Curriculum U8

Organization The structure of this periodization is as follows: - 1st training session of the week: 4 exercises, with 1 exercise repeating the previous week. - 2nd training session of the week: 1 warm-up (tag) game followed by matches. Training sessions for the U8 youth are preferably offered as a circuit. Groups of 6 to 8 players rotate to the next exercise every 10 minutes. Depending on experience, the coaches rotate with the groups or have them focus on one exercise during the training. Finally, small matches are played of a maximum of 4 against 4, always with 4 goals. Age characteristics Children from the age of 6 increasingly play against each other. Initially, a child can only pay attention to one opponent, but later they can also take multiple opponents into account. Socially, children begin to value belonging to a group. They increasingly care about their teammates. They have a strong sense of justice and therefore believe it's important that the rules are followed fairly. The U8s have short attention spans. During training, a lot happens, and you often see children looking around. They are visual learners. They understand and remember better by seeing or experiencing something themselves than by simply hearing it. Learning Objectives They must primarily learn to handle sticks and balls safely (the safety phase). Learning to play through play is the motto here. During the first period, the focus is primarily on driving the ball, turning the stick, and slaloming. In period 2, the players will play duels (one-on-one). In period 3, the emphasis is on playing (together) and receiving the ball. The focus on driving and stick handling remains. During the winter break, competitions and tag games are mainly played for intensity and fun.