How to Stop Kids Bunching Up in Soccer

01 · See it

Watch the bunch form, then choose

You have seen it: six kids around one ball and nobody open. This is a 4v4 game with no keepers. Red’s three nearest players run at the ball, two of ours step in to help, and our No.5 stands near the touchline while nobody looks at him. Watch the bunch form, then freeze at the moment the three players without the ball have to decide. What would your players do?

4v4, no keepers, eight-year-olds. Blue attacks the small goal on the right. Watch where everybody runs.

Freeze. What do the three players without the ball do?

Ask your players first, then tap an option to play it out. Each arrow points at a player who runs, not at a pass.

Pass
Our run
Their run
Cue word
The bunch: too many players in one patch
Us (Blue) · Them (Red)
The board always draws a full-size pitch outline. Read it as a small 4v4 field with a small goal in the middle of each end line, and ignore the boxes and the centre circle.

Open it on your board (Pro): Go to a line Run past the ball Run to the ball

Read the sequence as text

Setup

4v4, no keepers, eight-year-olds. Blue attacks the small goal on the right. Watch where everybody runs.

The bunch forms

Six kids chase one ball. Red’s three nearest players run at it, and two of ours step in to help. Our No.5 stays out near the touchline.
Six of the eight players are inside this ring. No.4 turns, looks up and finds no lane.

The freeze

Freeze. Six players, one ball, and No.5 is on his own. What do the three players without the ball do now?

A. Go to a line

Best answer: stand on a line. A line is a concrete place a child can see. US Youth Soccer’s own advice for 8-U is to “introduce them to the idea of going around the other team to the outside of the field” for players “who are better at comprehending boundary lines”.⁵ A practitioner’s reason: “The most common reason for bunching is that players don’t realize the sideline exists”.³ England Football’s programme for ages 7 to 11 asks for the same thing in plain words: “create passing angles by finding areas of space where the player on the ball can see them”.⁶

No.2 and No.3 run to the two touchlines, and No.5 steps up the right side. All three stop on a line where No.4 can see them.
No.4 passes along the ground to No.3, who has room. A Red is in the lane to No.2, so No.4 takes the clear one. The three Reds turn and chase, a step too late.
No.3 plays it up the line to No.5. The whole right side is open in front of him.
No.5 runs at the small goal and meets the one Red who stayed back: one against one. The three Reds from the pile are still far behind.

B. Run past the ball

Fine for one runner, not for two. Going forward is the point of the game. US Soccer’s U7–U8 model says to “play forward into the attacking half by dribbling or short combinations”,⁷ and Sam Snow writes that “the plan of attack for 6-U players is dribble as far as you can and then shoot”.⁵ One runner is a real threat. With two, the player on the ball has nobody he can see to pass to, so he is back in the pile and a second small bunch forms in front of goal. That last step is my own reasoning from the geometry, not a sourced finding. At U6, count this as a win, because dribbling and deciding are what that age is for.¹ By U10, push toward A.

No.2 and No.3 both sprint around the pile toward goal. No.4 is still stuck, and he still can’t see No.5.
With no ball coming, the two runners crowd the goal where the one Red is standing. Now there are two bunches and one ball.

C. Run to the ball

Normal at this age, but it costs you. This is what the age does: “Children in the 8-U age group quite naturally chase after the ball - often regardless of who has it”,⁵ and “passing (sharing) the ball occurs by chance”.¹ It is red because it makes the field smaller for your own team: no lane, no one behind the ball, nobody left to defend. At U6 to U8, treat it as the starting picture, not an error. By U10 you would like it to be the exception, which is my judgment; US Youth Soccer says only that width and depth are beginning to be understood, inconsistently.¹ After the turnover, “Running back toward their goal area and the goal gives young players a concrete space on the field to find”.⁵

No.5 runs in from the touchline. Seven players are now squeezed around one ball.
No.4 can only dribble or kick it out. He loses it, and the ball squirts out of the top of the pile to a Red.
The Red breaks toward our empty goal. Two of ours turn and run home, and No.4 keeps chasing.
Shot at the empty goal. The two who ran home were still a few steps short.

