Football Practice Competitions
The more we compete, the better we get. Part of the strategic plan for Special Olympics football is to drive more sport development at the local levels. Competition motivates athletes, coaches and the entire sport management team. Expand or add to your schedule as many competition opportunities as possible. We have provided a few suggestions below.
- Host football games with adjacent local Programs.
- Ask the local high school team if your athletes can compete with them in practice football games.
- Join the local community football league, club and/or associations.
- Create your own football league or club in your community.
- Host weekly football games for the area.
- Incorporate competition components, scrimmages at the end of every training session.
Simulate Game Situations
Football requires accurate and quick decision making. The ability to recognize situations, understand the pitch and make appropriate decisions is very important. Recognition skills are best learned in game settings. Create practice situations that emphasize skill and tactics likely to be encountered during a game. Practicing in a game-like setting will help your players learn to recognize when certain skills or tactics are appropriate. For example, playing four vs. four on a small field with regular goals is a great way to emphasize player movement and shooting, rather than simply shooting at the goal without opposition or movement.
Please refer to the
Teaching Football Skills section to incorporate different types of teammate scrimmages into practice sessions. Scrimmages at practice allow players to develop a feel for the game, field positioning and basic technique in game-like situations.
Keep Away
Objective: One team attempts to keep possession of ball for as long as possible.
Steps
- Mark a designated area of the pitch.
- Create teams of unequal numbers with the larger teams having initial control of the balls.
- One team will have one or more balls.
- Player with ball moves only in marked area.
- Player with ball may have unlimited contacts with ball for no longer than three seconds.
Ball to the Goalie
Objective: Each team attempts to get possession of ball and pass it to its own goalie located at the opposite end of the court, standing behind specified line.
Steps
- Create two teams of equal numbers; one team has the ball.
- Goalie stands inside a marked space (e.g., circle) and may not step outside to catch the ball.
- Team with the ball must pass to at least two or more teammates before attempting to pass the ball to their goalie.
- Defenders must keep a four-foot distance from the goalie's designated area.
- Start game with two to three players per team with one ball and gradually add players.
- Add balls and goalies, maintaining a 1-1 ratio between number of goalies and number of balls.
