Advice for group with mixed ability

What a great question, Tom, and one that coaches of any age group will have to contend with. Thanks for posting on here. For me this is the time when the "football" has to take a back seat for a while whilst the coach builds a really strong connection with each child/player. Once this has been done there will be a greater level of trust and this can mean that each child can be challenged in a way that meets their individual needs as a developing child rather than someone you want to control your midfield (I am joking here). When you are planning your sessions have ways that make the challenges easier or harder allowing each child to find their own level rather than having EVERY child doing the same thing. This takes a little more thought but is so much better for the group as THEY decide if they want to try the harder challenge and you have a group of children where each one is more engaged because the task is at a level where they can learn something new AND have a certain level of success. Your job will be to then notice any successes they have AND praise them for their efforts and their application to learning new things. This is a powerful motivator.

Using the STEP principle will help with your planning. S is the space involved. Do your players need more or less space to play the game/activity? You can have smaller groups in different sized areas based on their ability. T is for the task. There is absolutely nothing wrong with small groups having different tasks to work on. E is for the equipment. You might be using ***** of different sizes and weights to help level out the challenge (this is where a Futsal ball is great indoors as the reduced bounce helps children control it and travel around with it). The last one is P. This stands for the people/children in each activity. Playing 2v2 may help the children who need more touches and more involvement in the game as they play with and against children of similar ability. You may also have some players who need stretching so they might make up a team of 2 playing against 3 opponents because this is an appropriate challenge for where they are at.

Using the STEP principle will give you so much more flexibility in your session design as you try to meet the individual needs of each child. Good luck Tom and thanks for engaging with our community. Best wishes. Pete