02 · Say it

Three words, three pictures

One of our sources is blunt: “Kids don’t understand abstract words like ‘Width.’ They understand lines and zones”.³ So each cue names something a child can see, a place or an action. US Youth Soccer also asks adults to be quiet at U6 to U8: “If the adults want to help the children play their best, they need to be quiet while watching the game”.¹ Teach these words in training and in the games below, let the players shout them, and shout them yourself only at stoppages. The one-word cues are my own design; the ideas behind them are sourced. Hover or tap a card to see when to say it.

CUE 01

“Show!”

when to say it

SHOUT IT WHEN

The player on the ball is stuck and a teammate is hidden behind a defender or inside the pile. Show means: stand where the player on the ball can see you. The idea is sourced: “create passing angles by finding areas of space where the player on the ball can see them”.⁶ In the pattern, that is No.3 once he is on the touchline with room.

CUE 02

“Line!”

when to say it

SHOUT IT WHEN

Two or more teammates are standing within a few steps of the ball. Go and stand on a line: a touchline, a zone line or next to a gate. The sideline is the thing kids forget,³ and boundary lines are the first concrete space they learn.⁵ In the pattern, that is No.2, No.3 and No.5 in option A.

CUE 03

“Home!”

when to say it

SHOUT IT WHEN

Your team has just lost the ball. Run to your own goal area, which gives young players “a concrete space on the field to find”.⁵ It also breaks the second kind of bunch, everyone chasing the dribbler. In the pattern, that is No.2 and No.3 after the turnover in option C.

03 · Play it

The constraint ladder

You can’t talk a six-year-old into spreading out, so every rung changes the game, not where anyone stands: a goal, a gate, a lane, a joker. Move up when the group handles a rung without your help, and stay put if they need a reminder every time. The “ready when” signs are my coaching judgment, not research thresholds. Pitch size is the first rung of every ladder: too big and play splits into pockets,⁴ too small and you get the hive. Check your league’s rules first.

Rules to check first

Formats and fields. US Soccer’s maximum formats are 4v4 for U7–U8, 7v7 for U9–U10, 9v9 for U11–U12 and 11v11 from U13.^8,9 Its 2015 deck sizes the fields: 4v4 “a maximum of 30x20 yards”, 7v7 47x30, 9v9 75x47.⁸ Smaller formats are allowed at each age.⁹ England sets its own steps, each as the maximum format: 3v3 at U7, 5v5 at U8–U9, 7v7 at U10–U11, 9v9 at U12–U13 and 11v11 from U14 (from 2026–27).¹⁰ Check your league: local fields vary.
4v4 and offside. The US 4v4 game “does not feature goalkeepers or the offside rule”.¹¹ Offside starts at U9: “there will be no offside infraction before the U-9 age group”.¹²
The build-out line is a 7v7 rule. US Soccer draws a line 14 yards in front of each goal line. When the keeper has the ball or takes a goal kick, opponents stay behind it, and the keeper can’t punt.^8,12 I have seen the line described two ways, 14 yards out and halfway between the box and halfway, so check which your league uses. US Soccer’s deck has no standard line for 9v9, and leagues differ.
Heading. US Soccer recommends no heading in practice or games for U11 programs and younger, and a training limit for U12–U13 (30 minutes and 15–20 headers a week).¹³ The FA’s 2020 guidance says primary-school-age children shouldn’t head in training, and it left match rules unchanged.¹⁴ Until at least U12, “over the top” means to feet or into space.
Where US Soccer contradicts itself. Its older Best Practices (around 2006) says 3v3 is the best option for U6–U8, with a 4v4 field of 40x25 yards.⁴ The 2017 standards replaced that with 4v4, no keepers and a 30x20 maximum.^8,12 This page uses the 2017 numbers and the older document only for its philosophy.
Try the pitch size first. US Soccer’s reason for the small 4v4 field: “A smaller space will help develop these skills while also providing more interaction with the ball, teammates and opponents”.⁸ Its older advice is to “experiment with the field size until you are comfortable”.⁴ One youth coach who fixed his own swarm “reduced everything”: the field, the goalposts and the ball.¹⁵

4v4 · no keepers · 30x20 yards at most.⁸

Swarm ball is allowed at this age,¹ and there are no positions or team concepts.⁴ So every rung changes the field, the goals or the points, and none tells a child where to stand. US Soccer’s U7–U8 guide page lists a 1-2-1 shape,¹⁶ while the older documents say not to introduce positions.^4,1 Treat 1-2-1 as a rough starting point and rotate everyone through every role.

