Teams play Saturday mornings and either Tuesday or Thursday evening with a 6:15 pm start. There may be an extra game day to ensure all games are played during the season and practice time (the coach chooses practice times).

The first 20 minutes consist of skills and drills. Physical Literacy is the ABCs of movement (Agility, Balance and Coordination). The development of any athlete starts with physical literacy and their ability to run, hop, skip and jump.

Volunteer coaches are supplied with a coaching course, free of charge, for this age group. They will be shown age-appropriate drills and skills, often done through gameplay with the ball.

Then, a 40-minute game will be played, with two 20-minute halves. Field dimensions increase from the U7 field but are still reduced from the full field size. Rules of the game are limited to enable the players to continue to focus their attention on developing movement patterns, as opposed to game and tactics.

Reporting Scores for Rounds, U9

There are three rounds, allowing for tiering rounds. To correctly tier the teams, it is important that all scores are submitted, especially at the end of each round so that we can prepare the next set of schedules.