Starter for U6 or a new group (not a rung): Magnet. Give every player a ball in a grid. You are the Super Magnet: “If you get too close to me, I will stick to you and steal your ball!” The players dribble away to keep a safe distance.¹⁷ Every U-6 player should have a ball at every session.¹

RUNG 1
Four Goals
Setup. 4v4 with two small goals on each end line, about ten yards apart (cones are fine). A team attacks the two goals at one end and defends the two at the other.^2,3
Rule · Score in either goal you attack.
Ready when in most attacks somebody heads for the goal that no defender is near, without being told.
RUNG 2
Gate Game
Setup. Five or six pairs of cone gates scattered around the pitch.³ Dribbling counts, because “passing ... is an emerging skill at this stage”.⁵ As one coach puts it, “Since the gates are everywhere, players naturally spread out to find an ‘open gate’ rather than bunching in the middle”.³
Rule · A point each time you dribble or pass through a gate. You can’t score through the same gate twice in a row.
Ready when kids head for gates away from the ball, and two teammates are seldom at the same gate.
RUNG 3
Touchline Jokers
Setup. 4v4 in the middle, plus two neutral jokers (adults, or players who rotate in) “stuck to the sideline”. They can’t enter the pitch and get three touches to pass or cross.³
Rule · Use a joker once before you can score.
Ready when somebody chooses the touchline side of the pitch because the joker is there. Rotate the jokers so every child spends time out wide. Then add keepers and move to the U10 ladder.

U8 session in Tactico Pro: Print touchline cards Download session PDF Open in the planner

7v7 · keepers · 47x30 yards at most.⁸ Offside from U9. Build-out line if your league uses it.

US Youth Soccer’s view of this age: “they will begin to comprehend width and depth, but their execution of it will be inconsistent”.¹ Channels “should be logical” because “Youngsters play mostly a vertical soccer game”.⁵ The 7v7 formation US Soccer introduces is 1-3-2-1.¹⁸

RUNG 1
Three Per Lane
Setup. Two cone lines on the 47x30 field make three vertical lanes, each about ten yards wide.⁵ The model is FIFA’s three-zone game: “Place 2 players from each team in each of the 3 zones”.¹⁹ Six outfield players can still stand 3-2-1 or 3-3-0, so nobody is pinned to a lane. A coach in a Sportplan thread describes the same idea: “only so many of each team can ever be in the section were the ball is” [sic].²⁰
Rule · No more than three players from one team in a lane at once (keepers don’t count). A fourth player entering gives the ball to the other team.
Ready when at least one player is usually in a lane the ball isn’t in, and the lane choice is made before the ball arrives. Rotate roles.
RUNG 2
Both Touchlines
Setup. A five-yard channel along each touchline.³
Rule · A goal only counts if the ball has touched both wide channels in the build-up. Goals created from a wide channel earn bonus points.
Ready when someone is waiting on each touchline before the ball is passed wide, and the team switches without a shout.
RUNG 3
Five Big Steps
Setup. A normal 7v7 game, with you calling the penalty.²¹
Rule · While attacking, a player who gets closer than “5 big steps” to the teammate with the ball hurts the team. Call “Bunching Penalty” and the other team gets the ball. Start with warnings.
Ready when you stop calling it and the kids call it on each other. The source reports one player telling a teammate, “Don’t bunch me”.²¹ Next: triangles. Snow says to “begin teaching the triangle shape at this age - just be patient”.⁵
Caution. This is a spacing instruction enforced as a rule, from one anonymous coach who used it with “U8 and U10”.²¹ I put it at U10, not U8, for that reason.

U10 session in Tactico Pro: Print touchline cards Download session PDF Open in the planner

9v9 · 75x47 yards at most.⁸ Use a build-out line only if your league does.

Snow says players at 12-U “are developing the cognitive ability of abstract thought, which heralds the dawning of tactical awareness”, and that you should coach “depth, both in advance of and behind the ball”.⁵ US Soccer’s U11–U12 model asks players to “Provide support ahead of the ball” when they win it back.²²

RUNG 1
Three Zones
Setup. The FIFA Talent Coach game: a 30m x 10m area split into three equal zones. Two teams of six, with two players from each team in each zone, plus a neutral in the middle zone.¹⁹ The page gives no age group; I use it here.
Rule · Players stay in their zone, and one pressing player may leave.
Ready when the ball carrier always has a teammate on a different line. The source’s own point is that “team-mates are positioned on different lines”.¹⁹
RUNG 2
Jokers Each Side
Setup. Christchurch United’s U-12 game: a 30x15 area with 5 m end zones, two teams of three, and two neutrals on opposite sides who play one or two touches.²³
Rule · Move the ball from one neutral to the other through the middle. In the second game, score only with the neutrals’ help.
Ready when players “constantly look to open passing lanes so ball carriers always have support”²³ without being asked.
RUNG 3
Switch Bonus
Setup. A 9v9 game with a flank channel down each side. This adapts “switching the point of attack”⁵ and the four-goal Switch game.³
Rule · A goal scores two if the ball changed sides (from one flank channel to the other) before the shot.
Ready when the far-side player moves as the ball travels. Wide doesn’t mean glued to the touchline: Snow’s channels note, written for 10-U, says that when the ball is on one flank the weak side should “move in toward the central channel until the ball is moved back toward the middle”.⁵

U12 session in Tactico Pro: Print touchline cards Download session PDF Open in the planner

11v11 · in the US this is U13 and up; in England it is U14 and up from 2026–27.¹⁰

Snow’s rule of thumb on width, written in his 10-U channels section: “the attack should maintain width and reestablish it as quickly as possible whenever it is lost”.⁵ US Soccer’s U13–U14 model asks players to “Create attacking shape (height / width / depth)” and “Provide support ahead and behind the ball”.²⁴

RUNG 1
Full Width
Setup. A big-pitch game with keepers. The source game is FIFA’s Costa Rica U14 session, where the team in possession “must use the full width” while the defending side tries to win the ball by “staying compact and closing off passing lanes”.²⁵ That page’s team numbers are inconsistent, so set your own. An FA session has the same aim, to “use wide play to create space”.²⁶
Rule · A team in possession keeps a player in each wide channel when the ball is in the middle third. No wide player means a free kick for the defence.
Ready when wide players are in place before the ball reaches the middle third. The width-channel rule is my adaptation.
RUNG 2
Diamond
Setup. The Costa Rica part 2 game: 4v4 plus four neutrals (two inside, two outside) in a 10m x 20m area.²⁵
Rule · The team in possession keeps the ball and can’t be pressed on the outside neutrals.
Ready when the carrier always has an option in front, beside and behind. The key point: “Players should form a diamond shape around the ball carrier to create multiple passing angles”.²⁵
RUNG 3
Behind and Beyond
Setup. Any 11v11 or half-pitch game. This adapts the same session’s idea of support “both behind and beyond the receiving player”.²⁵
Rule · A bonus goal when the build-up used a player behind the ball and then a runner beyond it.
Ready when players can name where the support was after a stoppage.

Size it. In a study of elite U13–U19 players (4v4 plus keepers), “inter-team and intra-team distances were significantly larger” on a large pitch than on a small one.²⁷ It covered elite U13+ players only and says nothing about U6 to U10. Use it as a reason to enlarge a cramped 11v11 practice, not as a rule.

U14+ session in Tactico Pro: Print touchline cards Download session PDF Open in the planner

04 · Spot it

On match day

Four things to watch from the touchline, and the three mistakes worth fixing first.

Watch for

The hive count. How many of your players are within five steps of the ball? iCoachFootball calls three or more players around the ball a “Beehive” and uses it as the trigger for its Freeze game.³ “Within five steps” is my own yardstick. At U6 to U8 expect a hive.¹ At U10 it should loosen, though “inconsistent” is normal.¹ By U12 it shouldn’t be the default.
The ignored free player. Is a teammate standing alone, and does the carrier ever look for him? US Soccer’s own model asks for “passes to a free player”,²⁸ but that skill arrives late: “Passing - mostly to a teammate, but not to open space - is an emerging skill at this stage”.⁵
Do they stop moving after they pass? FIFA’s ages 4–8 takeaway: “effective movement off the ball and spatial awareness are just as vital as their actions when in possession”.²⁹ And: “Moving together when attacking is a positive accomplishment for players in all age groups and especially so with ones this young”.⁵
What happens when you lose it. Does everyone chase the dribbler, or does anyone run home?⁵ U8s “lack sense of pace - go flat out, chasing the ball until they drop”.¹ Judge the distance of the chase, not just the effort.⁵

Mistakes and the fix

Shouting “Spread out!” with no picture“Screaming ‘Spread Out’ at a 6-year-old does not work”,¹⁷ and kids “don’t understand abstract words like ‘Width’”.³ Six-year-olds “are SUPPOSED to be chasing the ball, not moving into spaces”.² Fix: give them a line, a gate or a zone and a rule. “Let the rules of the drill do the teaching”.³ Shout a place (Line!), not a concept. Soccer Coach Weekly’s answer to a U7 coach: “They will spread out as they learn to play with their team-mates”.²

Fixed positions at U6 to U8US Youth Soccer’s coaching manual lists “asking a U6 player to stay in a specific position when their spatial awareness is limited and possess a strong desire to chase the ball” as an activity that doesn’t fit the age.³⁰ Fix: use temporary game rules, not roles, and rotate everyone. “If children are placed into the straightjacket of positional play too early it will only destroy their instincts to be involved in the game”.⁴ US Soccer’s U9–U10 guide: “Provide opportunities for players to experience all positions”.¹⁸

The wrong pitch, or a stop every ten secondsToo big gives pockets;⁴ too small gives the hive. Fix: start at the US Soccer maximum⁸ and adjust, and shrink the goals and ball too.¹⁵ Don’t stop play to correct the picture every ten seconds. One freeze is a tool: when three or more crowd the ball, call “Freeze”, ask the carrier “Can you pass to anyone?” and give them five seconds to run to space before the restart.³

Touchline rule. Young players “are distracted by adults yelling from the touchline” and have to choose “either play the ball or listen”.¹ Bunching is often the sign of a game doing its job at that age. Praise the child who stays out wide even without the ball.³

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Take it to training

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Questions

Coaches ask

How do you teach kids to spread out in soccer?

Don’t tell them. Change the game. For U6 to U8, use more goals or gates, a touchline joker and a right-sized field.^2,3,8 For U10, limit the players per lane or ask for both touchlines.^5,3 Young children “don’t know why they should spread out”.¹⁷

What is swarm ball (or the “beehive”), and is it normal at U6 to U8?

Swarm ball is everyone chasing the one ball. iCoachFootball’s “Beehive” is three or more players around it.³ Yes, it is normal at that age. US Youth Soccer calls it parallel play: “Young children do not play together; they play next to one another”. In the same document: “it is OK to play swarm ball at the U-6 and U-8 age groups. Swarm ball may actually help players improve their dribbling skills and decision-making ability”.¹

What age do kids start to understand spacing?

No source gives a hard age: “All players develop at different rates”.⁵ Snow’s markers are these: at U10 “they will begin to comprehend width and depth, but their execution of it will be inconsistent”,¹ and at 12-U abstract thought “heralds the dawning of tactical awareness”.⁵

How big should the pitch be?

US Soccer’s maximums are 4v4 on 30x20 yards, 7v7 on 47x30 and 9v9 on 75x47.⁸ England’s steps are 3v3 at U7, 5v5 at U8–U9 and 7v7 at U10–U11.¹⁰ I didn’t find England pitch sizes on the page I opened, so check your county or league. If your group still swarms, experiment with the size,⁴ and shrink the goals and the ball along with the field.¹⁵

Should my U8 team have positions?

US Soccer’s older guidance says no positions or team concepts at this age,⁴ and its U7–U8 page does list a 1-2-1 shape.¹⁶ Use a rough shape, rotate everyone, and let the rules, not roles, space them. The Dutch KNVB’s reason for 6v6 at U8–U10 is that children “can play in more positions and they are more involved in the game”.³¹

Is it different in England?

England’s 3v3, 5v5 and 7v7 steps¹⁰ mean your “U8” may be 5v5, not 4v4. The same ladders work on a half-size pitch. The KNVB uses small formats for more touches too: it says its 4v4 “enables children to enjoy more touches of the ball, more goals and scoring attempts, and greater involvement in the game”.³² UEFA’s Grassroots Charter asks associations to “incorporate small-sided games for children” because “fewer people on a scaled-down pitch with smaller goals can enhance both enjoyment and development”.³³

Keep going

What next

Next playcodeHow to Switch Play in SoccerOnce they are spread out, move the ball to the open side before the other team can shift. Free tactics boardDraw it with your own playersSet up this shape on the board, draw the runs, and see it before you take it to training.

More Playcode pages

About

How this page was made

Written by Sherif Madkor for Tactico from published federation, governing-body and coaching sources, which are listed below. The formats and field sizes come from US Soccer’s public pages and England Football Learning. The diagrams are drawn on the Tactico board. The bunch, the three options, the cue words and the practice ladders are my own teaching design, built on the principles in those sources; no federation publishes them as one pattern. I found no controlled study of any bunching fix at U6 to U10, so the verdicts and the “ready when” signs are coaching judgment. The only quantitative study I opened covers elite U13–U19 players. Several coaching sources are practitioner pages: the iCoachFootball author is a self-described UEFA A coach, “Coach Ken” in the SoccerHelp piece is anonymous, and the PlaySportsTV and Sportplan pages carry no stated credentials. The older US Soccer Best Practices document is used for its philosophy only, because its format numbers were replaced in 2017. Where I couldn’t confirm something, the page says so. Last reviewed 30 October 2026.

Sources

US Youth Soccer, Player Development Model, “A Player-Centered Curriculum for US Youth Soccer Clubs” (October 2013; prepared by Sam Snow, with the Coaching Education Department). https://www.usyouthsoccer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/160/2023/09/Player-Development-Model-Oct-2013.pdf
Soccer Coach Weekly, “How to improve spatial awareness in soccer” (Q&A page; undated). https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/coaching-advice/how-to-improve-spatial-awareness-in-soccer
iCoachFootball, “5 Fun Soccer Drills to Stop Bunching Up (The ‘Beehive’ Cure)” (the author’s UEFA A credential is self-described; undated). https://www.icoachfootball.net/drills-to-stop-bunching-up-soccer/
US Soccer Federation, Best Practices for Coaching Soccer in the United States (undated copy, around 2006; mirror copy). https://www.soccerxpert.com/docs/us-soccer-best-practices.pdf
US Youth Soccer, Player Development Model Appendix, “Spatial Awareness: A Progression for Coaching the Tactical Use of the Field of Play through Concepts of Space” (dated 2017; Sam Snow). https://www.usyouthsoccer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/160/2023/09/Player-Development-Model-Spatial-Awareness.pdf
England Football Learning, “Session programme: Moving with the ball and turning to attack” (ages 7–11, 2025). https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2025/Session-programme-moving-with-the-ball-and-turning-to-attack
US Soccer, game model U7–U8. https://www.ussoccer.com/us-way/player-development/game/game-models/u7-u8
US Soccer, Player Development Initiatives presentation (2015), mirror copy. https://media.hometeamsonline.com/photos/soccer/SSFUNITED/2015_Player_Development_Initiatives.pdf
US Soccer, “Game formats”. https://www.ussoccer.com/us-way/player-development/game/game-formats
England Football Learning, “What is a format in football”. https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles-and-resources/coaching/resources/2022/What-is-a-format-in-football
US Soccer, “Five things to know about the 4v4 online grassroots course” (28 February 2018). https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2018/02/five-things-to-know-about-the-4v4-online-grassroots-course
US Soccer, “Five things to know: how small-sided standards will change youth soccer” (1 August 2017). https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/08/five-things-to-know-how-smallsided-standards-will-change-youth-soccer
US Soccer, “Recognize to Recover” guidelines (December 2015), heading section, hosted by NC Soccer. https://www.ncsoccer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/167/2023/06/file.aspx-8.pdf
The FA, updated heading guidance (2020). https://www.thefa.com/bootroom/about/news/the-fa-announce-updated-heading-guidance
PlaySportsTV, Mary Ann Tarr, “Avoid the swarm in youth soccer” (quotes coach Wayne Huston; undated). https://www.playsportstv.com/soccer/articles/1668/avoid-the-swarm-in-youth-soccer
US Soccer, age-group guide U7–U8 (navigation-level text only; used for the 1-2-1 shape). https://www.ussoccer.com/us-way/player-development/environment/age-group-guide/u7-u8
iCoachFootball, “How to Teach U7s to Spread Out (The ‘Magnet’ Drills)” (same author; undated). https://www.icoachfootball.net/?p=49613
US Soccer, age-group guide U9–U10 (navigation-level text only; used for two short lines). https://www.ussoccer.com/us-way/player-development/environment/age-group-guide/u9-u10
FIFA Training Centre, Talent Coach Programme, “6v6 plus 1 in three zones: possession game”. https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/practice/talent-coach-programme/build-and-progress/6v6-plus-1-in-three-zones-possession-game.php
Sportplan, “How to stop my U10s ‘bunching’ in matches?” (coach-contributed answers). https://www.sportplan.net/drills/answers/Football/General/u10-team-bunching-up.jsp
SoccerHelp, “New Way to Stop Soccer Players from Bunching Up” (credits “Coach Ken in MS”; undated). https://soccerhelp.com/soccer-articles/130510-stop-soccer-bunching-up.shtml
US Soccer, game model U11–U12. https://www.ussoccer.com/us-way/player-development/game/game-models/u11-u12
FIFA Training Centre, Christchurch United FC, “Scan to play forward” (U-12; Paul Holocher, 31 March 2026). https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/practice/grassroots/global-grassroots-insights/christchurch-united.php
US Soccer, game model U13–U14. https://www.ussoccer.com/us-way/player-development/game/game-models/u13-u14
FIFA Training Centre, Talent Coach Programme, “Session 10: Support and off-the-ball movements” (U14 boys; Manfred Schumann, Costa Rican FA; 15 October 2024). https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/practice/talent-coach-programme/sessions/support-and-off-the-ball-movements.php
England Football Learning, “Width for deception” (Peter Augustine, FA coach development officer; page dated 25 March 2019). https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2022/Width-for-deception
Olthof, Frencken and Lemmink, “Match-derived relative pitch area changes the physical and team tactical performance of elite soccer players in small-sided soccer games”, Journal of Sports Sciences 36(14), 1557–1563 (2018). https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13536/1/Match%20derived%20relative%20pitch%20area%20changes%20the%20physical%20and%20team%20tactical%20performance%20of%20elite%20soccer%20players%20in%20small%20sided%20soccer%20games.pdf
US Soccer, game model U9–U10. https://www.ussoccer.com/us-way/player-development/game/game-models/u9-u10
FIFA Training Centre, “Ages 4-8: Building spatial awareness in young players” (Dr Jene Baclawski, 20 May 2025). https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/practice/grassroots/grassroots-and-youth-football-essentials/grassroots-coaching-essentials/building-spatial-awareness-in-young-players.php
The Official US Youth Soccer Coaching Manual (Fleck, Quinn, Carr, Buren, Stringfield; 2008). https://www.usyouthsoccer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/160/2023/09/Official-US-Youth-Soccer-Coaching-Manual-1.pdf
KNVB, Dutch youth football, “The 6 versus 6 game format” (U8–U10). https://knvb.h5mag.com/dutch_youth_football/u8_t_m_u10
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UEFA Grassroots Charter, 2023 edition. https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/028b-1a8000ab4813-8294900416bd-1000/uefa_grassroots_charter_2023_edition_en.pdf

Watch the bunch form, then choose

Freeze. What do the three players without the ball do?

Setup

The bunch forms

The freeze

A. Go to a line

B. Run past the ball

C. Run to the ball

Three words, three pictures

The constraint ladder

Rules to check first

Four Goals

Gate Game

Touchline Jokers

Three Per Lane

Both Touchlines

Five Big Steps

Three Zones

Jokers Each Side

Switch Bonus

Full Width

Diamond

Behind and Beyond

On match day

Watch for

Mistakes and the fix

Take it to training

Coaches ask

What next

How this page was made

Sources